"Rodger Whitlock" wrote
in message ...

3. Digging will be a problem: You are likely to find that your
clay is stickily unworkable in wet weather, and too bricklike in
dry weather.

4. Clay puts a real strain on garden tools. Don't waste your
money on cheap, poorly made digging forks in particular. Look for
very strong one. And when you dig, take *little* fork- and
shovel-fulls.

And don't dig unless you absolutely have to. I found a successful strategy
was to pile as much garden compost on the top as I could, and plant shrubs
and perennials into that rather than trying to dig the clay.

In areas where you must dig, try breaking up the top layer with lots of
organic material (I used cow manure and part-rotted compost). Next year,
dig a bit deeper and do the same.

10. Some plants do not like clay soils and will not do well. I
have badly drained clay here, and I find that crocuses do not
thrive, though perhaps that has more to do with winter
waterlogging than the texture of the soil.

I found that gravel made a good answer to this. You make a gravel bed on
top of the clay, then plant your crocus bulbs etc at the bottom of the
gravel, just resting on the clay surface. Helps keep them dry.

--
Victoria Clare
gardening high up in South East Cornwall
http://www.clareassoc.co.uk/
--