Wordy Wednesday?!

I asked Mr. Workerman to price out (DIY building) a raised bed exactly like this. This beauty is from one of my all time favorite websites - Gardener's Supply Company.

I asked nicely several times.

Days... weeks later... nothing. So I asked again (not so nicely) and the response I got was surprising.

 "You'd better just buy it. But you can't tell anyone you bought it! You have to say we found it at Goodwill or at a garage sale or something." 

He was tired of my annoying persistence. :)

***

Now, I'm not a frivolous spender when it comes to gardening (or anything for that matter), but I will admit I don't usually set a "budget" for anything other than our obligatory bills. If I like something and it's reasonably priced (in my mind) I usually buy it. 

I was drawn to this particular raised bed because it was: 1) gorgeous! and 2) high enough to keep all our bunnies away, and 3) just the right size.

The bed received fabulous reviews on Gardeners.com and many of the people who initially purchased one bed ended up purchasing multiple beds. Also, I must say that even though Workerman didn't price it out for me, I checked a few websites (Menards, the Home Depot and Lowe's) for lumber and parts pricing before I clicked the order button. I think the DIY costs, plus Mr. Workerman's time (and complaining) would have been equal to what I spent.

Now I just have to wait for it to arrive and the snow to melt. We're super stoked to have this beautiful piece right outside our south door. The door opens into our kitchen; the bed will serve as our little potager garden. 

It will go something like this...

Isn't it cute!? We're going to situate it about 24" from the foundation and a few feet away from the stairs; leaving space for potted herbs, flowers and a hibiscus or citrus tree. In the future we'll place some pavers or slate stepping stones from the stairs toward the back of the house. I think.

Because I'm nervous about growing my first veggie garden (I don't want it to look messy), I've tried to plan what goes where. The Square Foot Gardening method is my plan of attack. *Mr. Workerman will make the planting grid for me.

This is what I came up with...

 The numbers indicate how many plants per sq. ft.

What do you think? Any suggestions? Since I've never done this before I'm open to any suggestions or relocation. Mel's Mix will be what I fill the bed with and we'll discuss that later - it's been a source of great anxiety. 

***

Sorry this Wednesday was pretty wordy, but I've been neglecting my blog for a week. I hope you enjoyed this preview of what's to come in Sarah's Garden World.

I'd better get to work... I need to fill all these tubes tonight :)

 Happy gardening, my friends!

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++