Best Shrubs for Clay Soil

In south/central Ohio, we have lots of clay or partially-clay soil. Finding the right plants and shrubs that will tolerate clay soil isn't as hard as you may think.

Best Shrubs for Clay Soil
Planting shrubs in clay soil is no more difficult than in any other type of soil. If your landscape area is composed of clay soil, choosing plants that are more tolerant of that environment will bring you the best results.
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A Real Garden?

I want a real garden.

Since moving here in March, things have been a bit nuts with no sign of it leveling off any time soon, so I didn't think I'd get a garden in this year. As time went on, I got the bug and couldn't stand that I have almost an acre of land and didn't have a single vegetable started.

I knew I'd have to rectify that so planted two indeterminate tomato seeds from last year in egg cups (you can see how I do it here), two roma tomatoes, and a couple of cucumbers. I also had bell and banana pepper seeds left from last year so tossed in a few of those. For some reason none of the peppers ever germinated, but the tomatoes and cukes did just fine. A woman in my area posted on freecycle that she had started too many tomatoes and was giving some away, so I got two from her as well.

It's not going to be much this year as I got a late start and didn't get the soil worked and amended like I should have, but I was determined to get something into the ground.

Here's Tom tilling the area for me. I think it ended up being about 13 x 23'.

I figured this would be plenty of room for me to play this year.

I wanted to try corn, so planted 6 rows of 5 since they need the wind to carry from one row to the next for pollination. I was out there at first light every day looking for sprouts, and was excited to see the corn starting to come up. Unfortunately, only 14 of the 30 did come up, but those that did are doing well.

Here's one of the little guys when first popping up.

Since there are such large gaps between some of them, I thought about planting more in between. Because the stalks need neighboring stalks in order to pollinate and bear fruit, I wasn't sure it would work if some were a couple of weeks ahead of the rest. I thought I had a chance since this particular variety matures at different rates so that you have ears coming in for a longer period; maybe the second batch of the first would pollinate the first batch of the second (did you catch all that?). I had nothing to lose at this point so I gave it a try, planting them closer together than I did the first batch in case I had a poor germination rate again.

Here's a shot of the tomatoes and corn from the other day.

I stuck a few watermelon seeds in the ground too, but they didn't germinate either. I still think it's because the soil wasn't tended properly first, but next year I'll be ready.

Right now I've got the corn, 6 tomatoes and I think 5 cucumber that are doing well and I've got plenty of room left that I need to fill up. I will probably try peppers again from a new pack of seeds, and maybe some sugar snap peas and/or green beans after the worst heat of summer is behind me.

That's it for now. Not much of a garden, but it will help me be more prepared for next year.

Life Gets in the Way

I haven't posted here in so long, it's going to be hard to catch up. Take a look at Marie Anne's Missives to see what has my life in a frazzle this time.

I was so excited to see the perennial garden coming in last month and aspired to fix it up and keep it tidy. It seemed like every day I was finding something new and would run in here to check gardening forums to see what it was. I still don't know what some of the plants are.

Here are a few early photos:

I found these pretty little wood violets in other areas of the property and thought they'd add a bit of early color to this garden. I wasn't sure they'd 'take' when I moved them, but there were so many of them I figured I had nothing to lose. I scattered several of them throughout the perennial garden and not one of them suffered even a moment of wilt, so I got lucky there. They lasted well into the time that other flowers were coming in, so I think I made a good choice.





I was still moving things around, so there are some areas more full than others, and some completely bare. Since this is my first year here, I had no idea what might still be coming up, so anything I did was pure guesswork.

It looks a bit more full from this angle.


Columbine, I believe.

I'm too embarrassed to show 'now' pictures because I haven't tended the garden in a couple of weeks and it has completely gotten away from me. I've so much that needs my attention that I find myself flitting from one thing to the next and not getting any one project completed.

Weather permitting, I'll get out there tomorrow and try to work on it a bit - after the visiting bunny finishes his breakfast of course.

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Hostas, Anyone?

Boy, I didn't realize it had been this long since I posted, but I guess it has. I've been a busy gal now that the weather has started to get warmer. Since I just bought this place a month or so ago, I'm still finding new plants and things popping up all over that need dealt with.

I've got about 10 bunches of hosta that haven't been divided in probably several years, and they are as hard as a rock. There are probably 30 shoots coming up out of each bunch, with a lot more that aren't coming up because they're so crowded, but probably will after division, or at least next year. I've divided some and put them in various areas around my flower beds, and have donated quite a few to others via freecycle. They're worse than rabbits!



This is just one bunch. The large brown/gray mass in the middle is all hosta as well, that seem almost like they're petrified.

I had quite a few variegated hosta, but they weren't as bad off as the solid, and they've divided quite nicely and are doing well. The solids will come around too, just might take a little longer, I suppose.

Here's a couple of shots where I've poked them in various beds. I still need to decide if I'll put other flowers in these areas, and what sort of edging to use as that nasty black stuff that's hanging out has to go. I don't like working with mulch, so need to decide whether to go with a ground cover or something instead.



I've got so much to do to even get these areas presentable, but believe me when I say that they are still a lot better than what I walked into.

So here you have some 'during' shots. I sure hope I finally get to a point where I can post some 'after' photos.

Next post: My perennial garden oasis.

Ok, here's a sneak peek of Ms Molly standing guard, keeping the butterflies at bay.

Birth of an Egg Baby

I spent quite a bit of time in the yard today, trying to figure out what I'm going to do with what. I don't really have a lot to show for my efforts yet (except for a dirty, tired body) so no pictures of that today.

Of the three tomato seeds I planted last week, only the one has come up so far but it is going strong. It went from barely poking through the ground yesterday (see photo in yesterday's blog entry here) to about 1.5" today, so it was time to pot up from the eggshell 'bassinet' to a 'crib' to allow the roots to get longer and stronger.

I had saved an orange juice carton so cut it in half, washed it, and poked a few small holes in the bottom for the 'crib'.



After adding some dirt to about 3/4 of the way full and a thin layer of seed starter mix on top of that, I took the seedling and tapped the bottom of the eggshell to break it so the roots can finagle their way through easily. Since eggshells have calcium, you can leave the little bits of cracked shell right in the soil for an added bit of nourishment for your growing baby.

I set it down into the soil so that the eggshell is about half covered.

I then filled in with more seed starter mix until the eggshell and about half of the seedling was covered, leaving more room in the 'crib' to add more soil as it gets leggy.




I water my seeds and seedlings with a recycled contact lens solution bottle. It allows me to direct the water in a very small area without using much force that might dislodge a seed or damage a seedling.

I just started playing with gardening last year but I started all my tomato plants this way and had 100% germination and plants well over 6' tall with large, juicy red fruit. I'm no expert by any means, but it worked for me!

Springing Up All Over

I'm still curious about what surprises I have popping up at my new house. I noticed these little fingers trying to push through the soil and last night realized they were large enough to identify - I have a bunch of hosta coming up at the front of the house - hurray!


The daffodils that are scattered in a few spots are coming along nicely. I wish I had taken a shot yesterday when they were all standing so straight and pretty. Apparently they don't want to ruin their make-up as they're hunched over and hiding their faces from the rain this morning. (Much like Ms Molly who decided she doesn't like to go potty in the rain).



The buds on the rotund bush in the back yard have started to open, and I found (the hard way), that this particular specimen has thorns. It's not a rose, so I googled what else would have flowers and thorns and I believe it to be a Flowering Quince. They are known to flower in early spring and bear fruit in the fall (some varieties). Mine look very much like the photos I've found of Chaenomeles Japonica, or Japanese Quince.

Regardless of what it is, it's beautiful ...

I still haven't decided what I'm going to do about a vegetable garden this year since I have so much else going on. I planted two leftover bush cucumber seeds in a little pot on 3/31, so I probably won't see anything from them for another day or two, at the earliest.

I also planted tomato seed in three eggshells on 3/28 and noticed this morning that one has championed its way through the soil and is proudly poking its tiny head out. They're seeds I had left from last year and I haven't been too good about keeping them warm, so to see germination in less than 6 days tickles me.

I am amazed at how a seed less than 1/2" in size can be nurtured into a plant well over 6' tall that will bear plentiful fruit to feed us. Another of God's miracles that I am blessed to witness daily.