Clay ugg!

Joined
Apr 15, 2015
Messages
1
Reaction score
0
Country
United States
Greetings I am new to your site and I am looking for some ideas for a problem area I have in my yard .I live in SW MO and have a home built in the woods on the slope of a very steep hill. My yard is a flat area surrounded by woods and steep bluffs. I have a retaining wall that seperates the yard from the rest of the hill. The problem is that at either end of the retaining wall I have a dead spot, where nature and lawn meet. It is composed of clay and rock and looks horrid . I cant get a shovel into the ground to plant anything ,what can I do . Would it help if I tried to put soil over it and secure it with a short retaining wall and then plant some hardy plant I dont know what to do
 

zigs

Cactus Grower, Kent.
Moderator
Joined
Oct 10, 2012
Messages
9,624
Reaction score
11,382
Location
Kent
Hardiness Zone
9a
Country
United Kingdom
Welcome to Gardening Forums

You could build a raised bed over it yes.

Or you could think about planting succulents on it.

I've got a Yucca that grows in a couple of inches of soil on top of a concrete roof :)

 
Joined
Apr 3, 2015
Messages
154
Reaction score
107
Location
Ct
Hardiness Zone
6A
Country
United States
Assuming this is a steep area perhaps some decnet soil towards bottom of where desired planting is and vines (like the type that grow up buildings) would do. Maybe soil , then chicken wire (To hold soil in place) and more soil for strong rooted ground cover?
 
Joined
Sep 10, 2014
Messages
2,794
Reaction score
3,986
Location
central Texas
Showcase(s):
1
Country
United States
Welcome to the forum, and happy New Home! If I were faced with your problem, I'd start adding compost to the rocky/clay soil at either end of the retaining wall, and plan on at least three years of compost adding before trying to plant anything. In your case, there is no such thing as too much compost. Just spread compost around and keep trying to scratch it in.
In the meantime, get some pretty containers, probably pretty big ones, and plant whatever you want in them and place them in the problem area. Being frugal (many folks call me a tightwad) I'd select plants that could do well in containers for three years, then move into the ground.
 
Joined
Mar 27, 2012
Messages
4,180
Reaction score
2,714
Hardiness Zone
9a
Country
United Kingdom
Welcome aboard, great to have you here! There are some good suggestions so far (y) Have you thought about a rockery? You could plant alpine plants which grow well amongst rocks on hills, and it would create a bit of colour and interest. Do you have a photo of the area in question?
 
Joined
Nov 25, 2014
Messages
256
Reaction score
57
Hardiness Zone
6a
Country
United States
You could do a raised flower bed if you want something immediate because rehabbing the soil to something a little more workable takes a while. Depends on how patient you are haha. I did a raised bed because the soil was almost pure clay in the area I moved to at the time and didn't have 3+ years to invest in making the soil workable. I wanted something that was easy to work and gave me immediate enjoyment.
 

Ask a Question

Want to reply to this thread or ask your own question?

You'll need to choose a username for the site, which only take a couple of moments. After that, you can post your question and our members will help you out.

Ask a Question

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
26,588
Messages
256,620
Members
13,257
Latest member
corncob

Latest Threads

Top