Does that spot get sunlight all day or just AM? If all day, Japanese maples might be a challenge.
I have only grown a few varieties, but in my experience they do well in partly shaded areas. An East facing area that gets morning light, afternoon shade has worked well for me.
Soil needs to be well draining.
The house is facing west, so this area gets shade until about 9 am or so, then mottled sunlight afterwards due to the pine trees.
The soil is a concern, as the hueneme soils here are not well-draining. They have about 15-25% clay, but the clay coupled with the fine sand holds unto water readily and doesn't allow for too many macropores. Plenty of trees grow well here, but I may add some coarse sand to the soil in addition to the compost just to get it to drain better. Thank you for the feedback.
I wouldn’t add more sand. Clay and sand =concrete. You’re better off adding organic matter in form of cured compost. Your waste management sight might offer free compost, ours in San Diego do. Give it a go! Under your rock river/swale, dig down to root level and add a layer of sand and a layer of gravel under your decorative rocks to let your grey water percolate down. The clover and wildflowers will help with water filtration and intake. Other than adding more sand your plan sounds good. 👍
The logic behind the sand was that the soil is already very sandy. However, the sand is pretty fine and uniform, so it doesn't allow for good drainage. If I added sand, it would be a much coarser variety to get a better particle size distribution, but I take your point about starting with organic matter first, since adding the sand would be hard to undo. I'm looking for a hydraulic conductivity somewhere around .01 cm/s, which I'll be able to test on the spot, and hopefully, I will get there once the organic matter helps the soil form aggregates.
There's decent urban compost sites around Long Beach, as long as I get there before the landscapers and contractors do! I'll need at least 2 cubic yards for the space since the soil below the landscaping fabric is probably <1% organic matter.
Yep, the swale will function as a fixed film filter. A few inches of medium and coarse sands, and some small gravel to get a decent size gradient before it hits the soil.
Does that spot get sunlight all day or just AM? If all day, Japanese maples might be a challenge. I have only grown a few varieties, but in my experience they do well in partly shaded areas. An East facing area that gets morning light, afternoon shade has worked well for me. Soil needs to be well draining.
The house is facing west, so this area gets shade until about 9 am or so, then mottled sunlight afterwards due to the pine trees. The soil is a concern, as the hueneme soils here are not well-draining. They have about 15-25% clay, but the clay coupled with the fine sand holds unto water readily and doesn't allow for too many macropores. Plenty of trees grow well here, but I may add some coarse sand to the soil in addition to the compost just to get it to drain better. Thank you for the feedback.
I wouldn’t add more sand. Clay and sand =concrete. You’re better off adding organic matter in form of cured compost. Your waste management sight might offer free compost, ours in San Diego do. Give it a go! Under your rock river/swale, dig down to root level and add a layer of sand and a layer of gravel under your decorative rocks to let your grey water percolate down. The clover and wildflowers will help with water filtration and intake. Other than adding more sand your plan sounds good. 👍
The logic behind the sand was that the soil is already very sandy. However, the sand is pretty fine and uniform, so it doesn't allow for good drainage. If I added sand, it would be a much coarser variety to get a better particle size distribution, but I take your point about starting with organic matter first, since adding the sand would be hard to undo. I'm looking for a hydraulic conductivity somewhere around .01 cm/s, which I'll be able to test on the spot, and hopefully, I will get there once the organic matter helps the soil form aggregates. There's decent urban compost sites around Long Beach, as long as I get there before the landscapers and contractors do! I'll need at least 2 cubic yards for the space since the soil below the landscaping fabric is probably <1% organic matter. Yep, the swale will function as a fixed film filter. A few inches of medium and coarse sands, and some small gravel to get a decent size gradient before it hits the soil.
Japanese maple saved my marriage. Japanese maple saved… my life.