A Guide to Raised Flower Beds

Gardening has probably never been more popular and with so many people delighting in this most rewarding of past times, the gardening community has found itself welcoming every type of gardener – and every type of garden.  From small gardens to large, from heavy clayey soils to light sandy ones, from sloping lawns to flat, the conditions one is saddled with – your botanical lot in life, as it were – will have a considerable effect on what you can grow. Certain flowers demand a certain soil, some need drainage, some need sun and so on.

Gardening has probably never been more popular and with so many people delighting in this most rewarding of past times, the gardening community has found itself welcoming every type of gardener – and every type of garden.  From small gardens to large, from heavy clayey soils to light sandy ones, from sloping lawns to flat, the conditions one is saddled with – your botanical lot in life, as it were – will have a considerable effect on what you can grow. Certain flowers demand a certain soil, some need drainage, some need sun and so on.

But are we really so restricted? A fashionable trend in the gardening world right now is raised flower beds, and this is little wonder when you consider that these simple constructions – which allow the gardener to grow flowers in whatever soil is needed whilst still incorporating them into the garden – have really opened up gardening possibilities to millions. And the best part is, they’re neither difficult to create nor maintain – which perhaps accounts for their popularity!

Raised flower beds are deposits of soil contained within a structure which, as the name suggests, raises them above an existing level. This means that whatever type of soil you have (or even don’t have), growing precisely the plants you want remains an option.

Raised beds also eliminate the hassle of the considerable landscaping that might be necessary to create the conditions for what you want to grow such as removal of large amounts of soil or the pulling up of slabs etc.

Raised beds are available pre-made but you can also build them fairly easily. Wood is the most common and popular material. And once your raised bed is completed, all you need to do is fill it with soil and you’re all set.

Raised flower beds are deposits of soil contained within a structure which, as the name suggests, raises them above an existing level. This means that whatever type of soil you have (or even don’t have), growing precisely the plants you want remains an option.

Raised beds also eliminate the hassle of the considerable landscaping that might be necessary to create the conditions for what you want to grow such as removal of large amounts of soil or the pulling up of slabs etc.

Raised beds are available pre-made but you can also build them fairly easily. Wood is the most common and popular material. And once your raised bed is completed, all you need to do is fill it with soil and you’re all set.

When it comes to actual construction of a raised bed, all that’s required is some rudimentary DIY skills – being handy with screwdriver, a saw etc. – and a little bit of time out of your day. While you can build and purchase raised beds in several materials, wood is by far the most common and the easiest to construct.

Tools for this job resemble many others that you’ll be well-familiar with should you have any experience in simply DIY. For cutting the timber, of course, an appropriate saw is needed and you’ll require a drill, a screwdriver and screws to piece together your raised bed. A work bench and a measuring tape will help you keep everything aligned and in proportion.

So long as the soil (if indeed you’re building on soil) is not waterlogged or frozen, it makes sense to construct your raised beds in the winter, getting them ready for summer growing season.

Before you start building, you’ll need to scope out your dimensions and decide what size you’re going to need for what you want to grow. You’ll also need to consider the pathways between the raised beds, as you’ll want to be able, not only to walk, but to get a wheelbarrow down these. 45 cm is the minimum path width you’ll require for a wheelbarrow.

In terms of the width of your raised bed, anything over a meter will cause difficulties with reach when it comes to tending your plants so it’s advisable to keep it under this. Between 50 and 90cm is a good rough bracket.

When it comes to length, its soil weight you need to think about. Wet soil can be remarkably heavy and put a lot of pressure on your raised bed’s walls so keeping it under 2 meters in length is advisable. If you go over this, you might need to look at braces to avoid any damage.

The third and last dimension, height, will determine soil depth (and in turn, how much soil you’re going to need). For planting over the hard surface of a raised bed, you’re going to need minimum soil depth of 15cm, so make sure your raised bed can accommodate this.

When constructing your raised bed, you’ll need to cut your timber to your desired dimensions and work out how many you will need to reach your desired height. The rest is fairly straightforward DIY and should not be more than a few hours work. Add braces where needed to secure the structure.

It’s a great idea to add a mitred edge or lip to your raised bed as this will give you somewhere to rest your tools as you work. To do this you’ll need a mitre saw at 45 degrees to cut the ends so they fit neatly together. Add this to your raised bed and you should be done.

When filling your beds with soil you’ll want to choose the ideal soil for what you want to grow. This can of course vary but, generally speaking, you’ll want a good fertilised soil with a healthy amount of organic matter though it. If you want to recreate the growing conditions of your garden, you can take the turf you cut up to make room for the raised bed, turn it upside down and line the bottom of your bed with it.

If you’re building on stone or some other area with poor drainage, you can create a small drainage layer within your raised bed from gravel or coarse stone. This will help the soil you later add becoming waterlogged.

The answer here is “anything you like” of course! However, there are a few plants that work particularly well in raised beds. Raised beds lend themselves particularly well to vegetable growing. This is because you can control the environment, creating uniform rows to optimise growth. Vegetables grown in higher soil will also warm up faster in the spring, allowing the season to start a little earlier. Vegetables grown in raised beds are also easier to cover in case of particularly bad weather.

Raised beds are also very useful for plants which require very specialised and controlled soil conditions, such as ericaceous or lime-hating plants, and they’re also excellent for creating the aesthetic effect of a discreet display. Plants which require good drainage will also thrive in a raised bed and the ability to build them wherever means they are a great way to optimise sun exposure for the plants that need it.

Raised beds create a different kind of garden and a different kind of effect. In many ways, they hand back control to the gardener, removing the restrictions of local soil type or conditions. Easy to build, they also make the plants grown within them easier to maintain, making the whole gardening experience simply more rewarding in the long run.