Use plants to stop soil erosion. They're cheaper and longer-lasting than a retaining wall.
Plant tough, rapidly colonising plants like Creeping Jenny (Lysimachia nummularia) and Ornamental Dead Nettle (Lamium galeobdolon). These spread quickly and form a rooted carpet which holds the soil together. Until they are well established, it is necessary to remove any weeds that appear by hand.
Steep slopes
Wattle the ground. Take pencil-thick, 12-36in/300-910mm cuttings of willow, alder, honeysuckle, forsythia, ivy or any other easy-to-root plant and tie them in bundles about 6in/150mm in diameter, alternating tips and cut ends. Lay the bundles flat in shallow trenches dug across the slope wherever there is evidence of runoff. Cover with no more than 1in/25mm of soil and place rocks around the cuttings to hold them in place. When they sprout, they will form a soil-holding thicket.
