A raised flower bed is a ready solution to many tricky gardening problems. If your soil is alkaline and your plants need low pH, fill a raised bed with acidic soil. When your ground soil is cold and soggy, the soil in raised beds is warm and well-draining. Working in raised flower beds is also easier on your back and makes gardening accessible for those in wheelchairs. You can construct raised beds of almost anything, but few materials are handier or more attractive than bricks, especially weathered ones.
Draw the perimeter of your raised flower bed in the earth with a sharp stick. Keep the length 15 feet or less and the height under 20 inches unless you plan to bring in a professional to help you. Select a width that allows you to reach the center of the bed from each side. Orient the raised bed in an east-west direction to maximize sun.
Remove weeds from the bed area. Dig a trench 1 foot deep and 16 inches wide along the perimeter you marked in the soil. Smooth down the inside of the trench and tamp with a flat-ended length of wood. Mix concrete and water according to package directions and pour smoothly into the trench, filling to 4 inches below the top. Smooth with the cement trowel and allow it to dry for several days.
Mix 1 part cement to 3 parts sand to make mortar to connect your bricks. Spread mortar on a brick with the trowel as if you were frosting a cupcake, and then press the brick gently into place. Lay a course, two bricks wide, all the way around. Place the bricks in the center of the base of the trench; the base will be twice as wide as the brick wall. Lay one or two more similar courses of bricks until the walls arrive at ground level. Stagger the mortared joints for maximum strength. Allow the mortar to dry for several hours.
Add another layer of bricks two bricks wide. On this layer, leave 4-inch spaces between bricks every 6 feet to allow water to drain from the flower beds. Continue to add similar courses of bricks until you reach the desired height. Make the bed no higher than 12 inches if the underlying soil is healthy and your plants' roots can grow into the ground without risk. If the garden soil is poor, build the bed walls to a height of about 18 inches.
Bring in well-draining, fertile soil from another part of your yard or purchase some at a garden store. Fill the bed with the soil to about 3 inches below the rim. Add compost or whatever other amendments your crops require and work into the soil. Water well and allow the soil to settle for two weeks before planting.
Things You Will Need
- Sharp stick
- Flat-ended piece of wood
- Cement mix
- Cement trowel
- Make your own cement from 2 parts cement to 5 parts sand and 7 parts gravel.
- For a finished look, use chamfered coping brick for the top layer of the flower bed walls. This type of brick is shaped so that the upper half does not have hard edges.
- For best drainage, rearrange the earth outside the raised bed so that the ground surface slopes slightly away from the bed walls.
- Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images