The plant will produce new growth where it was clipped. Repeatedly trimming only the outermost tips of shrubs will produce a plant that is bare in the center. Prune hedges wider at the bottom than at the top so that light can reach the whole plant. If you're inclined toward studiousness, most public gardens offer courses in pruning and other aspects of garden maintenance. Soil Looking at and touching your soil can tell you a lot about it.
Darker soil has more organic matter, a good thing.
Much of our local soil is clay. Clay soil is dense-looking, is difficult to dig, and forms a wad if you grab a handful and squeeze. The main problem with clay soil is that it doesn't drain well. If you dig down a bit and see dense bluish-gray clay, you probably have very bad drainage, meaning plants will be sitting in a bog for days or weeks after a rain. Very dense soil will deprive plant roots of oxygen.