For any landscape design or garden, the health of the grass, flowers, bushes, and shrubs within them rely on many things, but perhaps more than anything, it is the soil they are planted in. Regardless of how large or small any landscaping project you are undertaking is, one thing they have in common in order to exist is to be located on soil that is healthy and can provide plants living in it with nutrients.
Property maintenance and landscaping experts told us having healthy soil is something that some landscape designers and gardeners overlook as they become preoccupied with deciding what features to include and what the layout is going to be. Whilst each of them, and the many other elements of a landscaping project are important, they are but nothing if the soil underneath is lifeless and worse, toxic.
One point to note is that healthy soil is about more than just what all the plants are going to be rooted in, important though it may be. In addition, soil has other important roles which include, drainage, the prevention of erosion, and they are also the base that support features within a landscape design such as walls, pathways, and decking.
As you can see the success of any landscape design is very much reliant on the soil, so the next step is to discover how exactly we can ensure that the soil underneath is the healthy soil that we need and stays that way. Here are 5 ways that can be achieved.
Plan Properly: Almost anything that is worth doing properly relies on good planning and landscaping is no different. Rather than implementing a landscape design, only to find out later the soil texture and content are not suitable, assess the soil using the likes of soil tests. Also, think of what potential future changes to the design might be, and ensure in advance that the soil can accommodate them.
Sensible Plant Selection: This could under the planning umbrella, but such is its importance we wanted to separate it out. Selecting plants for your landscape design that are conducive to the types of soils the tests indicate you have, means that their roots will be stronger, grow quicker and thus be able to aerate the soil more effectively.
Provide Protection: Depending on the climate and normal weather patterns where you live, you may be subject to varying levels of rainfall and wind. When soil is eroded by being blown or washed away, whatever is left behind may not contain the same properties as the soil above. The answer is to protect your soil from wind and rain by covering it with mulch or adding large stones to act as wind breaks.
Use Compost: They say the old ways are the best ways, and just as gardeners have been using composts for centuries, today its use is still valid. In particular, compost can be used to enhance the soil by promoting the absorption of nutrients, aiding water retention, acting as a deterrent to bugs and it can help balance the pH of the soil.
Proper Maintenance: Even the best planned and prepared landscape design will need proper and effective maintenance as you go along, and this means jobs such as weeding without the use of chemicals. Also, removing dead plants quickly, especially those which may be diseased, to ensure that disease does not spread to the soil.