Tips for Building a Garden Retaining Wall or Raised Flower Bed

A raised flower bed is perfect for adding some eye appeal to the garden. Whether it focuses on an area to plant perennials or annuals, or you have a particular type of grass that is planted in the raised area it is visually appealing to have a raised flower bed in the garden. Here are some tips for building a raised flower bed in the garden using garden block retainers or cedar planks.

Raised Flower Bed in the Garden Step 1: Begin by determining the area in which you will be building the flower bed. This may be an area that is right in front or set back in the garden. You can use this method to create an entire area of the landscaping that is raised or just a small feature zone in the garden that will stand out.

Raised Flower Bed in the Garden Step 2: Remove the dirt and grass from the area where you will be raising the garden. The area should be free from grass and dug down about 6 inches below the base level of the garden.

Raised Flower Bed in the Garden Step 3: Using a garden tamper gently tamp the ground so that it is level and flat. This will create the level surface to begin creating the barrier walls of the raised garden bed.

Raised Flower Bed in the Garden Step 4: Begin laying the first blocks or cedar planks. If you use garden retainer blocks then you will lay each block next to the other so begin forming a row that will soon be the wall. Once you have placed blocks all the way along the edge of the raised bed area you will begin a second row of retainer blocks that is staggered on top of the first row.

Raised Flower Bed in the Garden Step 5: For cedar plank walls, lay the planks along the lower portion and then layer another plank on top. The top plank should stagger over the first plank.

Raised Flower Bed in the Garden Step 6: Once you have built the retaining wall of the garden you may begin filling the raised flower bed with organic rich soil. I like to use a mixture of 20 pounds of cow manure to 80 pounds of soil. Depending on the size and the depth of the raised flower bed you can determine how much soil you will need to fill the area.

Raised Flower Bed in the Garden Step 7: The raised flower bed is really a nice place to plant some small flowers such as peonies, impatiens, or any small ground level flower. They will stand tall in a raised flower garden making the visual appeal on all that color a great accent to the garden and the yard landscaping.