New Garden Soil Questions

Hi all. I have just landscaped my garden but just had a few queries that I was hoping some of you more knowledgeable gardners could help me with

1) I just wanted to ask if it's normal for the grass to still be spongy in places just over 3 weeks after completion? I am not walking on it but just tried one area to check and it felt spongy as well as a few areas of the borders when I planted some evergreens. I am hoping as it was laid in late October and the weather has been quite wet and coldish that it should improve in the spring. Would that be correct?

2) How deep does my topsoil need to be for general shrubs that can grow up to a 1m. I currently have about 6 inches of topsoil over clay.

3) When planting shrubs, how much space do you need from the fence? forexample a shrub with 80cm spread and 1m height, I planted about 40cm from the fence?

 

Was the soil firmed down before the grass was laid.
Was it topsoil on top of clay.

 

Hi Pete, I didn't see whether they compacted the soil but assume they did, and it was topsoil on top of clay soil

 

Thanks. Do you think the topsoil level is enough to sustain the shrubs?

 

I'd be inclined to dig out deeper holes for the shrubs and mix the clay with the topsoil.

 

Just a bit worried that if the topsoil under the lawn is "floating" on the clay you could be planting into a sump where the water from the lawn will drain into.

I'd dig a test hole about a foot to 18ins deep and see if it fills up with water.

 

Was there anything incorporated into the clay prior to the fresh topsoil going down which was advised in another thread. The weather has been wet lately but I can see problems in the future if topsoil was laid directly on top of clay, especially on the lawn.

 

Nothing was mixed before putting topsoil but garden is higher then both next door gardens if that makes a difference. When I dug for the shrubs I saw no sign of water trapped on the clay below the topsoil.

 

Its not something you are likely to see immediately, you need to dig a hole and leave it a few days.

 

Sorry, yes I dug deeper for the shrubs and topsoil is mixed with the clay.

 

Hi all, an update. I walked on grass today and still some spongy areas. Is this normal or should it resolve by spring?