If you have ever tried landscaping with clay soil, you must know of its biggest drawback; poor drainage. If not, you can follow this link to know more about different types of soils and their properties. Because of poor drainage, clay soil tends to remain wet long after you have watered the garden or lawn. Clay is very compact when wet and it cracks when dry. Because it is composed of small compacted particles, clay soil is also prone to poor aeration. Therefore, Landscaping on such type of soil is an extremely difficult job.

With the right approach and a little patience, you can amend clay soil and make landscaping easier. One of the best ways of improving clay is to add organic matter. Organic matter contains microorganisms that break up the clay into smaller particles. Adding sand is also helpful as it increases the drainage of clay. You can follow this link for steps of amending clay soil.

Amending clay soil may take several years but you can still continue with your landscaping plans. The poor drainage of clay means that only certain types of plants can thrive in the soil. Several deciduous trees can do well in clay soils and enhance an attractive landscape as well. Examples of such tress include crab apple, river birch, black ash, and silver maple. Conifers are also able to create a good landscape on clay soil. The biggest advantage of conifers is that they are green all year round, meaning that you are assured of a beautiful scenery throughout the year. Use conifers such as ponderosa pine, white pine, and Austrian pine for landscaping.

Before planting the trees for landscaping, raise the bed and use several centimeters of top soil. Go online for detailed measurements. This will prevent the plants from suffocating due to soaking in the clay.

Changing the characteristics of clay soil to suit landscaping needs is difficult and lengthy. The process calls for patience, consistency, and skill as you will learn by visiting this website. It may take several years of adding organic matter and sand for clay soil to assume different characteristics.