Editors of Cool Springs Press - Trellises, Planters & Raised Beds: 50 Easy, Unique, and Useful Projects You Can Make with Common Tools and Materials

TRELLISES, PLANTERS & RAISED BEDS

50 Easy, Unique, and Useful Projects You Can Make with Common Tools and Materials

First published in 2013 by Cool Springs Press, an imprint of the Quayside Publishing Group, 400 First Avenue North, Suite 300, Minneapolis, MN 55401

2013 Cool Springs Press

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Digital Edition: 978-1-61058-740-2
Hardcover Edition: 978-1-59186-545-2

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Trellises, planters & raised beds : 50 easy, unique and useful garden projects you can make with simple tools &

everyday items.

p. cm.

Includes index.

ISBN 978-1-59186-545-2 (softcover)

1. TrellisesDesign and construction. 2. Plant

containersDesign and construction.

3. Beds (Gardens) I. Cool Springs Press. II. Title:

Trellises, planters and raised beds.

SB463.5.T74 2013

681.7631dc23

2012044655

Acquisitions Editor: Mark Johanson

Design Manager: Brad Springer

Design: Simon Larkin

Layout: Diana Boger

Illustrations: Greg Maxson

Photography: rau+barber, Isaiah King, Tracy Walsh,

Joel Schnell, Christa Matthews

Project Designs: Eric Smith, Philip Schmidt, Dan Cary, Dawn King

Carpentry: Eric Smith

Technical Editor: Chris Marshall

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Photo Credits:

: Adrian Sherratt/Alamy

: (top) iStockphoto.com; (bottom) Shutterstock.com

: (top) Shutterstock.com; (bottom) iStockphoto.com

: Shutterstock.com

: Shutterstock.com

: iStockphoto.com

: Adrian Sherratt/Alamy

(bottom): Ottmar Bierwagen

: Shutterstock.com

(bottom): Janet Johnson/Garden Picture Library/Getty Images

: Shutterstock.com

: Tracy Walsh

(both): Shutterstock.com

: Shutterstock.com

(both): Shutterstock.com

(bottom): Shutterstock.com

INTRODUCTION

L ooking for better ways to grow your garden? Trellises, Planters & Raised Beds has a whole bookful of them. In the following pages youll find plans, ideas, inspirational photos, how-to instructions, and practical advice simple enough for a beginner to understand, but also varied and creative enough for experienced gardeners to find useful. Youll learn how to build time-tested designs for trellises, planters, and raised beds that look good and work well in any garden, but youll also be exposed to the fertile imaginings of numerous gardeners and woodworkers whove found ways to transform standard, home-center materials into eye-catching garden structures that bring out the best in plants and flowers.

Getting started is easy, whether youre looking for a way to bring some green to a tiny porch or apartment terrace (check out Bamboo Bundle, ). No matter what your skill level is, youll find plenty of projects in this book that you can make, projects that will look great out in your garden or in your homeall with clear how-to photos and easy-to-follow instructions.

Trellises, Planters & Raised Beds is organized into three chapters, with each chapter having enough projects to select from that you wont have any trouble finding the right one for your garden. Some are shovel-readyjust pick up some materials at the home center and start building. Others require more prep time. For instance, stick trellises require that you collect suitable branches or saplings, and finding the right pallet for the pallet planter may require a few expeditions to your local warehouse district. A few of the projects are meant mostly for inspiration: grab a few ideas and then build your own version someday. But whether youre looking for step-by-step instructions, useful tips, and techniques, or just fodder for off-season daydreams, youll find what you need inside.

GALLERY OF IDEAS

T here are few limits on what you can do with your garden, as long as it keeps your plants happy and healthy. Pay attention to the basicsgood soil, good drainage, plenty of sunlight and room to growand the plants will know what to do.

The project ideas on the next few pages show just a few of the many ways you can fill your home and yard with lush, vigorous plants without spending a fortune on materials and professional landscaping. You may have to wait for better weather to start planting, but you can start planning and building right now, and these designs will help get you started.

Raised beds make it easy to grow striking collections of plants.

Create densely planted, highly productive growing spaces on poor-quality soil.

This raised bed was constructed by dropping a dump-truck load of good soil on top of the existing sandy soil, shaping the soil with logs and old bricks and then planting with a mix of flowers, trees, and other plants that would have been doomed in the sand.

Veggies love the fertile, well-drained soil used in raised beds. Avoid using pressure-treated wood to build the frames if theres any chance youll be planting edibles. Instead, use cedar or other naturally rot-resistant wood, or else line the inside of the treated wood with a rubber liner or other impermeable barrier that prevents chemicals in the wood from leaching into the soil.

This classic Zen garden combines a number of different elements, and has a backdrop of irregular raised beds formed by boulders and large stones.

A ladder, real or decorative, makes an interesting trellis for climbing plants. Rungs that can support a person easily support the heaviest fruits.