Hi,

I'm going to be sowing a wildflower meadow in a steep verge at the back of
our garden, approx 40ft long X 14ft high with a flat top about 6ft wide.

I've found a great site (no spamming, but it's in Ireland) that sells
(what appears to be) probably the best mixes of seeds.

The problem is, I'm having difficulty identifying my soil type, so I can
choose an appropriate mix.

I live in the NE of Scotland, about 500 yards from the coast, and as you
can guess it's very exposed and windy, short but warm summers, and lots of
rain (of course). The area is not very much above sea level.

The area for sewing is currently home to some very healthy looking wild
grass and weeds - in fact the dock plants are absolutely huge and the
grass in an incredibly dark green. I don't have a soil kit, but I'd guess
it is very high in nitrogen and probably alkaline.

I'd describe the soil as:

Top - light grey in colour and silty texture (when dry).
2 inches down - darker, almost beige colour, going silty/sandy.
6 inches down - heavier, very sandy, traces of clay.
Full spades length - Heavy moist silt/sand and big solid lumps of clay.

The website I'm looking at has a few classifications, but none seem to fit
100%. The choices are (brace yourself):

1. Fertile Top Soil (moist, rich in humus) - Definitely not.
2. Clay and Gleys (sticky top soil) - Clay yes, but not on top.
3. Dry Loam and Verges (improved soils) - Verge yes, but not that dry.
4. Sandy Soil or Stony Till (pH 7.9) - Yes, but *how* sandy is sandy?
5. Moist Soil with a high peat content - Definitely not.
6. Moist Acid Soils (acid / neutral pH 7) - Acid? Moist yes.
7. Dry Acid Soils (often shallow over stone) - Acid? Few stones.
8. Moist Alkaline / Lime Soils (alkaline, pH 7) - Don't know.
9. Dry Alkaline / Lime Soils (alkaline, pH 7) - Not dry. Alkaline?
10. Dry Soils on Steep Slopes - Dry top and slope, yes - but deeper?
11. Wet Soils on Steep Slopes - *How* wet is wet?
12. Shaded Soils on Steep Slopes - Not shaded.
13. Free Draining Soils in High rainfall areas - Free draining with clay?
14. Wet Acid Gley and 'Cutaways' (pH 7) - No idea?
15. Alkaline Brown Earth - Don't know.
16. Neutral to Acid Brown podzols - Don't know.
17. Shallow Soil over Rock - Definitely not.
18. Raw Impoverished Sub Soil - Could be.
19. Wet Soil (never dries) - Dry on top.
20. Upland Soils (short summers) - Short summers, yes - upland no.

Choices, choices ... but which one?

TIA,

-
[H]omer