a planter box with proper drainage.. has the potential to rot the wooden handrail ...

i would plant vines near the bottom.. and let them climb up ...

an annual option would be morning glory ...

a perennial would be clematis ...

i would also add height in the top bed.. with 2 to 4 foot perennials ...

i dont know about that middle course ... not very wide ...

ken

yes, Clematis looks nice. A co-worker of mine said they die back in the winter though and leave their tendrils clinging to the lattice work. She said if you don't cut off the dried tendrils the Clematis won't grow back quite right the next year. You need to keep in mind that this is for my in-law's house, and I know dang well they won't keep up with things. So I am always trying to keep that in mind when choose plants...I need something that will look nice even if they decide to neglect it and not take care of it.

Before you do any more planting, you might want to put a parge coat on the cinderblock to make it less obvious since you don't like the look of cinderblock. See link below.

I'd plan to put down some mulch to keep the weeds down and keep moisture in until the plants establish. Also, since it's on a slope, put some small rocks along the gaps under your boards to slow runoff and reduce erosion until the plants get going.

There aren't a lot of plants IME that will grow 6 feet downwards and be hardy in a planter (even a large one) year round in zone 6. I would use a combination of plants that will spill down and a couple of large perennials or shrubs that will grow upward from the middle of the ajuga mentioned in your other post, or even just a bunch of vines and other plants that grow upward. If the ajuga doesn't establish that might be a good place for variegated goutweed (AKA bishop's week AKA snow-on-the-mountain AKA Aegopodium podgraria) as a groundcover if you put a root barrier where you wanted it to stop.

How sunny is the area? Is the soil clayish, sandy, or more average? Do you know if it is acidic or more alkaline, and if not, will you tell us what general part of the country you are in so we can make an educated guess at soil pH? That will influence specific plant choices.

For sun, large bushy perennials that grow upward might include Baptisia or Amsonia, or even a small bush that will be there year round, unlike perennials which will leave your wall exposed in the winter. Depending on the size of the area, that might be a fine place for one of the smaller forsythias or mock oranges (AKA Philadelphus). If it's shady, large ferns like interrupted ferns or ostrich ferns, some of the larger astilbe, large hosta, or Leucosceptrum japonicum golden angel would be great additions. Wintercreeper Euonymous should be willing to grow up the wall, clinging to it as it climbs without need of support. It can be trimmed to the size you'd like and has gold and green or white and green variegated or even solid green leaves. It can be invasive in some parts of the country, so check with your states's department of natural resources to see if it is.

For plants that grow downward, periwinkle (AKA myrtle AKA Vinca) should be hardy enough to winter over for you there and it comes in plain green as well as variegated forms. Lonicera sempervirens, which is a native (noninvasive) honeysuckle vine will grow long and either upwards or downwards, depending on where there is support. If you have room for a large pot on the stair landing, you might be able to get a clematis to grow downwards if you choose one of the non-vining varieties like Rooguchi. However, either the honeysuckle or clematis would be happier growing upward from the ground as long as there is at least 4 hours of sun here. Wires or strings hanging down from the railing and pinned to the ground would be an easy support for them to climb.

Here is a link that might be useful: How to put on a parge coat

If maintenance is an issue a box on the rail will be much more effort than stuff grown in the ground. It will need frequent watering, probably daily in summer, regular feeding and the soil will need replacing periodically. Nothing in a container will look 'nice' if neglected. Sounds as if you should be looking at in ground shrubs or perennials if they are likely to be uncared for.

I am kind of leaning towards Clematis now.
What would be the best kind of support to put between those two main posts you see? Should I get some type of string trellis, or would maybe some chicken wire nailed across be good?

I don't know if string trellis would be strong enough. After a few years, clematis gets very thick and heavy, so you need something that's going to be strong enough to hold it up.

Deanna

And FYI, if they want to do absolutely nothing, weeds taking over will be an issue no matter what you plant.

Deanna

Most Clematis prefer full sun and need a big well amended hole when planting. Lots of water during the growing season.

They will need something like chicken wire or even better, wider spaced livestock wire or concrete reinforcing wire to climb up. They don't have tendrils. They wrap their leaf stems around thin supports like wire. They struggle to climb wider supports like wood lattice.

They should all be hard pruned the first few years to encourage more vines up from the crowns which should be buried. Clematis take several years to establish.

Some need pruning down every year or you end up with bare stems and growth and flowers all at the top. Some are shorter and fuller than others at maturity. I have some that are six feet and some triple that.

Unless the plant is evergreen, you will still see the cement a good portion of the year.

Delosperma cooperi is perfect for the cinder blocks. It stays green all winter and blooms all summer. You might could create a vertical garden too. There are very economical ways to do it.

Morning Glories seem like they will fill out a space faster, but I read that they are annuals, however they re-seed themselves easily. So essentially doesn't that mean they will pretty much come back on their own every year? Will they automatically find the wire trellis and start climbing or do you have to train them each year?
If they re-seed, will they spread to other areas of the hill? I really only want the Ajuga Chocolate Chip in the rest of the hillside.

I have gotten seedlings in my yard from my neighbor's morning glories.

What about Honeysuckles? The lady at the nursery was trying to steer me maybe towards those. She said they should stay contained to the trellis. She warned me against trumpet vine though.
So was she right about honeysuckle? I can't have anything that will vine on the ground and takeover the Ajuga I'm trying to establish. I just want to cover that wall section in the back which is about 6ft wide and 6 ft tall.
If I could go with honeysuckle, which variety is best for what I want to do?

I've been thinking about this for days now.
If it was my place, I'd seal and paint or stain the sides of those steps a neutral color or match the siding of the house.
Then I'd plant a big old evergreen shrub there. You won't even see/notice the sides of the steps and will only have to prune or shape the shrub once or maybe twice a year.

Not being familiar with your area I have no shrub recommendations. Perhaps someone else might?

I will start by saying sometimes repurposing blocks and lumber can be effective ways to enhance a landscape. It looks like somebody spent some time installing the block and timbers but I would advice starting all over and not including them. Or perhaps using timbers as a planted crate or something less obvious. If there isn't funds to bring in enough retention items (block, stone, timbers) I would work with the slope. If there were weeds previously make sure to either bury under 4-6" of fresh soil or 3" mulch with a pre-emergent herbicide (identifying reproduction of the existing weeds should be main determination of solution). Plant to mask steps first. I'd recommend boxwood for evergreen or an ornamental grass that comes out of dormancy quickly. I even use a Becky daisy to create a thick 2' tall wall. The daisies will also stabilize the slope soil. Then choose other perennials that will create layers on the slope and be long flowering. I like to use Blue Wonder catmint, Japanese forest grass and a geranium like rozanne or max frei in front, Coreopsis Creme Brulee, salvia may night or caradonna, and allium millennium in middle, and calamogrostis brachytricha, becky daisies, and monarda or echinacea in the back. Good luck. Hope this helped.