Filling dirt around maple tree

[charlessoden]

I have a large maple tree at the edge of a gravel driveway/parking pad. It used to have two trunks, the 2nd was cut down 11 years ago.

My question is what I can do around the base of the tree. To keep the gravel from getting pushed up and vehicles driving too close I'd like to build a raised planting bed. It would only be about 3 ft from the tree. I'd like to fill it with around 6 to 12 in of soil.

I've read that only an inch or two a year is recommended but with the amount of washout that's occurred it seems like the tree sits rather high off the ground already.

 

[TheJollyLogger]

Mess with the root flair of a mature tree at your own peril, it rarely ends well...

 

[TheJollyLogger]

As an alternative, just put a curb around it, no need to backfill around the trunk.