If any backyard furniture deserves an award for being highly utilitarian, the raised garden bed is a top contender!
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In essence, a raised bed is a massive planting box. It doesn’t sound like much when it’s described like that, but it solves a lot of problems. A raised garden bed provides drainage so your plants don’t get their feet wet. The enclosed space and elevated design makes your garden harder to reach for critters and pests. And it keeps your backyard looking organized and tidy.
The best part about garden beds, though?
You can design them however you want.
Whether you want to add an irrigation system, a place to sit and relax, decorative details to enhance your yard, or hardware cloth underneath the soil for better protection against pests, a raised bed can accommodate all of these and much, much more.
You don’t even have to work super-hard to build one, as there’s some which can be assembled in a couple hours!
This massive round-up of garden concepts and plans has something for everyone – from simple straightforward designs for the beginner to those that take lots of experience and offer a bit more challenge. Here’s my list of fifty different plans for you to choose from, organized in size order for ease of selection!
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Small Raised Beds (under 4 feet)
2×2 Raised Planter
This 2×2 garden bed suits flowers and herbs and can fit even in the tightest of backyards. Building this planter could require a table saw, miter saw, drill driver, and a Kreg Jig, but you can do it without a lot of tools if you’re crafty. The design is a tad more intricate than other garden beds. So be prepared for a bit of a learning curve if you’re a non-pro.
Build This Raised Bed
The Herb Wheel Planter
This wheel garden planter spans 32 inches wide, but the space available for planting is much less than what you get from a typical square garden bed. On the other hand, it looks anything but typical and can make for a lovely (and affordable) addition to your backyard.
If you fancy trying this DIY idea, know that you will need more than a dozen different tools and materials – from saws of different sizes, nail gun, sander, to kreg jigs and more. But worry not! This guide comes with easy-to-follow directions and illustrations.
Kid-Sized Raised Planter with Legs
Few things in life are as pleasant for a green thumb than to see their little one get into gardening. The latter helps children grow closer to nature, develop life-skills, and gain mental clarity. If your child is showing interest in plants and nature, this raised bed might just encourage him to take the plunge. This DIY project has just the right size for kids. It has enough space to accommodate small vegetables, and it’s movable, too.
Deck Post Herb Planter
Are you a herb lover? If you are, then you’ll dig this herb planter. It doesn’t take much to build – a free afternoon, basic carpentry skills, and supplies you can easily find. The raised herb planter is compact and able to withstand the weather. And with hooks on the side, you’ll also have a place for hanging your gardening tools.The guide doesn’t leave out any detail, and it also comes with a cut list you can print out.
Multi-Level Garden Bed
Do you love planting cool season vegetables like beets, broccoli, and cauliflower? Perhaps you’re wondering how you can extend their longevity into the summer months. If so, you must check out this multi-leveled garden planter. Not only does the planter’s height protect it from stray animals, but it also provides shade to cool season plants, while allowing summer plants on the upper level to bathe in the sun.
Vertical Garden Pyramid
Vertical gardening is growing in popularity, and it’s not surprising. This method is easier to maintain. Harvesting is hassle-free, and it often yields a healthier bounty. If you want to give vertical gardening a try, check out this garden pyramid idea. Just be mindful of the compound angles when cutting. This requires some woodworking skill, so try to get some practice with scrap wood so you don’t waste your pyramid supplies.
Tiered Corner Garden
Michelle loves deer and their cutesy faces – but not when they mow down everything in her yard, her veggies and herbs included! As a solution, she’s decided to grow herbs on their deck where deer can’t reach them. This DIY tiered herb garden is perfect for Michelle’s plan. It has a small footprint, able to fit even in the tightest of spaces. And the tiers allow for a wider variety of plants.
Reused Masonry Raised Garden
So, you have a lot of unused blocks and masonry around? The quickest thing to do would be to call a grab hire company to come and collect your waste – but don’t do that just yet! Instead, check out this garden bed idea.
Grab a shovel, rake, a 4’ board, and you’re ready to start building. One thing to remember, however, is to consider how much room you have and the herbs you want to plant. Different herbs need varying amounts of space for optimal growth, and some can be quite invasive.
Raised Bed with Built-In Benches
This design from Chris Hill is just wonderful. It’s higher than your average raised beds, and it comes with benches where you can sit as you harvest, water, or plant in your garden. And the project will only take you half a day if you have some woodworking experience. This raised bed idea can be the perfect gift for elderly gardeners or anyone looking for an attractive and stylish addition to their yard.
Two-Tiered Raised Bed
Scott loves building garden beds. But he has a pet peeve: the space on the corner is often not utilized. So instead of shopping around for a garden bed, he built this two-tiered model that puts every inch of the space to good use. It adopts a square design, able to accommodate more plants than rectangular garden beds. And with a 4×4 dimension, you can pack in more herb goodness without getting in the way.
Medium Raised Beds (4-7 feet)
Elevated Wood Garden Bed
You will love this elevated bed idea, especially if you’re living in an apartment, a condo, or anywhere with no space for an in-ground garden. The authors didn’t intend on making a decorative piece. But this garden bed is a nice addition on any patio or deck, especially when fresh and organic vegetables start growing from it. Each bed occupies a square foot, so just build more if you need a larger space for your veggies.
Raised Garden Container
Maureen Fitzgerald, a Wisconsin mommy, found a lovely VegTrug elevated garden bed while shopping one day. But the bed was too expensive for its size. So her partner Jay decided to build her a bigger one instead – but at a budget-friendlier price.
You can find the supplies you’ll need for this elevated garden bed at the local hardware store, and building this DIY project is as straightforward as it could get.
Leggy Raised Garden Bed
If pets are always wreaking havoc in your garden or if you’re having a hard time bending over to weed and water the plants, this mini-elevated garden bed can be the solution. On the other hand, the setup means retaining water can be problematic. So you may want to try add a sprinkler or a DIY drip irrigation system like the author did.
Square Foot Grid Garden Bed
This raised garden bed plan uses the square foot gardening technique. The idea is simple. Carve out a square shape, create square-foot squares, line them up, and start planting! The technique is a great way to build a small yet intensively planted garden. This guide walks you through everything you need to know to get started – from choosing the location, creating the right soil, to the simple finishing touches.
4×4 Raised Bed
This attractive raised bed leaves a lot of room at the bottom, so your veggies’ roots can grow freely and get a better grip on the soil. The design has a slight curve on the slats for visual appeal. This raised bed can keep its soil in place and stand its ground when rowdy pets, kids, and other stuff bump into it. You can also paint the stiles with a different color for added color in your garden.
Stylish and Decorative Raised Bed
“Simplicity is beauty,” they say. But there’s nothing wrong in adding a bit of complexity to your creations! This decorative planter sports diamond patterns, which are optional but can help add more color and variety to your space.
Do note, however, that this DIY project is a bit more advanced and requires more tools (and precaution) than your plain garden bed idea.
Cinder Block Raised Bed
Not everyone knows their way around wooden boards and saws. Maybe you belong to this category of gardeners. But lifting stuff and putting them in place is something you can do, right? Well, Jennifer has the garden bed idea for you! This one uses cinder blocks instead of wood, eliminating the need to measure, cut, and work with power tools. All you need to do is find the right spot, level the ground, place the blocks, and you’re ready to grow your favorite veggies!
Hoop House Raised Bed
The calendar may say it’s summer. But seasons in different regions can be tricky as author Stephanie Strickland realized. Instead of warm and clear weather, her garden has to endure summers full of harsh winds and cold weather. Her solution is this DIY greenhouse garden. The removable cover keeps the plants safe and sound from the elements, while allowing you to work on your garden without any hiccups.
DIY Basic Raised Beds
Heather Clarke dreamed of garden beds for years. But the prospect of building and spending a lot of money in the process intimidated her. That is, until she went ahead and found out that garden beds need not be expensive. This raised bed idea only cost Heather $35. And it’s beginner-friendly, too. She isn’t an expert, but did a splendid job anyway.
Simple and Functional Raised Garden Bed
WoodLogger’s affordable raised garden bed idea is an excellent project for homeowners and gardeners with a lot of unused patches of land in their yard. These 8-feet long raised beds can take shelter a variety of plants, keeping them protected from pests and invasive weeds. Please note that this link takes you to a full video of instructions!
Corrugated Aluminum Raised Bed
So what’s special about this tutorial? For starters, this doesn’t use the usual materials. And second, if you follow the guide down to the “T,” you’ll have an art masterpiece in your backyard. This garden bed uses corrugated metal and pressure treated wood.
Simple, No-Frills Garden Bed
A big backyard was just what Stan Sullivan needed in 2014. It’s the perfect companion to his gardening habit. He got his new house, with a great big yard. And now, we get one of the DIY garden bed plans Stan and his wife used in redesigning his garden!
The Self-Watering Salad Table
You love the idea of gardening and eating what you grow. But maybe tilling and removing sod and creating a mess in the process isn’t your cup of tea? If that’s the case, try this DIY salad table. It lifts your greens and keeps them away from pests on the ground, while the built-in self-watering system wicks water from the container and to the roots. It requires more effort upfront. But it’s pretty much set and forget once you’re done building.
Interlocked Adjustable Wood Planter
Rayan, the creator of this design, has a gripe with prefab planter kits all too common in stores. You can’t adjust their height nor their size depending on your needs. So she created this planter that you can customize to fit your space.
Now, do note that the author is an experienced maker and this guide is quite advanced. But don’t let that intimidate you. With her instructions, you’ll have this built in no time!
Cedar Raised Boxes
Building a vegetable garden in raised beds can take up space, and it can consume most of your yard. While a square is the ideal, you may find that you need a combination of square and rectangular beds that you can tuck around the corners to free up the center for your lawn. If this sounds like your situation, this simple DIY guide is just what you need. Read the post, grab the essential tools and a few rot-resistant cedar boards, and you’re ready to build.
Cap-Railing Raised Garden Beds
At 3 feet wide and 6 feet long, this garden bed design has enough space for tomatoes and other sprawling plants, but it’s still narrow enough for you to reach the center from either side. The cap railings add a hint of complexity, but they add a more finished look to the garden bed, and give you something to rest on and place your tools.
Keyhole Elevated Garden
This set-up has a lot of advantages over the traditional raised garden bed. It has a composting basket at its core and uses multiple layers to preserve moisture, resulting in a highly productive garden. And by using stone to build the keyhole/garden bed, plants are spared from the harsh heat of the sun and cold winter temperatures. This garden bed will require a lot of heavy lifting, but it’s worth every ounce of extra effort.
Cedar Raised Garden Beds
Cedar is an excellent material for just about any woodworking project. It resists rot, insects, and weather without the need for chemicals, and it’s affordable, too. In this guide, Ana White shows you how to create a cedar garden bed using fence pickets she found at a big box store.
Dog-Proof Raised Planter
If you’re limited in terms of your garden space, or all you’ve got is an apartment balcony, this DIY project may be perfect for you. This raised planter uses scrap steel from a roof as a lining, with drainage holes drilled along the base, and heavy-duty wood for the framework. Sturdy and surprisingly spacious, its 2-foot planting depth means you can grow everything from carrots to cucumbers. Best of all, its height makes it dog-proof. No paws digging through the plants here!
Large Raised Beds (8+ feet)
Fence Line Planter Box
Carla and Alex love their holidays. Not because they can sleep in or go on a Netflix binge, but because they can create cool stuff like this planter box. The DIY project is the couple’s first attempt on growing a vegetable garden, and it’s a splendid start! Their raised planter box used cedar tone pressure treated lumber, way budget-friendlier than the standard cedar. Building the boxes is straightforward and it shouldn’t eat up too much of your time.
Raised Bed With Removable Side Fences
Raised beds provide some degree of pest and animal control. And the higher the wall, the better the protection from the critters. However, a higher wall also adds inconvenience. So how did Greg Holdsworth work around this problem? Simple. Add removable walls. And the best part, you don’t have to start from scratch. You can add them to your existing garden beds. If that sounds like a fantastic idea, check out this DIY guide.
Ultimate Raised Bed
‘Don’t judge a book by it’s cover,’ someone once said. This raised bed may look plain at first sight. But a closer look reveals that this one is anything but ‘meh!’ Follow this step-by-step guide by Johanna Silver and learn how to build the ultimate garden bed. One that can keep frost and birds at bay, and it’s impervious to burrowing pests. Oh, and it irrigates your crops. Ultimate indeed!
Landscaping Timber Raised Garden Beds
Plain wooden boards and fence pickets are the go-to’s when building raised beds. But this builder went with landscaping timbers. If you want to add a decorative touch to your garden (and have the space for it), consider adding these handsome 8-foot long garden beds to your project list. The guide comes with a handful of tried-and-tested tips for cultivating your new garden.
DIY Enclosed Raised Bed Garden
Becky isn’t just a gardener. She’s a cozy homemaker, too, and it shows in this DIY project. She didn’t just build a place to grow onions, peas, and lettuce. She made a home for these plants – a garden enclosure. The tall plastic mesh walls will keep those critters and frisky pets out of your garden, while the interior has enough space for you to move around as you work in your garden.
Heavy-Duty Raised Garden Enclosure
If you have the woodworking chops and the entire weekend to spare, pick up this project idea. It’s similar to the other garden enclosure, but this one takes detail and structural stability up a notch. You will need a lot of supplies and tools to take on this project. So be sure to read the guide closely and watch the 6-minute video walkthrough.
Interlocking Corner Raised Bed
Mavis Butterfield was having serious dirt (and fence) withdrawals until the HH built her a handful of spacious raised garden bed. This DIY plan already has substantial depth, making it suitable for crops. But if you want more depth, you can always add more stacks of lumber.
Cedar is a decent choice for this project. But the author and her partner opted for Douglas fir, which can be almost as good. Better still, it’s usually half the price of fence-grade cedar. Perfect for this DIY plan!
Large U-Shaped Raised Bed
This raised bed is massive, so make sure you have enough space in your home before giving it a go. You’ll also need to set aside at least $500 and a whole lot of soil to fill the garden bed. While this garden bed may not be for everyone, it’s excellent for folks who are serious about growing their food.
The original project uses untreated pine, but you can opt for the tried-and-tested cedar instead to get more bang for your buck. (Just expect a significant price hike with cedar construction!)
Railway Sleeper Raised Beds With Benches
Wooden railway sleepers pack a lot of utility even after retiring from the railroad. The number of ways one can repurpose these durable pieces of wood is only limited by the imagination. This idea turns railway sleepers into raised beds – and they come with benches, too! If you’re looking to create a home for your veggies and a place for rest on the yard, this project nails down both!
Unspecified Size Raised Beds
Used Tire Raised Bed
Do you have old tires lying around? If you’re not sure what to do with them, check out this guide from Instructables. It might be just what you need to put those pieces of junk to good use. But do keep in mind that you’ll have to do some serious saw cutting in this project, and you’ll also require power tools. So read the instructions and especially the precautionary tips carefully!
U-Shaped Raised Bed
A square garden bed may offer a lot of advantages. But if building one for your garden isn’t suitable, this hooked raised bed idea might be just what you need. It’s simple to follow and the materials and supplies necessary are easy to find. The post also links to a guide on building cold frames. If you want to get an early start or extend the outdoor growing season by a few weeks, cold frames are a fine addition to this garden bed.
Upcycled Pallet Planter
Wooden pallets make for an excellent planter for many reasons. They are easy to break down and repurpose. They are available everywhere. They are affordable if you have to buy them, and if you’re lucky, you might even get them for free! This pallet planter is easy to build, and the post also includes a 3-minute video to show you how it’s done.
Repurposed Dresser Herb Garden
Repurposing rocks! Not only does it save you money, but giving old things a new lease on life brings a soothingly satisfying feeling, too. If you have an old dresser you no longer use, this guide will teach you how to prep and turn your old dresser into a fresh spring garden. And guess what? You won’t even have dismantle the dresser or cut anything. After filling it with soil and plants, you can leave the dresser as it is for a vintage touch. Or, paint it to level up its looks.
Inspired Natural Wood Raised Bed
Almost every guide included in this round-up uses supplies you can get from the hardware store – except for this one! This Instructable takes repurposing to a whole new level. It uses some straight timber, smaller branches, and thicker logs you can easily find lying around. Now, you’ll need to carefully consider some design factors before getting down to work. But the end result will be worth it: a raised garden bed that’s as natural as it can be.
Timber Raised Beds
These timber raised beds from the DIY Network don’t take much to build. Get a drill, mallet, heavy screws and measuring tape, and you’re all set. Plus, it only takes a day to build so you will have an easy time fitting this project into your schedule. The guide uses thicker-than-usual timber and leaves you with some handy tips on setting up your raised beds for success.
Reclaimed Wood Raised Beds
Reclaimed wood is wonderful! Most has a great patina from its age, or old coloration from its original paint. Not only that, but it’s easy to find almost anywhere. You can start by looking around your house and the neighborhood. Barns, buildings, and old fences, in particular, are excellent sources of free reclaimed wood.
If you want to follow this plan, however, know that you need to prepare beat-up lumber for repurposing. But there’s nothing to fret about! This guide has got that part covered.
Repurposed Bed Support Raised Bed
You can repurpose just about anything around you if you use your imagination. As an example, the maker of this raised bed transformed a bed’s base support to a stage for child’s play – and then turned it into a raised garden bed when her kids outgrew the stage. But even better, her garden bed design comes with a frame to offer support for vines. It’s perfect for cucumbers, tomatoes, and peas.
Willow Wattle Garden Edging For Raised Beds
Woven stick fencing, the wattle variety in particular, was in use in ancient Rome. This age-old method of fencing has many benefits. Flexible wooden branches are woven around stakes, creating a durable and all-natural border that you can easily shape and fill to make a raised bed. This guide teaches you how to bring this ancient fencing practice to your modern garden in 12 steps.
Milk Crate ‘Air Pot’ Garden
Milk crates can pack a lot of flexibility and gardening fun. These planters don’t even require you to build anything! All you need is landscaping fabric, scissors, soil, seedlings, and of course, milk crates which are generally easy to find. After reading this guide, you won’t have any excuse for not starting a garden.
Countertop Raised Beds
A high raised bed eliminates the need for stooping and bending over, a blessing for people with back aches. But soil isn’t necessarily cheap. How are you going to fill a massive and deep raised garden bed with soil without spending a fortune? This guide has all the answers. Read and download the plan to find out what they did instead of packing their beds with dirt.
Concrete Vegetable Garden
If your backyard has more concrete than soil, why not design a garden bed to complement the current architecture? If that sounds like your yard, read these directions. Simple concrete blocks with finishing blocks on top form the exterior of this bed, and it can be built in whatever size or shape you want it to be.
