Clay gardening

My sister just moved to eastern PA-to a yard of clay. She is trying to amend soil -, could really use tips. I will be sending out plants soon and will also be taking out some in Oct, when I do a garden digging visit.
Could use some help here folks.
The builder put topsoil back on-cough, cough, choke !!LOL
She has daylilies, iris. lots of flowering shrubs.etc--plus Loads of poison ivy.

I suggest Greensand, small amounts. It sure helped break up the clay in my Asheville garden.

Where can one buy Greensand?

Any good garden center, but maybe NOT at the big box stores. I started with a 10 pound bag, using a cupfull at a time. I now forget the ration, though.

My yard was all red clay when I began gardening 7 years ago. But I've found I can grow just about anything I want. There are a few plants that MUST have looser soil, so I amended the area where those are at the time of planting.

I don't know how big your sister's gardens are or if money is an issue. I garden on a large scale--ripped out ALL grass and replaced with ornamentals in my entire yard. Money was an issue for me so I couldn't afford to completely amend all the soil. Instead, I chose plants that thrive. And I've found just about anything will--hostas, irises, daylilies, ferns, toad lilies, peonies, mints, gingers, yarrow, heucheras, sedums, roses, and so much more. Clay holds more nutrients and more moisture better than some soils, despite my very dry climate and infrequent watering habits.

In recent years, as I plant, I simply put better soil in the hole where I'm putting a new plant. It doesn't require a lot of time or money. And eventually as I plant more and more new plants, I am amending the soil as I go.

Also, mulch is key. It will biodegrade and replenish the soil over time. And of course it helps keep weeds out and holds in moisture while shading plant roots.

Good luck with your sister's gardens.

I have done much the same as ButterflyChaser in our could-be-pottery-if-I-had-a-wheel soil. In a few smaller beds we hired someone to come in and dig out the clay to a depth of about 12 inches and replace it with loamy soil. Those areas present watering problems because they dry out very quickly and it is difficult to maintain proper moisture levels, but it sure is nice digging there! I steadily add compost to improve water retention. In the other areas, I amend the clay where I am planting with compost and sometimes peat, if I'm putting in an acid-loving plant. I dig holes much wider and deeper than normal, pull out the soil, mix it with the amendments about half and half, and plant using the amended mixture. I've been doing this for several years. Another thing I do is to spread the soil from pots (like the mums from the fall that always die) on top of the gardens and work it in when I plant annuals. Over the years this has made quite a difference. Mulching with ground up leaves or compost helps, and I've also been known to dig bunches of leaves into areas that I will be planting in. They decompose through the fall and winter and the soil is much better in the spring. Another technique is "lasagna" gardening. Tell your sister to do a search on the motherearthnews.com website for an explanation of this layering technique. Depending on what she wants to plant, and where, she will probably find that different approaches can be used in various areas of her yard.