Ideas for an Elevated Flower Bed Design
Elevated flower beds show off your flowers, help you overcome the challenges of uneven terrain, and make caring for your flowers easier. With elevated beds, you can control the type of soil and the exact amount of water your plants receive. You can even put a bed on wheels to allow you to follow the sun. In siting your bed, choose a spot that is easily accessible and, if the bed isn't movable, receives six to eight hours of sunlight a day. Does this Spark an idea?
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Brick or Stone
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Use blocks of stone or brick to build an elevated bed of almost any height. Match the stone or brick to your home. A bed like this resists rot and lasts for years. Use mortar to hold the stones together, and reinforcing bars to keep the sides of the bed from bowing out with the weight of soil and water.
Tier
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Tiered gardens are a good way to show of a number of plants, or to provide easy access to plants such as berries. Instead of rows of low-growing annuals such as zinnias, where the back row or flowers aren't as visible, tiers allow all the flowers to receive equal billing. A tier on either side of a driveway entrance or built into a sloped lawn makes a showy presentation. Construct tiers of brick, poured concrete, plastic or even short pieces of landscape timbers.
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Wooden
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Assemble wooden planters from dimensional lumber you purchase from the local home supply store. Simple pine will do, though redwood will resist rot better. It's okay to use treated lumber for legs and supports that don't come into contact with the soil, but avoid it for the body of the planter, since chemicals used in treating the lumber could leach into the soil --- and into your vegetables. Build a wooden box the size you need for your bed and mount it on legs to elevate it to the desired height. A row of these planters spaced wheelchair width apart could allow a disabled person to garden again.
Vehicle
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In 2009 filmmakers Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis teamed up to plant a real truck farm --- in the bed of a 1986 Dodge Ram pickup. They lined the bed, filled with soil and planted vegetables, then toured it around to schools, businesses and television stations to tout sustainable agriculture. You can build a bed like theirs if you have an old pickup truck sitting around. Or building a portable garden on a smaller scale, in an old wheelbarrow or wagon. Roll the garden into the best sunlight, or over to the water faucet for a drink, or to the back porch when it's time to harvest your flowers, herbs or vegetables.
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