In starting work on any garden, the greatest tools you have are your imagination, muscle power, and the soil itself. An hour spent looking at how things are growing and doing a bit of exploratory digging is never wasted. Knowing just what down there will keep you from making unrealistic plans.
Most of us never have the nerve or opportunity to find out about the soil before we move into a house. It is usually a matter of trusting general impressions and discovering the reality of sand, clay, or rich loam after we move in. Most real estate agents do not take kindly to prospective buyers turning up to view a house with a spade under one arm. But a quick look at the soil can tell you so much.
Fertility symbols
Even without digging, it is worth looking hard at the plants in a new or prospective garden to assess what the soil might be like. Soil fertility is not the easiest thing to gauge by sight. Ornamental perennials usually require more frequent replanting and feeding than native plants, and miserable, congested perennials do not necessarily mean the soil is poor; only that the garden has not been seriously tended for a long time.
Turf and tree vigor
It is better to look at the trees and the grass to learn about the soil. Are the trees making strong, vigorous growth? Is their canopy thin and foliage sparse for the time of the year? If the grass has not been cut for months, is it lush and tall from a rich diet? Has it fallen over under its own abundant weight? Or is it sparse, short, and lean enough not to flop over suggesting a poor or stony soil?
Acid or alkaline?
Look at the range of plants to see if there are any lime-haters there, such as rhododendrons, pieris, and summer-flowering heathers. If there are, and if they are planted in the ground rather than in raised beds, then the soil must have a neutral or acidic pH level. If there are no lime-hating plants then it is reasonable to suspect that the soil is alkaline. A few tests made with a kit from the garden center will provide more detailed information. It is also worth glancing at neighboring gardens to see if there are any acid-loving plants in the district.
Read the Part 2 here.
We’ll be introducing you to some of the better wall shrubs here, too – plants like ceanothus and pyracantha, which will benefit from the warmth and shelter of a wall, and add height and interest. So although they’re not climbers, they deserve honorary membership.
Lift it, retaining as much of the rootball as possible as some damage is inevitable, but very seldom fatal. Transfer it as quickly as possible to the new hole, fill in the soil, and water well. For the next year, keep the plant watered during any dry spells. Older plants can have enormous rootballs, but if your only option is to move them, then at least they have a fighting chance of survival.
