Soil Health - the Cornerstone of Life

Beginner Gardeners have come to my attention.  Many do not know where to begin, but they know they want to begin. A friend bought a few acres with the plans to 'garden'.  She also is raising chickens.  While I was reducing our garden beds, I potted up extra plants and gave them to her.  But the focus has been on the plants, and I'd be amiss if I do not give her some other information that will make a world of difference in her new garden.

That information is how, and why the soil is so critical to, not only her garden, but to the environment, and, as far as that goes, the planet. Here is why.

Millions, and billions of microorganisms reside in healthy soil.  The eat organic material, and the enzymes they excrete allow the roots of plants to take up nutrients as needed.  The problem I see as an organic gardener is the media blitzes proclaiming the praises of chemical fertilizers (Specifically, liquid fertilizers). Advertisers do not tell of the harmful effects on the soil.  Chemicals kill microbes and leaves the soil dead. Synthetic fertilizers will feed the roots of plants while it is liquid. However, the soil cannot retain nutrients, so more and more applications of synthetic fertilizers are needed to keep lawns or gardens growing. No amount of chemicals can make up for the benefits of good organic material re-introduced into the soil.

Soil structure that is less than optimal can prohibit roots from taking up moisture and nutrients. Also,sandy soil is so porous that water runs through it rapidly.  So fast that roots have minimal time to take advantage of the moisture.  Clay soils, on the other hand, are so dense, that air and water cannot get down into the roots, thereby suffocating them.

By adding compost to sandy soil, moisture is slowly moved through enabling roots to stay moist longer.  Compost added to clay soil open up the pores and allows air and water to move through the soil.  The diagram above indicates that air and water are vital to good soil, and as little as 5% organic matter can make a weak soil into a healthy base.

The term 'friable' may be used in this instance.  Making the soil crumble-able.  Good organic soil will do this easily.

Nature has a way of building rich organic soil.  The forest is a good example of allowing debris such as leaves, bark, and microbes to return to the earth as organic matter.  This decomposing is Nature at her best. Mimicking Nature is the best way to return to a way of living that many have forsaken.

Adding compost to the lawn and garden will go a long way to reestablishing the balance that nature intended.

Healthy soil improves water-holding capacity reducing runoff of surface water and drawing moisture down. 

These roots indicate that air and water are deep into the soil making for a more robust plant.

Organic soil can maximize plant growth by giving the microorganisms in the soil food.  They decompose the organic matter and return available nutrients to the plants.  Plants thrive and provide food, lodging, and oxygen to the world above.

The message I've tried to convey today is that we need to feed the soil, not the plant.  Healthy soil will take care of the plant's needs IF we take care of the soil. 

Landscape Design Dilemma– Visual Clutter

Design Elements That Overwhelm

When I was gardening for clients, our Owner/designer of the company exclaimed one afternoon that the problem was ‘visual clutter’!  We had worked this small garden on several occasions, and then we would go back at the home owners request to tweak the beds once again.  The design was not coherent and seemed messy. 
I have been guilty of this phenomenon in my own garden.  Mainly because I started my fevered passion of gardening as a Plant Collector.  I had to have every plant on each trip to the garden center.  The Plant catalogs didn’t help either, with the endless gorgeous pictures staring back at me.  Without fail, I bought plants and THEN tried to figure out where to plop them into the garden.  If that didn’t pan out, we dug out another bed to accommodate the new residents. 

In other words, we did not have a plan, unless you call planning to buy more, a plan.  We did not consider much more than if the plant needed sun or shade.  Even then, we took to plant to its limits – with minimal success. 

This bed is example of what I call ‘visual clutter’.  Colors are all over there realm of cool to warm.  The individual plants are buried by others, so that none of them gets the respect it deserves. 

This hosta bed is boring.  Similar colors – green – similar textures, and all of the plants are the same height.  Good landscape design should balance these features. 

This section of the garden has some redeeming qualities.  The height of the Knockout© Rose in the back, and the  shorter hydrangea are more pleasing to the eye.  In the foreground, I have the perennial salvia and iris foliage. 
I like the white accent color of the hydrangea and it gives the eye a place to rest.  Too much going on can confuse and I, for one, am confused enough, and a calming restful color holds that key of peacefulness I seek in the garden. 
 
This bright spot of gold from the Black-eyed-Susan, Rudbeckia, Goldstrum, again offers a mess for the eye to focus on. 
Onesys, and twosys, just don’t stand up to the scrutiny of a visitor in the garden.  The landscape design really needs continuity and this is best achieved by planting in groups.  Odd numbers – three, five, or seven – go a long way in creating a cohesive garden. A garden that folks will remember – ‘oh, that bed of astilbes was gorgeous’, or ‘those hosta  looked so vibrant.’


Restraint is not always easy, but I’m learning the art.  I think the garden will reward me with a calmness, and order that I seek. 
Are you a plant collector?  How do you achieve continuity in your garden?