From High Country Gardens April 2006 e-Newsletter  www.HighCountryGardens.com

Gardening with Raised Beds
By Mary Ann Walz

Helping my daughter plant trees at her newly constructed home made me recall why I like raised beds. The earth was hard, compacted clay for about 12 to 18 inches followed by an underlying sandy layer.

Mixed in with the clay were large rocks and bits of construction debris. Any topsoil that may have originally been there had been scraped away. Raised beds are a great solution in areas where the soil is less than optimal.

Advantages to Raised Beds

Ignoring Your Poor Soil is one of the major advantages of raised beds. You can generally disregard whatever kind of existing soil you have and import good soil for your new bed. The new bed should be at least 12 to 18 inches above the surface of the existing soil. If you can't make the bed that deep, then the existing soil should be loosened a bit before adding the new soil. This helps with drainage, especially if the existing soil is clay. If existing soil is sandy this isn't necessary.

Easy Maintenance is a definitely plus because raised beds are easy to tend. Because of their height, just a slight bend and you're able to plant, prune, water, or otherwise attend to your plants. It's also easier to spot those tiny weeds or notice a pest.

Design Benefits
Tying Elements Together of a landscape aesthetically by using raised beds is a good tactic. The change of grade created by a raised bed helps tie a high house foundation to the surrounding land, making it seem as if the house belongs. This is especially helpful with manufactured homes. Using the same materials throughout--bricks, stone, etc--creates cohesiveness.

A Sense of Enclosure produced by raised beds often means eliminating the need of a fence.
Showcase cascading plants or tiny specimens along the edges of raised beds where they'll really be seen. When contouring the raised bed, make a slight slope from front to back or mound it in the center. This slight change in grade shows plants to best advantage.

Using Containers
While not a true raised bed, containers offer the same advantages plus the container itself can add a spot of color to a garden. Treat containers like a miniature garden, within a garden. Use them to try out new perennials or tried and true favorites. Move them around to suit the changes in your garden or change the plants in large, stationary containers as the seasons change.  

However you make raised beds, the key to their success is the soil. If you need to order topsoil, be sure it's real topsoil. And if you need to order over the phone, it might be prudent to have a landscape professional take a look to make sure it's acceptable. After delivery, then it all comes down to fun while creating these above ground planting areas.

How-to Make Raised Gardening Beds
By Cindy Bellinger

Because of the nature of my own garden--lousy soil, on a hill--I have some practice with raised beds. As I completely rebuild my garden this year, I'm taking full advantage of past experience.

Begin

1. Plan in advance because raised beds are not moveable. So consider sun and shade throughout the year. Consider accessibility. If you want a kitchen garden, make it near the house. If you want a bed of hardy, waterwise perennials it can be installed further out. Consider those “gardenesque” elements. Have beds of cascading plants and fragrant, showy flowers near sitting areas.

2. Choose materials carefully because a cohesive garden usually incorporates all the same materials--stone, brick, wood, etc. Unless you're good at mix and match, you'll end up with that hodge-podge look.

You can also use bales of straw to create raised beds for vegetable gardens. These also insulate soil during cold weather. Placing PVC hoops covered with plastic, they make good mini-greenhouses.

Building

1. Concrete footers stabilize bedding walls and don't have to be massive; only four to six inches deep will do. For forms to hold the soft concrete, use scrap wood held in place with rebar and mud. For mixing concrete use three parts sand, one part cement. Keep adding water until it feel like thick mud. It's fun; just get into it.

2. Have enough material--either from collecting or delivery.

Bricks (red or cinderblocks) give a neat and orderly look. The red ones often need cutting; not easy if you don't have the right equipment.

Stones produce an earthy appearance. Consider color and type--granite, river rounds, smooth, jagged.
o If using stone, for either dry walls or mortared walls, you'll quickly develop an eye for choosing shapes that fit together.

Yes, making raised beds yourself takes time and muscle. But there's nothing more rewarding that to walk around your garden knowing you did it yourself.