Perfect for your plants and comes with extra storage: add a splash of colour to your garden with this DIY raised bed

Before you can get started with building the raised bed, you will first need wooden planks, boards and squared timbers in the right dimensions. Saw everything to length so that you have all the wood materials listed above.

In the first building step, you will now need both bottom panels as well as a squared timber. Mark the slots for the supports in the two front corners of the panels. Do this by placing a squared timber in the corner and draw around it with a pencil.

Then, saw out the slot and repeat the process for the second panel.

To build the front wall of the garden box, you’ll first need the two front supports. Lie them flat on your work surface and connect them using a wooden plank. Attach the plank flush to the two supports by drilling a hole through them and screwing them together.

Then, attach another wooden plank underneath with a spacing of around 2 mm. Watch out: This second plank must protrude by 18 mm on both sides (this equates to the thickness of the wooden plank as it will be screwed in later). Now, screw on another plank to the underside of the long plank using the same spacing, making sure that this is also flush to the squared timber.

Repeat this step to build the back wall of the garden box. A total of six boards have to be assembled for the two walls.

Now, place the two walls top-down on your work surface. Connect the front and back walls with a 600 mm wooden plank on both sides. Drill the holes and insert the screws.

Then, attach two additional side bars to each side. Factor in the lengths of the planks and the appropriate nesting (alternating level, protruding, level...)

Now, place squared timbers inside the box flush with the bottom edge. Drill holes in the outer sides and screw two long and two short squared timbers to them (picture 1).

You will also then need to attach three more squared timbers to the inside of the box. Attach them beneath the upper plank at a distance equal to the thickness of a plank (see picture 2). Here, attach two shorter ones to outer sides and a long one to the front side. Do not attach any squared timbers to the back wall.

They only act as a support for the bottom panel of the raised bed. Place the panel prepared in step 1 on the three squared timbers (picture 4), flush at the front, and screw it in place.

Turn your now finished component the right way up so that it is standing on its feet properly.

Now, attach two more squared timbers to the outer sides of the lower part of the feet. They will act as a support for the lower wooden panel. Then, insert this panel (also prepared in step 1) and screw it in place.

Now, place the pond liner in the upper, open part of the raised bed so that every side is covered. Tack the shorter sides down first.

Next, use a craft knife to cut the corners of the pond liner so that it does not overlap when you tack the other sides. You can then also tack the longer side at the front. Watch out: don’t tack the long side at the back yet.

You still need to insert a drain so that you can water your plants in the raised bed without standing water accumulating and damaging the plants. To attach this, first place the drain ring on the floor of the pond liner towards the back. A hose will be easy to connect from underneath later on as there are neither bottom panels nor squared timbers underneath.

Now, cut a suitable hole in the pond liner (picture 1), insert the drain and secure it in place with the screw provided (picture 2).
Once the drain is in place, you can also tack down the second long side of the liner. When you’re finished, the pond liner should cover the inner area entirely and be stretched and tight. Any protruding ends can be trimmed off (picture 3).

How about a splash of colour? It’s worth giving your raised bed a quick coat of paint to achieve that perfect summer look – you can either opt for one bright wall of colour or unleash your inner artist and go for a multi-coloured design. Tap into your creative side – the sky’s the limit!
It’s best to get your hands on a paint spray system when dealing with larger surfaces. If you’d rather use a large range of different colours, then a paintbrush is the better option.

Finally, it’s time to add another four wooden planks to the top frame. You can give your raised bed a high-quality finish by mitre-cutting the four planks at 45 degrees. Drill holes in the sawn planks and then screw them down firmly.

Your raised bed is now ready for plants – but the wooden box will only stand on its four supports after this step. It’s up to you whether you want to leave the area below the bed open or if you want to cover it up as we have in our example. You’re a DIY expert, after all. You can build simple wood panelling by following the steps as you did before for the upper box for the bed.

Before you start planting the raised bed, you should make sure that you plant the right layers of leaves, compost and soil. Proceed as follows:
-Create a foundation with branches and leaves.
-Place compost on top, about 5-6 months old.
-Follow with a layer of topsoil.
-For the top layer, use ordinary potting soil.
-You can put your plants and things in there now.