On Tue, 13 Jun 2006 20:08:47 +0000, KBellamy
wrote:


Hi,

I moved into a new house last year and had my garden landscaped and
fully planted, I am trying to maintain it myself but my plants are
starting to die off and I have no idea why, over the last two weeks I
have lost 4 plants and two trees, the leaves on the plants are turning
yelllow and dropping off, the buds on the trees are shrivelling up
turning brown and dying.

On digging up both sides one part of the garden seems to have excess
water which I suspect is part of the problem, we did have drainage put
in but it doesn't seem to have eliminated the issue, this area is
beside the house near a huge fir tree which is approx 60 feet high.

I have done some soil testing and the soil is clay alkaline and
nitrogen depleted but thats all I know and know I'm stuck!

It is very distressing to see everything dying before my eyes and I
would welcome any advice anyone can give me.

Thanks

Could you get your contractor to come back and have a look and
possibly propose some solution? I'm assuming this was an expensive
operation and these losses must be distressing. Some after-sale
service wouldn't be unreasonable. We must hope that the chosen plants
were actually suitable for the ground conditions in the first place.
I have an open mind about some 'Landscape Gardeners'. One lives near
me and is always busy grasscutting, rotovating, laying patios, fencing
and the like. He admired my dahlias in the front garden and confessed
that he'd never been able to get them to grow. Well, growing dahlias
is hardly rocket science! In fact, as long as you keep them fed and
watered, it's quite hard for them not to grow.