I have not always enjoyed gardening.  As a matter of fact, growing up, my parents always had a huge garden and flower beds.  I remember having Saturdays as “chore” day.  Getting up early to pull weeds, mow the lawn, house clean … it seemed to take over from first day light to sundown.  No time to do much else.  Now that I’m grown with a family of 6 I am finding it therapeutic and fun.  Did I just say fun?  Never thought I would hear myself say that. A few years ago my husband and I built a brand new home.  We loved being able to plan the landscape and make it our own. When it came to figuring out where to place the garden and flower beds, I felt almost anxious, in the excited way.  With the excitement of planting our garden, we found that the ground was way to “rocky” and the soil was awful.  We added extra soil, dug out so many rocks, even broke several blades on our tiller.  We managed to plant some vegetables and were proud of what we had accomplished.  When time came to harvest, we didn’t get as much produce as I would have liked. With some research and some ideas that I had seen from family, neighbors and friends.  We figured It would be best to do garden boxes.  While researching I found so many different kinds. We decided that we would find some that would best benefit our yard and what we were going to plant. The majority of boxes we found were made using a simple 4x8 raised beds.  My neighbor did this one and they said it works very well. I have come to realize that raised garden beds are a better way to grow plants and vegetables at home. These different models make it easy to start your own gardening. Garden beds keep weeds away from your soil, prevent soil compaction, provide good drainage and act as a defense against pests. I found several kits online to purchase to make the 4x8 box.  I found some at HomeDepot.com ranging in prices starting from $30 to $100 and could possibly go higher in price depending on if you made them yourself.  Walmart had some options with some variations in sizes that ranged from $26 to $150. We started out with the garden boxes and have loved them.  Easy to maintain and different ways in planting produce.  I found several ideas of how to plant using the boxes on HomeDepot.com and have gotten ideas from our local Gardner. I not only wanted garden boxes, but also wanted some fresh herbs as well.  When I found this one, I fell in love with the design. I found this 3 Tier Wood Raised Bed, Elevated Flowers Vegetable Planter.  $132.99 at Walmart.  This garden bed planter, you can grow 3 different plants or try different planting methods at the same time. No painting needed, non-toxic guaranteed raised bed is made of 100% fir wood, ensuring safe, durable and worry-free use. Material: Wood Drainage Holes: No Natural Wood Grain Color Variation  (No item has the same grain color, finish, or wood knots due to natural factors.) If you are handy with building or know of someone that is, you could build using materials from Home Depot or Lowes. This would be beautiful on a patio or in a smaller space.  The possibilities of herbs and flowers would work beautifully. Overall

• 21.9'' H x 49'' W x 49'' D

Interior

• 21.9'' x 49'' x 49''

Overall Product Weight

• 30.36 lb.

Boards: 0.6" thick I know there are so many different options out there; to ground garden boxes, to raised garden boxes to above ground garden boxes.  Everyone I have spoken with has their own liking and opinion.  I think gardening is a great talent and tool to have.  Especially now days with the world being so unknown, I am grateful to have had parents who taught me to work hard and be able to grow a garden. Good luck!  I would love to hear and see what you have done!