House Beautiful March 30, 2025
Lifestyle
Everyone wants a lush, blooming garden—but not everyone has the space to dedicate to in-ground garden beds. Whether you're just starting to flex your green thumb or are dealing with tight lawn constraints, it's not unusual to feel like you hit a roadblock when mapping out your garden in a snug space. The solution? Opt for raised garden beds instead.
Characterized by smaller individual planters, raised garden beds are much easier to maintain than an in-ground garden, thanks to their approachable size and functionality. You won't need to do any heavy lifting in your yard to prep the area, like tilling your soil or investing in pricey landscaping. Instead, you can buy quality soil in bulk and customize your raised garden beds to whatever configuration you need, whether that's adjusting the location for additional sunlight or raising the height of the bed so you're not straining your back or knees. "Taller raised beds are easier to tend to, which can be especially important for aging gardeners or those with limited mobility," says Jonathan Paetzel, a landscape designer with Marshall Paetzel Landscape Architecture.
Ease of use isn't the only benefit of raised garden beds, either—they can be just as good for your plants. "Raised beds offer improved drainage, airflow, and soil-quality customization," says Kat Aul Cervoni, a landscape designer and founder of the firm Staghorn NYC. "The sun exposure to both the top and sides of the planter means that the soil warms up more quickly than in-ground beds, so gardeners can plant in them a bit earlier in the season," Cervoni explains.
The best part? Getting started with a raised garden bed is easy. Simply find or build a container you like, fill it with the right soil, and get to planting. As for what to put inside? We've got all the inspiration you need below. Read on for 25 raised garden bed ideas you'll love.
These DIY wooden planters by Australian home gardener and beekeeper Ashenden Burke add great dimension to a garden that's bursting with produce. If your plot is running out of room and can’t accommodate a bulky rectangular raised bed, try building one of these to conserve space and add interest.
A galvanized trough makes an excellent instant raised garden bed. This idea by Jenn and Josh Choate, the husband-and-wife duo behind Down Shiloh Road, shows how rustic-elegant it can be; they got their sage green raised garden bed from Olle Gardens. A galvanized trough makes it easy to keep pests out too: "It’s a good idea to line the bottom of the bed with a galvanized hardware cloth to prevent tunneling animals such as voles from damaging plantings,” says Stacy Paetzel, founder of Marshall Paetzel Landscape Architecture.
The best height for a raised garden container depends on what you want to grow. A variety of produce might call for a variety of containers. "Deep-rooted vegetables like carrots require deep, fluffy soil to grow long and straight, whereas shallow-rooting plants like lettuces and strawberries can utilize lower beds," Stacy Paetzel explains. These low raised beds by landscape architect Janice Parker are perfect for flowers or delicate greens, and we love how the dark wood stands out against the light-colored gravel.
The building materials you use aren't the only element of a raised garden bed that adds drama to your yard—the plants inside can too. The tendrils of vining plants such as tomatoes, cucumbers, and peas will begin to drape over the sides for charming natural decor, as seen in this raised garden bed by landscape architect Janice Parker.
We love a dramatic backyard, and mixing stone steps in with tiers of raised garden beds brings plenty of it to this landscape design.
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