Gardening with Selina

The 5 Natural Elements By Selina Botham

Award winning local garden designer Selina Botham thinks about the 5 Natural elements water, earth, fire and wind and how they relate to gardens. This month taking a look at ‘earth’ and its importance in garden design. All gardeners will know that the earth (soil) you have has a huge impact on how your garden will look and how well plants grow. Soil is precious and fundamental for life. In the times when everyone had to grow their own food, I am sure it was more highly valued. As we become more eco aware and planet responsible I am sure we will start to treat it with more care. It is certainly something to check if you are buying a new build house. Soil is made up from weathered rock and mineral particles like clay, sand and silt and organic matter which is decomposing animal and plant matter, plus microorganisms. It’s a complicated ecosystem in its own right and soil takes years to form and develop. If you have good soil either in your own garden or at an allotment it will be because you or previous owners have tended and improved the soil over the years. This will reward you with plants which grow well and fruit and veg which taste amazing. Topsoil is the top layer and will be between 150-300 mm thick. This is the layer with the organic matter and all the organisms. Below that, the sub soil is inorganic and a lighter colour. The sub soil may be sandy and free draining or in the case of clay it is water retentive. Clay soil, if mistreated, can become compacted even from being walked on when wet. After a building project often large areas of a garden have been damaged by the works and need careful rectification as part of the new

garden creation. If the soil structure has been destroyed it will take a lot of work to repair it. Because soil is a living ecosystem, worms and microorganisms also need time to grow and do their work. When you understand the soil layers, it’s a relief to realise that as long as the sub soil is well structured and can drain and is inorganic, it’s only the top 300mm that you need to worry about and there is a lot that can be done to improve topsoil using the no dig method. Or I have had good results with digging in grit, gravel, sand and compost to help ‘lighten’ heavy topsoil. If that is not feasible or if you need more soil then you can buy in topsoil (only use a reputable supplier and purchase soil which is tested to British standards). The type of soil you have can be analysed and categorised and it will be suitable for a certain range of plants. It’s often good to look at your neighbours gardens to see what plants are thriving. There are plenty of places to go for extra help like the RHS, Gardening - Which and many of the garden centres do have leaflets with plant suggestions according to soil type. If you employ a garden designer they will examine and test your soil and choose plants that will be suited to your soil as well as the sun/shade conditions in each bed. Selina Botham is an award winning garden designer based in Claygate. If you would like to improve and make the best of your garden and need some professional help contact Selina for an initial garden consultation on 07894 553 202 or see her web site for further ideas www.designsforallseasons.co.uk and her facebook page Selina Botham – Designs for all Seasons.