Raised Garden Bed Reveal

Our raised garden bed reveal is finally here! I was so nervous about seeing these in person – with so much time, research, and planning – not to mention cost. I was honestly a touch nervous about them.

But. They. Are. Gorgeous!

First glance, they are SO red (I forgot about that because our old bed was weathered) and BIG. Our last bed was actually three feet wide, with the beds prior to those being four feet. I forgot how large these actually are! As I told my husband, “more is more”. Ha! Let’s hope.

The details

Here are the exact details on our raised beds. They’re made out of untreated redwood with a cap on the top of the box and a support brace in the bottom. They have a verticle placement of the boards (instead of traditional horizontal). They’re 4’x8′ and 18 inches deep – all of them. Two of the beds have notches to go around the fountain. The bottoms are empty of course, and we will place wire and weed mat below to keep critters out.

We had these custom-built for us, to save time and money since lumber bought in bulk for our fabricator is more affordable. While there are much less expensive ways to go, from a looks perspective, this was what we wanted.

Redwood of all the woods (like pine or cedar) is the most resistant to rot, and though a bright red color now, will fade to a light grey like the other wood options. Behind redwood, cedar is next best for rot resistant, and then pine after that. Wood and lumber prices fluxuate, so always ask based on board size and wood type. Though redwood tends to be most expensive, sometimes it’s not.

Wood Choice

We choose untreated wood always because it isn’t treated with chemicals. Treated wood often has fungicide in it and some copper – no thanks on that, even if it’s not “too” harmful. Copper is a pest repellant and the fungicide helps with rot resistance.

The sun and frequent watering will wear on these beds, but we know that going into it. There are some safe and non-chemical, non-toxic ways to treat wood, so I’m looking into that as well.

Overall, we are so happy and excited about these! Can’t wait to fill them up!

For more raised garden bed info, go to this roundup or check out this raised bed garden design board on Pinterest.