Well, without any organic matter to eat, the worms you bring over would just leave. What is needed is organic matter, both to break up the soil, help keep it moist and feed the microherd that will help feed the plants. In the short-term, whatever OM you can add will help, in the longterm, your friend should be looking for OM, and making a compost pile. Spoiled vegetables and trimmings from the greengrocers, used coffee grounds or tea leaves from a coffee shop, etc., etc., can all be collected and added to a compost pile, along with grass clippings, weeds that haven't gone to flower, etc.. It sounds as though you have a bit of experience, so I'll stop there. I don't know how accessible bags of composted cow manure or compost and suchlike soil inprovers are in the UK, but adding a bag/cubic meter of such, along with finely ground bark, to the bed will be a quick start on improving the soil. I don't know if your friend owns or rents the place - if she rents, she may do better to confine her gardening to containers, even as basic as directly in a bag of compost (holes poked in the underside for drainage, slits down the top to plant into, and mulch over the whole to hide the plastic), and not trying to work directly with the soil. That way, all the "good" goes to the plants, especially if she is trying to grow vegetables. And if she uses more formal containers than plastic bags, she can take them with her to her next house. If she owns the site, then she can do anything she wants to improve the soil. Google, or look on these forums, for "lasagne gardening". It will give a basic means of improving soil without breaking your back digging it. You and your friend can use this to make more beds. In the meantime, you can add what you can to this bed, and start a compost pile or vermicompost bin for future compost, to add more later. I would do all you can to improve the soil, as above, then plant your flowers, and keep them well watered. You will probably need to fertilize them during the first year (at a minimum) because it sounds like the soil is less than optimal, and you can't get it there in a couple of weeks, never mind a couple of months. Use a balanced, slow release fertilizer, if you can't find an organic one, which would be that by definition. Diluted, liquid soil drenches would also work. Use a hardwood or bark mulch to cover the soil - it will limit weeds and help keep moisture levels up in the soil. Good luck with your project, and sorry if I covered things you already know.

I really feel like a dodo. At the edge of my largest rose bed are outcropping rocks. Several roses planted there either never grew or are became weak and spindly. Now I've checked the soil depth there and while finding it very shallow conveniently ignored it thinking it's all right. Well I just got another soil test. Everything checks out alright except a somewhat low pH. At the bottom is the statement, "Adequate drainage is important for gardening success". That got me thinking so I need to do that test where you dig a hole, fill it with water and check out how fast it drains. The more I think about it the more I think that is the problem with my roses. If it turns out the drainage is bad what do I do about it? It seems to be something that is quite difficult to correct short of herculean rebuilding or my beds. Raised beds of which I have a couple. I've heard of something called a "French Drain", what is that and would it be another alternative?

Is the weather cool? Looks like it. Maybe water the yellow leaf purple stem plants with a gallon of hand warm water that has a tablespoon of Epsom salts dissolved in it. Use about a half gallon per plant. Are you opposed to chemical fertilizers? If not, add a half tablespoon of Miracle Grow to that water and a teaspoon of Ironite. If you're opposed to chemicals, use a fish emulsion product and something organic that has micronutrients including iron, etc. After feeding the plants, lay some black plastic down around the plants and gather some solar heat to warm the soil for a few days until the plants green up. If you expect continued cool weather, you might build a simple hoop tunnel using wires to make half-circle hoops about 2 feet high and laying some clear plastic over the bed like a tunnel until the weather warms up or until the plants outgrow the height of the hoops. Where are you located?

Merry Christmas !! I had just ordered Smart-pot in 10 gallon, only $9.97 from Amazon (free shipping). I'll buy 3 blueberry bushes this spring (Walmart sells them), put 2 in SmartPot, and 1 in the ground. Didn't know that I need 2 or more blueberry bushes to pollinate each other. Info. from About.com: " Fertilizing blueberries - Blueberries don’t like too much fertilizer. Twice a year in the early spring works well. For organic fertilizer try blood or cottonseed meal, or a fertilizer designed for acid loving plants. Blueberries need friends – To get your blueberries to fruit, you will need at least two blueberry plants for pollination, three plants is even better and they need to be placed relatively close together. Also it’s a good idea to grow a couple of different varieties of blueberries, because they will produce fruit at different times and extending your blueberry season. Protect your blueberries – While growing blueberries you’ll have few pests to worry about other than birds. To protect your fruit from feathered poachers, you can cover your bushes with a light sheet or netting, a few weeks before the berries are ripe." Sam: Do you protect your blueberries from birds? If I put Smart-pot right next to the patio, hopefully there's less pests. I re-post the info. that Bluegirl wrote on pine-fines to buy from Lowe's. I would need 1/4 pine fines with 3/4 potting soil to create the acidic soil for blueberries. Bluegirl in Texas wrote: "I think Amazon has the sulfate of potash for ~ $11 still. See if your Lowes carries the mix ours does. It's "HapiGro Landscape Mix", sold in a big clear bag for about four dollars. Almost pure pine fines to look at it. Here are some photos, the bag is kind of faded, it's a mostly clear bag with white on front. dry stuff inside--looks to be mostly fine pine bark with a nugget or two of perlite. THis is some moist stuff from inside a bucket--finger for size. Pictures & info. above are from Bluegirl in Texas. THANK YOU, Bluegirl, for allowing me to post your info.