On Thursday I was finally able to finish the last and final raised bed! This is something I wanted to build since I moved to this house almost four years ago so it feels good to see the vision manifest.

The slightly difficult thing about constructing this bed is the way of the ground is inclined. This entire area was once a driveway . It used to have two entrance or exits. One on Bridgers Street and then one on Saint Andrew Street. When the house was renovated part of the drive was filled in. Anyhow, the drive raises in an incline to the carport. The ground is full of broken bricks and rocks, which I had to dig through. I even came across an old pipe which determined how deep I could go.

I am hoping the weight of this bed will help with the stability of the raised ground the greenhouse rests on. As I stated before there used be a drive that ran up to Saint Andrew Street and it went up a slight inclined there too.  The owners used many old beams from the home that were removed to create a two tiers bed of sorts. It was filled with grass cutting, leaves, wood chips, sand and soil. It is very spongy. Over the years the wood has been rotting and the ground shifting. I have this thought that one day all the retaining walls would give way and the garden and greenhouse will slide down in to the drive!

I chose this location to be mostly for ferns. I planted two Boston ferns that were sitting quietly near the compost area. I also planted an Ostrich Plume fern, a Dwarf Lady fern, a Painted Purple Japanese fern and a Fox Tail Asparagus fern. The light here is shaded until you get to the other end. I plan on transplanting the “lily trees” to this location due to the fair amount of direct sun. I hope they will do better in this location.

So this concludes the construction of raised beds in the garden. I don’t think there is room for anymore. However, plans exist for more improvements in the garden! Stay tuned.