What would you do with this inaccessible bank

[MerylSqueak]

I've so far ignored this part of my garden because it's inaccessible and difficult for me as I have problems with my feet. Also, because the crocosmia/ monbretia that had taken over look glorious from late summer well into the autumn.

We've been away and because of the dry weather all the foliage has died. I decided to take it as an opportunity to see what's there and uncover the paving stones that might make it easier to access. I thought it would be a nightmare of brambles and ivy but actually it's not too bad. There's a buddleia and a small cherry at the top and a weigela in the middle, a single cane if a climbing rose that does flower, some clematis and a bit of vinca minor.

I'm now wondering what to do next. It's very shallow , stony clay soil on a slate hillside. It faces South and is pretty exposed.

My thoughts are either to just wait until the crocosmia come back or to plant some other hardy shrubs there for variety. They would have to be very hardy but fucshia and forsythia do well in similar conditions in my garden.

The photos are of the whole space from above, including some uncut crocosmia and of the cleared ground. It's steeper than it looks in the photos.

Do you want it for aesthetic flowing or make something above it, ie decking.

If for flowering, do you need to touch it? By all means weed it out but if its an area you dont actually use, youll be losing a battle. If its a usable space then membrane/cardboard the plants you want and keep on top of the rest

I suppose I'm wondering what plant might be strong enough to take on those conditions and the crocosmia and thrive so give a bit more year round interest. They won't get much care though as I have to kind of climb into it to reach it.

You could terrace it so it holds onto its soil and water better. Otherwise, if you don't go there much, I'd be going for shrubby things like sage and lavender, maybe a couple of small trees. You could make it a wildlife area by planting native species like hawthorn and gorse. The trick with planting anything on that kind of dry slope is to dig a little hollow to plant in so the water goes into the roots and doesn't just run off.

Also you could put a load of spring bulbs in for interest earlier in the year.

I have a similar bank and have found heathers and cotton lavender to grow well there. Took a while to establish, but bit looks great now.

Thank you for those suggestions. I appreciate it. Heathers do really well in other parts of the garden so Iight go for that, although they might look a bit odd with the crocosmia. Bulbs are also a good idea but they'll need to be extremely tough. I don't have a lot of luck with them in other spots, apart from muscari which are rampant!