GardenBanter.co.uk - View Single Post - Albizia Julibrissin Rosea flowering in England ?

Sacha[_1_] · 22-12-2006, 07:49 PM posted to uk.rec.gardening

On 22/12/06 19:15, in article ,
"Chris Hogg" wrote:

On Fri, 22 Dec 2006 06:07:02 +0000, Sacha wrote:

On 21/12/06 18:35, in article ,
"Chris Hogg" wrote:

The British Regional Geology Memoirs published by HMSO have some
limited information on soil types. Much of Devon and Cornwall consists
of slates and shales that weather to neutral or slightly acidic clayey
loams. Granite intrusions down the spine result in poor quality peaty
acid soils. The area east of Dartmoor (Ashburton-Buckfastleigh-
Brixham-Torquay, Sacha's patch) is a right muddle, with other
intrusive igneous rocks as well as slates, red sandstones, small
patches of limestone (e.g. around Buckfastleigh and at Kent's Cavern)
and even a little chalky stuff near Haldon. The red soils of Devon run
approximately due north from Torquay to Exeter and beyond, a
consequence of the underlying red sandstones. As you go further east
through east Devon, Somerset and west Dorset the soils become more
limey, with marls and greensands and eventually chalk proper when you
get into east Dorset and Hampshire.

That's absolutely fascinating, Chris and probably explains why one side of
our garden seems different to the other!!

Despite my saying the geology's a muddle in your area, the scale of
these things is such that you'd have to be unlucky to be slap bang on
a boundary between two different rock types, but I suppose it does
happen. You could check with your local library to see if they have
the geological map for your area to find out for sure.

We could but we probably won't. ;-) Ray has been here 25 years and has
pretty much figured out what works where, though he does like to 'push the
envelope' from time to time.
--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
http://www.discoverdartmoor.co.uk/