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Garden Soil Will Suit:
During the waiting period the area will not be bare; most of the time it will be covered with a green carpeting cover crop. Not all lawn makers, of course, are faced with soil conditions that need such radical modification. In many places lesser preparation will fit the earth for seeding. But of this be sure: it is a waste of time, energy and money to attempt to establish a good lawn where the soil is not reasonably suitable for the purpose. At best you will get a poor stand of grass. In all probability it will get thinner as time goes on. Weeds will prosper and perhaps pests and diseases. You will resow year after discouraging year, always hopeful when the new grass germinates, always disappointed a few weeks or months later. In the end you are likely to spend far more than you would have to do a good job of soil improvement in the first place.
The soil is the most valuable part of your garden. In a sense it is your garden. If you learn to know and understand it and its needs you have gone far toward having a good lawn.THE BETTER the quality of the soil in your garden, the better your plants will grow. If your soil is poor and infertile you will have to improve it. But first, since soils vary hugely in texture, structure and quality, begin by working out what type of soil you have in the garden.
Cultural demands are few. Average garden soil will suit the grasses, just place them in a sunny location. Sedges and rushes will do better if given a little shade part of the day and prefer a soil that is slightly damp. We have many dwarf conifers in the garden, their steely blue and green foliage bright against the snow. A weeping birch that becomes an abstract pattern of waving lines in the winter shares attentions with the Mahogany colored sedums. But every year when winter truly descends from leaden skies above, it's the ornamental grasses that bring warmth and beauty to the garden until it's time for spring to return to the mountains. lumber gave her support as she walked about the garden's edge; and weeding between the slight rows of radishes and tomatoes gave her needed exercise. At that time, about the only product on the open market listed as an aid to the handicapped was an aluminum walker with rubber-tipped feet. Outdoors this was a hopeless item, especially on slopes and in soft earth. Ruth would be surprised today by the number of tools especially designed for people who by dint of age, illness, or disability, have found it difficult to get about the garden.
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