re: New landscaping beds

quote:

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I have a question on the same line as OP. I need to build some more beds. We use the 4” metal border. With the settling and compaction of the bed builder do you just add more soil in a couple years? Necessary to remove mulch first or add on top and let it compost?

Also, is it necessary to leave drain holes in the metal edging? I find our current bed holds water after a rain.

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Yes - for the first several years I would add additional garden soil to the beds as it settled and decomposed. However, as the shrubs grew in/filled out, I stopped doing it. The shrubs, by and large, stay near the same height as the original planting as the roots anchor them in.

I add garden soil on top the of the mulch - I do not remove it first.

I don't use edging, but if you feel/observe that a good amount water is being retained in the beds, to sogginess, for 2 to 3 days following rain, then it would probably be a good idea to add weep/drainage holes in the edging. Root rot, from excess moisture, will kill many shrubs with higher frequently than drought (as during drought people will water their shrubs) - bottom line, a well-drained landscape bed is important to the health of most landscape plantings.