Gardening specialist and author, Evelyn Hadden, has a couple of solutions of adding some spruce to your yard in some of those tough, hard-to-grow spots.

She suggests starting on slopes, which are difficult to seed with lawn because of erosion and, if you do get the lawn established, are tricky to mow. Hadden says low-growing perennial plants are ideal for planting on slopes “because when you put a walkway at the bottom of the slope, it brings the little plants closer to eye level.” The plants you want to have on slopes have a good root system, so they will prevent erosion. Some of her recommendations are Jacob’s Ladder or Polemonium reptans, a low-growing, flowering summer plant that has some versions with multicolored leaves; any number of prairie plants, including echinacea; and any number of grasses.

If you have a muddy and/or shady slope, she suggests Dryopteris cristata, or a crested wood fern. Both will thrive in those conditions.

Slopes are also ideal places for hardscaping, she said. Include anything from large boulders with plants placed around them to an artificial stream that could display a waterfall.

Note: Jacob’s Ladder grows best in the northeastern part of the United States, where heat isn’t as much of a factor.