re: New landscaping beds

quote:

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Was curious how high to go, is 8-12" raised above the level of the grass pretty standard for landscaping?

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This is exactly what I do in building new landscape beds, using the garden soil/garden mix/landscape mix referenced by others - it’s just composted forest products with some sand mixed in.

It settles down over time with compaction and with decompostion of the garden soil, so a 12 inch high bed, may be 6 inches high after a couple years. Slightly elevated landscape beds, even as little as several inches, make all the difference in the world to the health and growth of woody landscape shrubs in poorly drained heavy clay soil common to south LA and elsewhere. The vast majority of landscape shrubs do not like “wet feet” associated with planting at lawn grade.

I personally shoot for 12 inches as I like the as aesthetic look of a higher raised bed, but I would suggest a minimum of 4 to 6 inches. And I also build them as you are contemplating - either use non-selective herbicide to kill the grass where the bed will go, or cardboard/newspaper on top, and then the garden soil planting mix on top. And of course mulch on top after planting - I favor pine straw, but that’s me, but mulch, whatever you choose to use, is very important.