wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi,
I have big plans for my backyard, but am not sure where to begin. I
don't want to compromise the health of my plants for the sake of
speediness / ease.

My yard is 30 x 50 feet. Right now it is heavy clay (mixed with chunks
of brick and other crap left behind by my friendly neighbourhood
builder) and covered with a layer of extremely unhappy sod. In the
spring it is a mudhole, but seems to be drying up now (finally.)

These are my current plans... I plan to put in a hardscape area
(flagstone), a border garden along the whole of the fence perimeter, a
small pond in the back corner and a covered seating area opposite.

I was thinking of putting down a thick layer of wood chip / mulch from
the recycling yard, and tilling the whole mess under (including the
sod.) If I do this, what kind of results / problems can I expect? Any
better ideas?
Is this a poor idea for the area under the hardscape? (I plan to put
in a decent gravel bed under the flags...)

Thanks for your ideas,
Andrea



Some people here swear by some sort of gypsum product that helps loosen
soil. I've never used it, but at least 3 garden centers here stock it. Might
be time to open the yellow pages and see if you can find it.