Raised bed

[Johnta]

Joined the forum today, so hello everyone.
To enjoy my gardening more I have made the decision for my flower borders to become raised as I really struggle to get down now to weed, look after soil and plants Tec. My question is will I be able to leave existing hardy plants in situ without disturbing them, particularly fuchsia I have in two beds which are over 40 years old and I would l d hate to lose them. Your help and advice would be appreciated.

 

[Marck]

Are you are asking whether you can build a raised bed around established plantings and then just raise the soil level around their trunks and stems? If so, I would strongly advise against this. Many woody and herbaceous plants would quickly expire from such treatment, and even geophytic or rhizomatous types that might survive would likely be adversely or chaotically affected.

As for your Fuchsia, if you must build the raised bed where they are located, then you can try to transplant them, but do realize that transplantinf a 40 year-old shrub is neither an easy nor foolproof manoeuvre. You might likely lose the shrubs even after much effort. As a back-up plan do take cuttings.