Hi,

my front bed is very much clay. I have incorporated a fair amount of grit
(leftover stuff from building a past rockery) and planted into this bed.
However, the clay still predominates and pooling of water is occurring.
The previous occupant of my house grew lavender very successfully in this
bed, which had to be removed due to repair and redecoration of the front of
the house. So I have replanted lavender vera and a few pansies in between
to give a bit of colour until the lavender grows larger.
However, one lavender plant has already died!

I am limited with cost here so don't want to buy bags and bags of compost to
incorporate. My homemade compost (and there was lots) has gone into the
back garden and is doing wonders!

What can I dig into the clay, around the plants, which is of a reasonable
cost and will help to break up the clay to avoid the pooling of water.

Any advice would be welcome.

Jo

Compost is the cheapest option, so think about how you can increase the amount you make.Do you add cardboard and paper to it? Can you get extra stuff from neighbours? Can you volunteer in a local park and bring home extra stuff?

If drainage is a problem, consider raising the level of the bed by 6 inches, and choose fairly shallowly rooted stuff.

This is all too late for this season, so you could consider standing some things in pots in between the pansies just to give yourself a show for this summer.

"Jo" wrote in
o.uk:

Hi,

my front bed is very much clay. I have incorporated a fair amount of
grit (leftover stuff from building a past rockery) and planted into
this bed. However, the clay still predominates and pooling of water is
occurring. The previous occupant of my house grew lavender very
successfully in this bed, which had to be removed due to repair and
redecoration of the front of the house. So I have replanted lavender
vera and a few pansies in between to give a bit of colour until the
lavender grows larger. However, one lavender plant has already died!

I am limited with cost here so don't want to buy bags and bags of
compost to incorporate. My homemade compost (and there was lots) has
gone into the back garden and is doing wonders!

What can I dig into the clay, around the plants, which is of a
reasonable cost and will help to break up the clay to avoid the
pooling of water.

Any advice would be welcome.

Jo




Is your house/plot on a incline? Maybe at the bottom of a hill?

Baz