Preparing garden soil when there are perennials in ground

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Deadherbs Owens Cross Roads, AL Feb 17, 2015

I am very new to flower gardening, planting my first garden last year. I got so excited to see flowers in my new flower bed that I did ZERO research and obviously had no clue that I needed to prepare my soil first which happens to be red clay. I struggled all summer to keep plants alive (thankfully, Lowes kept replacing any perennial I killed). This year Im researching ahead of time and I know I need to prepare the soil but I can't find information on preparing soil with plants in the ground. I planted several perennials including day lilies, hostas, and foxglove, and I don't know how to till or mix soil conditioner and fertilizer without damaging what is already in the ground (given that those plants even decide to come back up this year after the struggle they all had last year). Any advice is welcome!

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kittriana Magnolia, TX(Zone 9a) Feb 18, 2015

You may simply need to start a new bed, or dig the others up. Clay is hard to amend, so fine a grain... consider a raised area or a hugelkulture type of bed? Alabama, I see the problem. Sit down and draw a sketch of what and where you want it- pots can be temporary or permanent homes. Many gardeners plan on retossing their beds every few years depending on where they are and what they want. Jan and Feb are the best times to do this as well as plants are resting for the most part- even in 'bama!

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