How do you plant a clay soil garden?
A heavy soil, sticky in winter and cracked in summer: clay is no obstacle to a beautiful garden, as long as the garden is designed for it.
Florence Merrien, garden designer and creator in the landscape and a graduate of the École nationale supérieure de paysage, designs your project and supervises the works.
Clay keeps the memory of water: a well-designed garden makes it an ally, never an adversary.
Before drawing
Reading the soil before drawing
Looking for a landscape architect for a clay soil garden? We read the soil and choose plants that thrive in it, drawing on what we have tested in the agency’s own garden.
Observe
Listening to what the earth says
Water standing after rain, soil sticking to your boots, cracks in summer: all signs of a clay soil.
Probe
Opening a few windows into the soil
A few holes dug with a spade, in several places in the garden, show the depth and nature of the soil.
Have the soil studied
Calling on experts when needed
The shrinking and swelling of clay can affect a house’s foundations. A soil survey, carried out by a geotechnical engineer, assesses the risk: it is not part of our work, but we point you in the right direction.
The project
Designing for a soil that holds water
Slow water down and let it soak in
Letting water find its way
Gentle slopes, planted swales and permeable ground avoid hollows.
Don’t compact
Walking on tiptoe
Waterlogged soil is never worked, and site machinery is moved around so as to spare the earth.
Improve the surface
Feeding rather than replacing
Compost and mulch rather than new soil. Adding sand on its own is best avoided.
Choose the plants
Plants made for this soil
Plants that tolerate heavy soil, planted in autumn or early spring.
Frequently asked questions
How do you design a garden on clay soil?
By reading the soil first, then designing the garden to manage water: gentle slopes, dense planting, mulch. We draw the project, choose the plants and supervise the works.
Should clay soil be replaced?
Rarely. It is better to improve the surface with compost and mulch, and to choose plants that thrive in it. A large planting hole filled with light soil can turn into a sump that holds water around the roots.
Which plants suit clay soil?
Dogwoods, viburnums, panicle hydrangeas, rudbeckias or asters do well in heavy soil. The choice also depends on the aspect and moisture of your land: we work it out during the advice visit.
Our expertise
Our other areas of expertise
How do you design a sloping garden?
Terraces, low walls and steps: the slope becomes an asset, a garden you discover step by step.
Design a sloping gardenDesigning a garden with a pool
A pool that settles into the landscape: decking, planting, shade and privacy.
Design a garden with a pool
Shall we talk about your project?
We work in Paris, the Yvelines and the Hauts-de-Seine and, on request, anywhere in France and in neighbouring countries.