If you’ve not got a huge garden, creating curved beds can help give the illusion of more space. Go the extra mile as in the image above and opt for a two-tiered curved garden bed. That’s almost double the planting space! The perfect mini raised bed, wine barrels are great for brightly coloured flowers or even small trees. Their portability means they are a good solution for renters, as you can simply bring them with you when you move house. As they don’t have an open base, the barrel can be filled to suit whatever it is you are growing. Create a rustic raised bed using branches or scrap wood sourced from the garden. This method is affordable, good for the planet and highly rewarding. Longer branches can be weaved together to create a ‘wattle’ bed. You’ll need upright stakes and long, supple branches.

Raised planters lend themselves very well to crop protection systems. This is because of their relatively small size and the ability to attach protection structures to the timber edges. Raised beds can also be an effective slug barrier if arranged with sharp gravel pathways between the beds. This will greatly reduce slug and snail traffic. Image credit: @ letsfrolictogether Before you start, consider: 1. What can you plant in a bench planter?Raised planters contain loose and friable soil because you walk around the bed rather than inside it. Any weeds that do take root are easily pulled out because the soil has never been compacted by your boots. Most raised bed gardeners will only use a small number of hand tools to tend their beds. A good trowel and hand-held weed grubber are usually all that are required. Some of the most enjoyable times I have in my garden are when I can just sit or stand in the middle of it, and just look at everything. It is truly therapeutic after a long day at the office. Other than that, I’m either running circles around all of my raised beds to get things done, or stationary at a certain spot for what seems to be hours. If you’re strategic with your garden planning, you can use raised beds to conceal unsightly areas! Use a raised planter to section off the area where your wheelie bin is stored, or go for taller raised beds to conceal an ugly garden fence. If the centrepiece houses a tree, it’s best to add this first, see more below. If there is no tree, then it’s time for planting! Tina’s Tips: Elderly gardeners can find tending to ground-level beds difficult, as there’s often a lot of kneeling and crouching required. If you’re worried about tending to your plants as you get older, opt for a taller raised bed. These will require less bending over and allow you to sit on the edge to tend to your plants. You could also invest in a self-watering system if you’re not able to manually water.

While we’re firm believers that any garden can benefit from a raised bed, there’s a lot of things to think about when it comes to implementing this style of bed into your garden. Size, design, material, location and soil type all need considering, and the options for each are seemingly endless! Cucumbers do very well in raised beds, but they do need a depth of around 18” to grow properly. Give them a spot in full sun and protect them from frost in the winter months. Growing them on stakes or a trellis like the image above will give you more space beneath. Strawberries, sunflowers and sweet peas for summer colour. Make sure these won’t be competing with a tree if you have one in your planter, allow plenty of space around the tree’s trunk. Here I used F-clamps to pull the pieces together and hold them securely when screwing. A pilot hole and counter sunk piece was used before inserting any screws. This will help prevent splitting the wood. Fixed position beds leave lots of room for storage underneath; this area is known as the garage. You can fit bikes, clothes, water, camping refrigerators, or other adventure equipment.Flares are fiberglass panels that can widen the useable space in your van. They can be added to a Sprinter, ProMaster, Transit and Nissan NV.

You can make this tool out of the same wood you’ve used for your raised beds, or you can go for a different look. Paint it, stain it, or simply leave it bare…your call. Putting a varnish or other wood protectant on it will obviously help it withstand abuse and the elements. Slider beds make for a good multi-purpose solution when it comes to building out a van. Custom Shaped Bed @wander.horizons Some edible climbers include peas and beans but these are annuals and you will need to change the crop each year. Beds with a drawbridge style mattress close to one side similar to a murphy bed but the mattress folds like an accordion instead of staying flat. Now we’re getting into the critical steps. You’ll need to find out how wide the triangular pieces, or “fins” need to be on the seat piece, as well as where to position it.The couch bed is a common solution for van lifers. There are a number of different ways a couch bed can be built. @dont_know_road used benches that fold down to hold cushions in place whether you feel like sitting up or laying down.