Friday, May 28, 2010

RAISED BEDS FOR EFFICIENT BACKYARD GARDENS





Misty weather continues over the high plains desert.

We enjoy this respite from the usual dry and windy weather that we know comes with summer.

Lilacs are the harbinger of spring in this climate and they LOVE this rainy weather.
It's worth a drive just to enjoy them all over the region. They are rural eye candy.

If you are considering building raised beds for any reason, take a look at the examples pictured today. These beds are the finest example you are likely to see around any neighborhood. The builder happens to be a sculptor in the medium of rare woods, so it's no surprise that the beds are works of art. We'll follow when seedlings are planted. Stay tuned!

The basic material for the examples shown are the 6-inch landscape timber, available at most home improvement stores, garden centers, or lumber yards. The fill was delivered by a local landscape firm and is "valley bottom" or river bottom soil.

Raised beds give the gardener many advantages including but not limited to control over type of soil and soil improvements, water conservation, intensity of planting or "square foot gardening", and perhaps most important for those of us over 30, raised height off ground level to spare the back while weeding, etc.

Seedlings and seeds will be going in all over the area this weekend--Memorial Day is the kick-off for home gardens in south central Montana. Good luck for a productive season to us all!

KGC


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