Editing Garden design (section)

===Soil===
The quality of a garden's [[soil]] can have a significant influence on a garden's design and its subsequent success. Soil influences the availability of water and nutrients, the activity of soil micro-organisms, and temperature within the root zone, and thus may have a determining effect on the types of plants which will grow successfully in the garden. However, soils may be replaced or improved to make them more suitable.

[[File:Andains de compost, sur une plateforme de compostage.JPG|thumb|Alignment of several compost piles on a composting facility in France]]
Traditionally, garden soil is improved by amendment, the process of adding beneficial materials to the native [[subsoil]] and particularly the [[topsoil]]. The added materials, which may consist of [[compost]], [[peat]], sand, mineral dust, or manure, among others, are mixed with the soil to the preferred depth. The amount and type of amendment may depend on many factors, including the amount of existing soil humus, the soil structure (clay, silt, sand, loam, etc.), the soil acidity/alkalinity, and the choice of plants to be grown. One source states that, "conditioning the soil thoroughly before planting enables the plants to establish themselves quickly and so play their part in the design."<ref>Brookes, John (1991). ''The Book of Garden Design.'' New York: A Dorling Kindersly Book, pp.213. {{ISBN|0-02-516695-6}}</ref> However, not all gardens are, or should be, amended in this manner, since many plants prefer an impoverished soil. In this case, poor soil is better than a rich soil that has been artificially enriched.<ref>Brookes, John (1998). ''Natural Landscapes.'' New York : Dorling Kindersly Limited, pp.54. {{ISBN|0-7894-1995-5}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sustainablehorticulture.com/myth-soil_amendments.pdf|title=Welcome sustainablehorticulture.com - BlueHost.com|website=www.sustainablehorticulture.com}}</ref>