Well if you don't trust the tree company's words, then have them build you the bed and you can fill it with your own choice of soil, that's what I would do.

I have a raised bed in my front garden, I love it. Here's a pic of my James Galway on the side of my house, my house faces north btw.

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Well, I would let them use their soil after you check it out. I would think the most important quality would be how it feels and the color. A nice dark color that feels crumbly would be the best. If it's like that, then use it. Then if you want to, you can always add compost/manure, etc next year.

Carol

I'd wonder about the ph also, but that is easy to check. As for raised beds, most of my roses are in some sort of raised bed, and do just fine. When you say raised, how high? I did one of mine about 2 feet in height, and I could not believe the amount of soil it took to fill it up.

I made a "lasagne" raised bed for roses in Feb. and planted in late April. I was a little concerned because some posts on lasagne style beds ( I found the link to the lasagne method on the Garden Web but not sure which exact forum) recommend 6 months before planting but my roses have done beautifully all summer. All but 2 of the roses were new this year. I have another raised bed using cedar wood to hold the soil that was formerly for tomatoes but now is all roses. This bed has worked well also.

Use your own dirt. I have three new raised beds that
were built in the last year. I told my DW "our dirt budget
is higher than our food budget". But don't trust anyone
to provide you with the right dirt. I used top soil mixed
with a little Canadian Pete. The last few inches
I used a top grade potting soil. I used MG with slow release in it. You would not believe the results. Don't
use too much pete.

John

John

Redsox:

One other thing to think about. I had topsoil delivered two years running from a local construction company for a giant raised bed last year and this spring a smaller one. According to them it was all the same but really they were like night and day. The soil that was brought this year was really, really sandy. It felt soft and silky to the touch. Since I planned on amending the soil anyway it really was not a problem but before I do that again I will go to the company and evaluate the dirt myself. I just want to touch and smell the dirt before I commit to three more yards of it. I think that would be a good course for you also.

Hope this helps.

Kate

Definitely look at the "compost" first. I have been buying "nursery ready" soil at a local place and it has worked out well, but I always add plenty of mulch too because the soil here is all sand.
msjam- what a stunning color combo- Wow! Brandy

I have put in 2 raised beds.This bed I made with landscape timbers.Its 8 ft square and I put one point of it facing the street to it has a diamond look to it and filled it with some top soil I had brought in,and added compost and cow manure,and some bags of Humus in it.I planted 9 bushes in it and its done real good,except last fall some thing tug tunnels under the soil and ate the roots of 4 of them.One came back out,but had to replace the others.
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Jean

I would beware of too much organic matter. Normal healthy soil has ~5%. It will be a sunken bed if its too high in organic matter, and it gets used up by the soil microbes and worms. I would make it a raised bed with a boundary since its right near the street. I have used a lot of raised berms that blend with the surrounding area, but that might wash away right next to a street. I personally feel the roses love the drainage they get in a raised bed. I also do the same with my winter daphne, and have never lost one.

Kate, I did go by to look at the compost, and feel it. It felt like dirt. I will attempt to mix it in with the clay soil and then let it sit.

Any other examples of edgings?

Redsox:

Good. I'm glad you did that. I learned a lesson this year.

Including a slightly too bright picture of this year's garden. You can see the edging fine however. As you may be aware you can get these stones in a small size and in my opinion they make a nice little bed. We put this together last year and I've been quite happy with the stability of the stones.

Kate

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Kate that is lovely. How long did is take you to assemble?

Redsox:

Thanks! I'll try to give you the thumbnail explanation:

Used to be grass. Then in Spring of 2005 I asked if we could convert it to garden space. We rototilled and without removing the turned grass added newspaper, compost and LOTS of dirt. Setting the stones and putting in the dirt really took us one weekend consisting of Friday - Sunday. My husband worked really hard and I kept up as best I could. So I guess three days of toil with one very strong person one reasonably fit person in a support capacity.

Do you think something like that might work for you? They call the landscapes stones 'keystones' I believe.

Kate

I'm going to try putting a raised bed in my front yard at the edge of the road, so this is a very interesting topic for me. Any advice on putting such a bed on the incline of a steep hill?
Love the edging in your photo, Kate. Does the stone go all the way around the bed or is there something else (like the fence) holding in the dirt on the back side?
Thanks,
Michelle

I'd have a look at the compost he's offering. If it's 2 years old it might be fairly good stuff. Can't hurt to look at it.

I have a tiered raised bed that we did about 3 years ago. It's made with 2 foot square patio blocks stood on edge and edgers all rebared and construction adhesived together. It's been through 3 winters and hasn't moved.

Seil that looks really nice.

Michelle:

The wall goes into the fence. Basically. My old garden area was raised up with railroad ties that created a retaining wall that ran the length of that area. When my husband set the stones in the name of making the whole bed larger he came out about three and a half more feet and about a foot longer on either end. And then it finishes against the fence yes.

Hope this helps.

Kate

I have had very good results when I piled up stuff using lasagna method. In a side by side test the Lasangna plants are XL.