For some the palette will be an assortment of fresh vegetables ; for others a spectrum of stunning flowers or array of aromatic herbs . Whatever your passion , gardening in a raised bed is simple and rewarding .

The first step is to choose a structure . A raised bed can be created from a simple arrangement of stones or any large container with good drainage . A number of prefabricated products can be found in gardening shops or home improvement stores .

I favor building a box from 2 ” x8 ” lumber , using 2 ” x2 ” corner posts for support . Today ’ s lumber is no longer treated with potentially harmful preservatives and cedar isn ’ t treated at all , so even if you plan to grow food for your family , wooden boxes are safe and moderate in cost .

Keeping your raised bed under four feet in width will allow you to reach the entire space , something you ’ ll appreciate when it ’ s time to sow seeds in the spring or pull weeds in the summer . In his book All New Square Foot Gardening , Mel Bartholomew recommends using a box that is 4 ’ x4 ’ in order to maximize efficiency .

The concept of square-foot gardening is that you can use the space in your garden more efficiently by planting each individual 12 ” x12 ” square separately according to simple guidelines . For example , in each square foot you can plant one cabbage , four lettuce , nine spinach or sixteen carrots . As the plants mature and are

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