| Home | About | Contact | Site Map | Links | Library |
Unique Home Furniture, Home Decorating and Home Decoration Store
Good Soil:
and other aquatic plants into individual pots. A good soil mix for both is three parts of good topsoil—and in this case a heavy clay soil is fine—and one part of well-rotted cow manure. Cover the soil after planting with a 1-inch layer of clean gravel to prevent the soil from riling up the water. Then saturate the pot and earth before setting it into the pool.
Never plant the tropical lilies in water under 70°F. They will not snap out of dormancy.THE ANSWER, they say, lies in the soil—and no truer word about gardening was ever said. Good soil means good plants. Probably the most important thing you can do before you do anything else in the garden is therefore to get to know your soil. Then, if it needs it— and most soils do—you should find out how you can improve it. No gardener can hope to make the most of his or her garden without at least the minimum of basic tools. What are these tools, and which pieces of equipment are essential as opposed to just desirable?
The type of vegetation already growing in a plot is often a good indicator of the nature of the soil. If gardens are lush with rhododendrons and azaleas in the spring and there is an abundance of heathers throughout the year, it is certain that the soil is acid. On the other hand, if the surrounding country supports a large population of plants that enjoy alkaline conditions, the soil is definitely chalky. The point to bear in mind is that some plants are lime-haters while others cannot thrive in acid soils. If you are starting a garden from scratch it is a good idea to buy an inexpensive soil-testing kit. Test the soil in several places all over the garden: it is possible that it will prove to be acid in one spot and alkaline at a point only a few yards away. A preponderance of marsh plants among the wild flora will give a good indication of water-logged soil. If the whole plot shows Signs of being wet, the ground will need to be drained. Such a spot in only one part of the site, however, provides the opportunity to have a marsh garden or a natural pool as a special feature. Also take note of any particular places where the soil appears to be exceptionally dry, so that planting can be carried out accordingly.
.
