Landscaping Gardens
17 Oct 2008
When landscaping gardens, there is no element that is more important then the soil. Soil quality in landscape gardens tends to vary greatly not only from area to area, but even in the garden itself, so it is important to focus on the conditions in your specific landscaping garden.
Categories of Soil in Landscaping Gardens
In general, soils can be classified in three main categories; Sand, Silt and Clay. The soil that is ideal for landscape gardening is made up of all three, and is often called loam or loamy soil. There has to be the right mixture of each for the best quality garden soil. Soils that have too much clay will not drain well and will stay too wet. Soils that are too sandy will drain to quickly and will tend to dry out too quickly.
All good landscaping garden soils are also held together by humus. Humus is an organic material that acts as a binding agent in holding the soil together. Humus helps the landscaping gardens soil in many ways including:
- Holding in water
- Absorbing sunlight
- Freeing up compounds that are beneficial to plants
- Adds nutrients to the landscape garden soil
- Improves the landscaping gardens soil texture
Humus can be added to the soil in organic fertilizers like manure or compost. These organic fertilizers provide the landscaping gardens soil with the three main elements that are necessary for good soil, namely: bacterial life, water and nutrients. If you have these you will have the basis for good landscaping gardens
