Part 3: The final Countdown   In the last 5 years Glenice and husband Phil, have made so many improvements to the soil . A very difficult spot that experiences 40 degrees C  temperatures in summer and winter temparatures below 0  and even minus 5 degrees C at times. A hard clay soil that had been compacted by heavy vehicles driving over part of it for many years. The planting also included these very tough and hardy plants. Teucrium fruiticans- also known as Germander, is a very hardy small evergreen bush in the mint family with grey stems and undersides of the leaves. 1.2m Phillyrea angustifolia . Drought, heat, frost and salt tolerant. Phillyrea are olive related which explains their toughness-dark green glossy leaf with serrated edge, making a contrast to the other silvers in the bed. Height to 2.5m, slow growing. Alternative to English box. can be kept to under 1m in height Aloes Other succulents Beschoneria yuccoides-Mexican lily, is a perennial succulent with a rosette of slender strap-like leaves that can grow to 1m in length.  Rhagodia spinescens Salt bush-Small, native shrub with silvery, grey triangular foliage growing to approximately 1.5m. Tolerates all soil types and coastal conditions Atriplex nummularia, commonly called Old Man Saltbush, a large grey shrub to 2 m tall and to 4-5 m wide, with brittle woody branches   Glenice said in her post that She said of the garden that; We used a rotary hoe to break up the soil before planting. Spread/dug through gypsum and watered in liquid gypsum Dug through premium garden soil and compost. Mulched the area with fine grade pine bark, sugar cane mulch, straw and tea tree mulch. Continued fertilising any new plants with composted animal manure pellets and liquid fertilisers every 2 to 3 months.Continued to give any plants in the area a deep slow water by hand to ensure they receive a good amount of water closest their roots. Garden at the Berkshires-photo Glenice Buck Selected plants that will cope with the tough conditions that area hot and dry conditions. Over planted the slope- I planted out all the plants with closer spacing than recommended as they will help protect and buffer each other in this tough location. They will grow, settle in and get established more quickly together. When you're dealing with tough locations like this you also need to have patience and give the garden soil time to take in all these improvements. Soil preparation is very important and you should try to hold off planting before the soil is ready - haha! try telling a gardener to do that when there is open soil / spare space in the garden. I didn't wait! I'm talking with Glenice Buck Landscape designer and Arboriculture consultant. www.glenicebuckdesigns.com.au