DIY raised garden bed for flowers

Natural yet neat looking garden!

I truly believe that there is something wise about exposing your children to the nature and countryside life. Firstly, for the obvious reasons like being able to have fun exploring the fields. Or to eat organic food picked right off trees. Or to keep pets and domestic animals learning the daily dedication of tending to another being. Secondly, because it is also very educational, be it just observing how to make a raised garden bed. Country life is raw and quite self sufficient. It provides kids with all sorts of valuable skill examples they can benefit from.

Memories growing up

Growing up I was exposed to so many useful crafts and DIYs! When I was about 6 years of age we used to go with my brother (holding hands ha!) to the local cows shed for fresh milk for breakfast. After lunch we would go to catch frogs near a pond, and in the evening make a bonfire and grill sausages. Our granny was very skilled gardener, a big fan of raised garden beds! Grandad liked to read his newspapers underlying articles about politics, and repair things whilst listening to an old radio. Thankfully my parents are just as crafty and appreciative of the soul of time. In their home they maintain a stunning garden in a vintage style and keep a few animals. Needless to say I am grateful that my son can have similar beautiful memories.

One of the ways they keep the garden so beautiful (you can check it HERE) is by using raised garden beds for flowers and veggies. Wooden or made of stone they make the garden look spectacularly neat yet natural. It’s a brilliant way to organise smaller spaces and grow colorful healthy plants of all kinds!

In this easy DIY article I will share how you too can make such raised garden bed yourself and for a very low cost! Let’s upcycle away, shall we?

Raised garden bed DIY

Countryside life is very much about using and repurposing and reusing again. My dad seems to be a master in seeing huge potential in items which seem just a piece of useless trash to others. And not only that, he has a skill to spot them and then bring them to life. He is also a bee keeper and some time ago he received several old bee hives from an elderly neighbour. Whilst these are proper vintage and therefore very precious, they are also too heavy to manipulate which can get kind of tricky with a bunch of bees inside lol!

When my dad bought some new easier bee hives he felt sorry to just burn the old ones in a fireplace. So he came up with a way to repurpose them and keep them in the garden – small raised garden beds. You can definitely try this too! True, not everyone has a stock of vintage bee hives in the back yard ha!, but with a bit of imagination any old wooden box-type item can be reused for this project!

What you’ll need:

an old bee hive (again – if you don’t have a bee hive to upcycle feel free to use any old wooden box or container, square piece of furniture or even a basket)
plastic foil (could be a thick bin bag)
16 nails (any you have to secure the foil), hammer
a tin of solvent-based exterior wood finish, painting brush
soil and plants of choice (optional stones for decoration)

Instructions:

Whatever base you decide to use as the pot frame, do make sure it is thoroughly washed or at least scrubbed to remove any residue dirt or paint. The surface should be reasonably clean, smooth and dry before any finish can be applied. Use a brush or a scrub and then leave the frame to dry thoroughly.

When the base is clean and dry you can move onto applying the treatment to protect the wood long term. There is a variety of shades and colours to choose from. It is definitely recommend to use a food-safe wood finish. This is simply because any plant should be growing in a non-toxic container, especially if you plan to use your new flower pot to grow edible plants and flowers.

Apply the finish according to the instructions on the packaging and allow to dry well.

Now that you have a nice clean and painted flower pot frame you can apply a layer of plastic foil on the inside of the frame. This is to protect the wood further. Obviously, the plant will need to be watered on regular basis and prolonged moisture could cause damage to the wood. The plastic layer acts as a barrier to prevent this from occuring. Use the nails prepared, roughly about 8 on the top edge and 8 on the bottom edge (4 in each corner and one in between on each side. The final amount will depend on the size of your flower pot).

As visible on the images the frame is actually bottomless. This helps to regulate the moisture very well. If you plan to place the pot in a permanent place or grow a plant which needs to grow deeper in the ground this is also quite useful. All you need to do is choose a final spot and remove any weeds or grass first until you have a nice square of clean soil.

Place the flower pot on top and now you’re ready to fill it up with soil and plant your favourite plants!