Not sure if this is the correct location to post this. I live on northern Vancouver Island. Behind my fence is a wood wall and a bank down to the street behind me. It have 3 decent sized alder tree on it that I use as a privacy wall. I have to weedeat the grass on the bank as a town rule which I hate doing so I'm looking to change it up and plant some flowering bushes or vines. What are some bushes or vines I can plant on a slope that are in shade about 60-70% of the day. Preferably flowering ones if possible. Also would I have to remove all the grass and what not that's there or could I just plant something that would take over? I can take a picture of the area if need be. Thanks. Travis.
Looking for anything that would stop the grass growth and stop the town from telling me to cut the grass back there. Bushes or vines, not looking for trees or hedges.
*nod* Well, not particularly floriferous, but presumably easy to establish in your area would be a bank of sword ferns (Polystichum munitum), maybe combined with some vanilla-leaf (Achlys triphylla) and/or Cascade barberry (Berberis or Mahonia nervosa). Your alders might be causing some of your headache, by the way -- nitrogen-fixing nodules in the roots boost the nitrogen in the soil, which I'm speculating makes for a very robust grassy area. Post a pic and I hope that others will chime in -- I've suggested native plants, but there are other solutions as well.
I don't know about the size of your space, but Holboellia coriacea 'China blue' is a vigorous evergreen vine that doesn't need sun. I have one in full sun that grows more vigorously than the one I have growing against a North wall under my deck (i.e., in full shade), but both are fairly vigorous. The small flowers are quite unremarkable. More varieties of Holboellia (with larger and more interesting flowers) have come onto the local market this year, but I don't know anything about their growth habits or the conditions they need. I'm sorry to say that Holboellia is not a native plant (it comes from China and the Himalayas), but it is an evergreen vine that doesn't latch onto trees and suck the life out of them like some other evergreen vines (English ivy, for eg).