5 Ideas For Garden Construction

Introduction

Building and planting a garden allows you to grow flowers, herbs or vegetables at home. Garden construction ideas that work with large yards, ornamental plantings or even in a small apartment are readily implemented by the home gardener. Your garden can be as big or as small as desired and within the space available. When selecting a garden construction method, keep in mind that some designs require more weekly maintenance while others are nearly maintenance free.

Step 1

A raised bed garden construction works well nearly anywhere, but is especially useful if your native soil isn't the greatest. Make the walls around the bed from nearly any material – stone, wood or bricks. A good size for raised bed garden construction is about 4- by 4-feet. This size allows you to reach the center of the bed from any side. You don't want to step on the soil in a raised bed garden construction as this compacts it and makes it hard for the plants to grow. Use quality soil in the raised bed and keep it well weeded. Raised beds require deep watering so the soil inside doesn't dry out.

Step 2

Try a sub-irrigated patio garden if you don't have space for standard garden construction. These planters have a water reservoir beneath the soil, so you only need to add water to the fill pipe once or twice weekly. You can even make your own from plastic storage tubs. Use sub-irrigated boxes for ornamentals or vegetables. You must use a soilless potting mix, since garden soil compacts and doesn't absorb the water properly.

Step 3

Vertical garden construction expands your space both in a traditional bed or on a patio. Use arbors, trellises or pergolas to provide a framework for growing plants upward. Ornamental and vegetable vines climb on their own, but you can also train tomatoes, squash and melons to climb a vertical support. Even roses and fruit trees can be grown against a wall trellis if they are trained using an espalier method.

Step 4

Indoor garden construction is another option for apartment dwellers or if you want a winter garden. If you have a south facing window that receives plenty of light sun, you have the perfect location for this garden. Even without a sunny window, you can still have an indoor garden. Use sturdy shelves to support the planters in front of the window. Install grow light fixtures on the undersides of the shelves if you don't have a window. Keep the plants warm, watered and provide twice monthly fertilization to keep them growing healthy.

Step 5

Consider border beds if you need to tuck your garden between existing landscape elements. These small bed require minimal garden construction, since you are carving them out of existing place. Plant asparagus in a flower bed – the stalks provide food in early summer while the fern-like leaves are attractive later in the season. You can sprinkle morning glory or scarlet runner bean seeds along an existing fence line, tuck some potatoes in behind a row of annual flowers or grow dwarf summer squash vine around your mailbox pole.

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