Hi,

I've now excavated my pond and I am now left with a puzzle. The subsoil is almost solid clay and although I kept some of the topsoil asside I am left with a mound which is very steep with large lumps of clay. What can be planted on a mound like this. I assume the lumps will break up over time and I will try to remove the worst. I have cut some tiers to the bank ( and used the topsoil) but a lot of the bank is still steep and heavy. I thought about alpines but the bank is huge and will take a lot of covering.

Any advice please?

Mark.

jane wrote:
On Wed, 1 Jun 2005 09:14:03 +0000, clokemg
wrote:

~
~Hi,
~
~I've now excavated my pond and I am now left with a puzzle. The
~subsoil is almost solid clay and although I kept some of the
topsoil
~asside I am left with a mound which is very steep with large lumps
of
~clay. What can be planted on a mound like this. I assume the
lumps
~will break up over time and I will try to remove the worst. I
have
cut ~some tiers to the bank ( and used the topsoil) but a lot of
the
bank is ~still steep and heavy. I thought about alpines but the
bank
is huge and ~will take a lot of covering.
~
~Any advice please?

The old classic used to be a rock garden! Rock plants can usually
cope
with poor soil, so subsoil is perfect, [...]

I think the style police have arrested the basic rock garden
fashion
these days, but it's an option...

'Ello, 'ello, 'ello! What's goin on ere then? It may, as the case may
be, be my painful jooty to take somebody's name and haddress! Hany
so-called rock garden what don't look like as if it were there since
the last Ice Age constichoots a noffence hunder all known laws of God
and man, and hany sub-sections, local bye-laws for the time bein in
force, and heternal principles of good taste there appertainin to.
Hexceptions may from time to time be made hunder such reglations as
may be applicable to such dry-stone walls, banks, or other
constructions as may be deemed in keepin with the hestablished
custom, practice, and geological constraints of the locality
concerned.

Alpines in a neap of clay, hindeed? Rock plants on subsoil? Bein as
the suspect known as Jane as pervided hotherwise sound, constructive,
and sensible hadvice, and as not at this moment in time committed
hany hovert hoffence, I may on this occasion be perpared to hexercise
my discretion and hishoo a simple caution in the matter of hany
happarent hincitement to the commission of a possible or putative
hinfringement on the part of third parties as yet un-named. The
reason bein is that the suspect is of previous good character. But we
in the Style Unit ave sharp eyes, and a long harm.

SPC 620 Mike.

clokemg writes

Hi,

I've now excavated my pond and I am now left with a puzzle. The
subsoil is almost solid clay and although I kept some of the topsoil
asside I am left with a mound which is very steep with large lumps of
clay. What can be planted on a mound like this. I assume the lumps
will break up over time and I will try to remove the worst. I have cut
some tiers to the bank ( and used the topsoil) but a lot of the bank is
still steep and heavy. I thought about alpines but the bank is huge and
will take a lot of covering.

Any advice please?

I had plans to create a rock garden by the pond, which I did by bringing
in some large lumps of sandstone / ironstone on a lorry, and having them
tipped behind where I wanted to use them. I made a small wall, and then
dumped the clay lumps behind it, with a bit of topsoil. Then I increased
the height of the rock wall, and filled in behind again. The rest of the
topsoil went on top and forms a sloping back to the more vertical inside
of the rock garden.
It took a long time, but the results are really good.

You could always move the clay to the bottom in one spot, cover it with
the topsoil that was underneath, leaving a new hole, and then progress
along so the lumps end up underneath.
--
David

I'd recommend you read "The Damp Garden" by Beth Chatto. It contains
lots of information about planting up clay banks and pond-sides.