The soil

From the garden journal...

Clay.  Tan, heavy, unyielding clay.  That is what surrounds my home.  I could pot with this stuff, were I a potter.  This used to be farmland. Black, loamy Nebraska soil blanketed this clay...before the developers came and removed all the topsoil.  I have to censor my thoughts on that one.  Pockets of good earth survive in back--oh! the rich smell of it! I could have grown Minute Rice in such soil!

I used my soil testing kit to check the dirt.  A pH of 7.  Depleted in nitrogen and phosphorus, 'adequate' potassium.  Hrumph.

One of my goals here is to minimize the use of chemicals.  Our house is very green--well insulated, heat pump, bamboo flooring.  And I want the garden to be an oasis that will never make me wonder.  I'm sure  the land saw many applications of fertilizer and herbicides and pesticides during its tenure as a Nebraska farm.  That was over fifteen years ago, though.  This lot held nothing but weeds and the trees out back until our house was built, so I think any chemical load is limited now.

Fixing the soil will be a challenge.

We planted fast growing evergreen thujas behind the inadequate spruces in back, digging large holes and adding copious amounts of organic compost and peat.  We moved some of the brown bushes from the front--one Wine and Roses Wigelia and one Ninebark.  I bought a hydrangea and planted it on the street side of the evergreens.  I want to enjoy the view as I drive by the house. 

I 'guerilla' gardened and planted a weeping willow across the creek. What's one more tree among hundreds?  I've always wanted one, there just isn't the right spot over here...

Mistake not the bend
of Willows arms for weeping--
she sways a soft dance.
           
Kate