We also got several bales of straw and spread them around the slope. You can also see a pile of boulders in the far right; when our septic system was replaced, we asked them to put any large boulders in this area. This is the same area where a protective black landscape fabric type of barrier fence had been erected, to protect what lie below it, so we figured the boulders would be most beneficial here, if or until we found a better place for them.
The Phragmites had been pulled; a significant number of stalks and rhizomes had been removed. In the autumn of 2011, we did a very careful application of the recommended herbicide to its remaining stems. We were fervently hoping to have dead Phragmites next spring, instead of alive and green Phragmites.
Furthermore, we actually had planted something on the slope. Earlier that year, I found a slow-growing Blue Star Juniper for a great price at Costco (on left, surrounded by mulch and rocks). To the left of the boulders is a Blue Point Juniper, also from Costco. You can also see the gorgeous, dark green of a native Juniperus virginiana (“Eastern Red Cedar”), with a larger pine to its left, and a smaller pine volunteer to its right.
