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Soil Type

Clay soil

Full of minerals, this soil is fertile but quickly gets cold and waterlogged in winter, and during the summer, bakes to a crust. Sticky mud you can roll into a sausage is a clay soil.

Silt soil

Like clay, silt is fertile, holds water and is easy to compact. Unlike sticky clay, silt soils have a silky consistency.

Sandy soil

Sandy soil has much larger mineral grains than clays and silts. It’s free draining and thanks to the air trapped within it, sandy soil is also warmer than either clay or silt. However, it tends to be low in nutrients, dries quickly, and is often acidic. Sandy soil is gritty and crumbly in texture.

Soil Type

Chalky soil

The consistency of this soil varies considerably depending on its precise makeup – some are heavy, some quite light, but all chalky soils tend towards alkalinity.

Peat soil

Full of dark organic matter, peat soils hold a lot of water.

Loam

Combines elements of sandy, clay, and silt soils to produce the best of all worlds, a soil that’s moist, fertile and drains well.

Plant that thrive in...

Trowel and Soil

Clay soil

  • Rose ‘Roald Dahl’

  • Alchemilla mollies

  • Pulmonaria

  • Syringa Vulgaris

  • Viburnum Tinus

  • Malus (crab apple)

  • Iris

  • Miscanthus

silt soil

  • Mahonia

  • New Zealand flax

  • Willow

  • Birch

  • Dogwood

Sandy soil

  • Cosmos

  • Salvia

  • Larkspur

  • Lavender

  • Phlox

  • Liatris

  • Columbine

  • Foxglove

  • Daylily

Chalky soil

  • Californian Poppies

  • Floribunda Variegate

  • Gypsophila Paniculata

  • Madonna Lily

  • Wallflowers

  • Lilac

  • Philadelphus ‘Snowbelle’

  • Peony ‘Sarah Bernhardt’

PEAT SOIL

  • Rhododendrons

  • Azaleas

  • Brassicas

  • Root Crops

  • Salad Crops

  • Camellia

  • Lantern Trees

  • Heather

LOAM soil

  • Sweet Corn

  • Carrots

  • Spinach

  • Radishes

  • Rosemary

  • Oregano

  • Catmint

  • Western Sword Fern

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