Mumsy's Romantic Garden Advice

[Alibabe]

Do you have any suggestions for rehabilitating clay soil, apart from tons of compost? Is there any plant /s that love clay soil and will grow well? The only plants that I have heard that like a clay are roses but I am not sure if they will grow as the clay we have is rock hard in summer so much so that to put a stake in the ground you have to use a mallet.

 

[TexasLisa]

Do you have any suggestions for rehabilitating clay soil, apart from tons of compost? Is there any plant /s that love clay soil and will grow well? The only plants that I have heard that like a clay are roses but I am not sure if they will grow as the clay we have is rock hard in summer so much so that to put a stake in the ground you have to use a mallet.

I live in SE Texas and have the same problem. Our garden site was horrible until my DH started adding sand to the clay. It is getting better. I, too, would like to have some ideas on making the clay soil tillable.

Lisa

 

[aoxa]

Do you have any suggestions for rehabilitating clay soil, apart from tons of compost? Is there any plant /s that love clay soil and will grow well? The only plants that I have heard that like a clay are roses but I am not sure if they will grow as the clay we have is rock hard in summer so much so that to put a stake in the ground you have to use a mallet.

I have soil just like this sadly. We ordered it in. It is organic topsoil.. should have gotten it pre-mixed with compost where we got it from, or went somewhere else. My garden still seems to thrive though.. It is terribly hard to plant anything new if it is not wet. Not sure how the plants are still alive to be honest!

I like wild looking gardens.

Mumsy, I have this random flower that is popping up out front. Are you good at identifying stuff like that?

It's wild whatever it is. Tall.. May be sunflowers, but I am not really sure.

 

[bjones1128]

I recently moved from the home I have lived in for years to a new home, smack in the middle of a two acre field that used to grow soybeans every year. It's a blank canvas (not a tree, flower, or shrub in sight) but getting the gardens going is overwhelming. I'm not sure where to start. Hopefully I'll get some inspiration from this thread!

 

[Alibabe]

I have soil just like this sadly. We ordered it in. It is organic topsoil.. should have gotten it pre-mixed with compost where we got it from, or went somewhere else. My garden still seems to thrive though.. It is terribly hard to plant anything new if it is not wet. Not sure how the plants are still alive to be honest!

I would love to order in a lorry load of soil and compost mixed and start with a blank canvas but my pocketbook just won't stretch that far at the moment. I have spent alot lately on the chicks and need to still get more runs built so will have to start in a corner and slowly spread out.

 

[wlhtx]

We also just recently moved to a new home. We are out in the middle of a pasture, so nothing around but a bunch of grass and some pine trees around the edges - definitely a blank slate. I have visions in my head (that look a lot like Mumsy's rose-covered cherry trees) with absolutely no idea how to get there. But, then again, I also knew absolutely nothing about chickens 3 yrs ago, so there is hope! Teach away, Mumsy.

 

[MumsyII]

Many folks have problems getting started. They look at their whole property as one big job that seems just too much to conquer. Other folks have inherited a mess that they think must be cut to the ground in order to start over. Still others may just be starting out with little to no experience. For all these groups, it just seems too over whelming to get started.

If there was one bit of advice I could share right off it would be this: Don't look at the big picture. Think about where you spend the most time outside when you get a chance to relax right now. Or where do you walk by every day multiple times a day? Could it use do over? Would you like that one space to be something special? Would you like it to be a teaser passage into a more secluded area?



There are many bowers, arches, and pass ways from one area to another on my property. They beckon a visitor to go through to see what is on the other side. Mystery is the essence of romance. This bower is covered by a Japanese Multiflora Rose and honeysuckle. The fragrance of the rose is like honey. We cut it back every three years and let it start over. Once blooming roses bloom on new wood so if it's pruned heavily, there will be no bloom for that next season. We don't mind. It rejuvenates without fertilizer or spray. One of the heartiest roses on the planet.

Think of your outside space much like you do your inside space. Break it up into garden 'rooms'. Do you want a secret shade garden? A bower of blooming vines over a tea pavilion? A potager garden? (French for soup garden). Cutting garden? A children's garden? Chicken grazing friendly wild area? Do you want to disguise an ugly view. The list is as endless as your imagination. The point is, think in terms of 'What do I want now. What can I realistically create with what I have in this spot this year. Then make a plant list and start checking things off it as you bring them home and get them in the ground. I generally bring three of any perennial on my list home on the same day. Never fails if I wait, that variety may be gone by the time I go back.



The Rose Maiden is in the secret heart of my garden. She has been standing watch over this spot for two decades. One of my favorite features. I kept to a budget for some time before I could bring her home. Statues are not for everyone but I find one special one in a secret area that must be discovered, can bring life to an otherwise dreary garden.

If you have good relations with your neighbors, this is terrific! You can share plant starts with each other. Everyone I know with Iris, daylilies, wants to share. By the way.... Iris and daylilies are shunned by deer and rabbits normally. I've collected quite a few over the years. They've been coming back for over twenty three years now. I never fertilize them and they thrive. Same with Peonies. Tricky to divide and start but once they get established, they will thrive for fifty years in one spot. I know this because I got mine from my mothers clump that she planted in 1968 that she got from my Grandmother and mine are twenty three years old and never been moved. Iris, daylilies, peonies, and many others are old fashioned flowers that when planted with June blooming shrubs make for a lovely border.

 

[TexasLisa]

If you have good relations with your neighbors, this is terrific! You can share plant starts with each other. Everyone I know with Iris, daylilies, wants to share. By the way.... Iris and daylilies are shunned by deer and rabbits normally. I've collected quite a few over the years. They've been coming back for over twenty three years now. I never fertilize them and they thrive. Same with Peonies. Tricky to divide and start but once they get established, they will thrive for fifty years in one spot. I know this because I got mine from my mothers clump that she planted in 1968 that she got from my Grandmother and mine are twenty three years old and never been moved. Iris, daylilies, peonies, and many others are old fashioned flowers that when planted with June blooming shrubs make for a lovely border.

Mumsy I am into hobbits/dwarf and animal statues. I have them peeking out in different areas of my yard. You said irises and daylilies are shunned by deer and rabbits. So if I planted these around my garden, would that help to keep them out?

Lisa

 

[MumsyII]

Clay soil. *Ugh* I have that in the back of my property. Old roses will do well. So will fruit trees. There are a couple ways to go about it. Sand is the best but will be back breaking hard to mix in without powerful equipment. I have done my planting in clay like this.

I think about the plants I want and dig holes three time larger than the root ball or pot. I consider that plant having to live in a pot while it's in the ground. The outside edge of the clay soil will be like the walls of a pot. In this hole I will put the compost, a bit of sand, or my secret recipe for growing. (more on this later)

It will take fruit trees about three to five years to fill the hole before their roots start to break into that clay down there. Roses will start thriving faster. The most important thing about growing in bad clay soil is water retention. If standing water sits for too long over the tops of plant roots, they will die. Excellent drainage is crucial.
If you have the time, building raised berms or beds over the top of clay soils will work too. Where does water drain? That is what you need to know. Turn on a hose over the spot you are considering planting. Which direction does water flow? Will it flow towards your house, coop, the neighbors?
You can dig out a test hole. Fill it with water and time how long it takes to seep away. If water is still in that hole a day later, you've got a problem.

 

[MumsyII]

Mumsy I am into hobbits/dwarf and animal statues. I have them peeking out in different areas of my yard. You said irises and daylilies are shunned by deer and rabbits. So if I planted these around my garden, would that help to keep them out?

Lisa

I would love to see pictures!

Keeping the deer and rabbits out is one thing I could spend a lot of time talking about. They are my number one challenge. There are many plants they don't like in my garden but are eating them down the road in the neighbors yard. Deer especially are such connoisseurs.

What I find is if you concentrate on planting lots of things they don't like they will move on and browse in another area or leave your yard and go munch in the neighbors roses instead. So I plant iris, daylilies, Euphorbias, and lots of other things throughout the whole place. Every year I would divide them or reseed in new places until every corner has them. It's a never ending battle to find sneaky non lethal ways to discourage them. I can type out and post a huge list of plants that munchers don't like in my region. There may be many other things like this where others live.