How to Make A Timber-Lined Planting Bed

Tired of seeing your grass overtake your planting beds? Choking out your flowers? Pulling grass and weeds out of the bed? This article will tell you how to design and build a timber edged planting bed and where to find the timbers, some suggestions on anchoring them in place, discuss the preparation of the bed and finally, recommend some ground covers to fill the planter. Read it and give it a try!

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• graph paper & pencil
• steel measuring tape
• spade, shovel, rake
• wheelbarrow or wagon
• 2x4 for wood screed
• wood auger or drill & large bit
• used timbers (PT option)
• railroad spikes
• wooden stakes
• reinforcing bars
• small sledge hammer
• wooden stakes-hardwood PT
• weed killer fabric
• sand
• planting soil
• ground cover similar to "Wedilia"
• shrubs and flowers

1. 
    
   TIMBER EDGED PLANTING BED PROJECT SKETCHES

   PICK YOUR BED LOCATION AND DESIGN TIMBER LAYOUT. Study your current landscaping, think about where you need and want the bed. Sketch out to scale on graph paper, your proposed layout. When your scaled plan sketch is complete, measure the perimeter of each bed. Write down the dimensions. This you can show to the person where you obtain your timbers. They will help you find the lengths you need. Next, you need to decide on the type of timber to use.

2. 
    
   TIMBER LANDSCAPING EXAMPLE

   DECIDE ON TIMBERS, LOCATE, AND MOVE ON SITE. Your local home store has a few selections, a local lumber yard or distributer might have some, and you can watch for an old warehouse building demolition to haggle and purchase some from the demo contractor. Plan ahead and arrange truck or van transportation (when I did my original bed, I remember traveling the south Texas country roads adjacent to rail lines, spotting the discarded railroad ties thrown in the bar ditches, and loading them in my family van ... about 8 to 12 was about all I could carry and I made two trips to get what I needed. Today, I would call your local area railroad office to see if they have a current project and if they will "donate" some to a worthy cause ... your weekend project! When you have all the timbers of proper size and type, you can start digging out your bed!

3. 
    
   DIG OUT SOD

   REMOVE SOD AND EARTH TO 4-INCES DOWN. Layout your planting bed on your grass (see tips below). Spade, shovel, and remove grass sod and put in wheelbarrow or wagon. Retain some earth for leveling bed bottom after placing and securing timbers. Check your earth base with the 2x4 piece to see if you have removed the high spots and earth is level to place your timbers and sand bed.

4. 
    
   STAKE TIMBERS, ADD SAND BASE

   PLACE TIMBERS, STAKE TO EARTH, PLACE SAND BASE, PLANT GROUNDCOVER AND SHRUBS OR FLOWERS. Check levelness of bed (approximately) after digging. Screed earth as required with 2x4 piece. Place timbers in each side, allow for overlap, or cut with chainsaw if needed. Use hardwood stakes driven in ground and nailed to hold timber while drilling hole for reinforcing bars sledge-hammered in ground. Add extra earth if necessary. Add sand or sand/gravel bag mix. Screed with 2x4 for approximate. levelness. Now you can get your bags or load of topsoil.

5. 
    
   ADD TOPSOIL AND PLANTINGS OR GROUNDCOVER

   PLACE TOPSOIL MIX OVER SAND BASE. Use topsoil from original excavation from wheelbarrow or garden wagon. Shake off grass and roots. Do not allow grass and roots to enter new digging area. Add additional topsoil, purchased from home store or nursery. Add fertilizer if desired. Water and let set for a bit of time. This will help keep your topsoil from having its' mositure absorbed by the sand.

6. 
    
   SLOPED BED OF WEDELIA, IMAGINE A TIMBER EDGING!

   NOTE: CHOOSE TOPSOIL, GROUND COVER, AND PLANTINGS FOR YOUR CLIMATE AND ENVIRONMENT. Ask your local nursery or home store landscape specialist or your neighbors what they suggest. I like "Wedelia" as a hardy ground cover, it grows fast, gives a plush, green base for yellow-orange flowers. Varieties are available, or you can choose from the iveys and jasmine vines, but jasmine have a tendancy to want to climb. You choose, your the one who gets to see your timber-lined planting bed more than anyone else! Have a lawn party "open house" when everything greens up and blooms! Try our receipe for Southern Iced Team...a coming article!

Tips & Warnings

• Locate your timber source and check on sizes you will need, then layout your planting bed accordingly.
• Use wood stakes and a string line to mark your bed, then a spray can of fluorescent paint to mark your digging locations.
• Keep a wheelbarrow handy so you can place the removed sod and earth in it for removal. Keep some of the earth available so you can help level the base before placing sand and planting soil.
• Rembember-Timbers are bulky and heavy! Get some help if you need it!
• Railroad Ties contain toxic materials - be aware if you are near a water supply or small children play and pets roam outside!
• "Wedelia" is a fast growing and hardy cover, take caution with adjacent grasses-that's one reason it works well in timber or masonry-edged beds-the edging deters root creep into lawns!

[grove]

on 10/13/2009 This is a terrifically helpful article about making a planter bed for container gardening. 5* and recommend.

[alishacra]

on 10/13/2009 Great information - thank you!

[alishacra]

on 10/13/2009 Great information - thank you!