how to add elevation to perennial flower bed

sadie2005

16 years ago

I would like to build up the height of my flower beds along my house...I guess this is called an elevated flower bed? Anyway, can I cover the beds over the winter when the plants are dormant with several inches of soil, or would the roots then be buried too low? I am trying to avoid having to dig up the plants, add soil, then replant. Any advice would be appreciated! Thank you.

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Comments (4)

runktrun
16 years ago
Sadie,
My first inclination was to walk away from your question and let some other forum member be the barer of the bad news. First nothing about gardening is easy and secondly and more importantly you probably donÂt want to change the elevation of the soil abutting your house. Your builder (if he wasnÂt a hack) should have added construction sand and in many cases gravel to the soil two feet from your foundation out into your yard. He would have also spent a good amount of time sloping the ground away from your home, so that the huge sheets of water that collect and are directed by your gutters do not sit and puddle at your foundation eventually causing flooding problems to either your basement or crawl space. Now I have the idea that someone told you that the best/only way to have a good garden is to plant in raised beds!! To some extent they were correct but again along the side of your home is not the place. What you might consider is leaving your existing plants in the ground and each year slowly improve your soil by adding a small amounts of composted soil Â½-1" deep. Over time this should improve your bed. several inches of soil at one time may cause you to loose many of your plants for differing reasons. kt
asarum
16 years ago
Sadie: If you are talking about a place where a raised bed would not create problems as discussed above, and wish to convert a bed to a raised bed, you must replant your plants. They need to be at the right depth and are unlikely to survive being buried.
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bogie
16 years ago
There are a few things that won't mind being buried a bit deeper (but not more than a couple of inches), but most should be raised along with the bed.

Just make sure that you still leave plenty of room between where the top of the ground is and the bottom of your siding starts (I'm thinking at least 6", but research it, don't take my word for it). Otherwise you will have trouble with termites.
ctlady_gw
16 years ago
I agree about slowly amending the soil over a few years -- that's exactly what we did in our current house. After three years, the beds are several inches higher and the new foundation plants (we ripped out the tattered deer-shredded things that the previous owner had) are very happy. I do have to work each spring, when I add compost, to carefully rake out and regrade the beds away from the foundation. Even with just amending soil, I often lift a plant and replant to keep it level with the new soil surface. IF you're going to do it all at once, you will do far better to dig everyone up (don't do it until you are completely ready to begin the work, all supplies and manpower in hand, etc.), then set them on a tarp or newspapers spread IN THE SHADE. Keep them well watered until you can replant them (hopefully within a day or so). The most important thing is to get them back into the ground as soon as you can, then water them WELL. (This is what I learned from a landscape designer around here who specializes in "rejuvenating" existing gardens.)

Good luck!

how to add elevation to perennial flower bed

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runktrun

asarum

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