Question about soil treatment before planting

[hikerguy62]

Hello,

We have two areas (one about 15'x7' and the other about 10'x3') that desperately need to be landscaped (images below). We live in Durham, NC, where the soil has a lot of clay. If we plan on planting a number of small plants and shrubs, should we replace roughly the first foot of soil and put better soil in, or somehow mix the existing soil with other organic material before planting new plants and shrubs?

[imafan26]

First I would consider getting a soil test. You can add organic matter, but fertilizer will depend on your soil test results. Your sol soil does not look bad, something is growing. But you will need to amend it for any landscaping to get a good start. If there are weeds, take care of them first or you will be spending a lot of time later weeding.

https://www.almanac.com/soil-preparatio ... l-planting