A longtime customer and product tester for Gardener’s Supply, Carrie has transformed her struggling lawn into a thriving kitchen garden with our new CedarLast Raised Beds and Obelisk.
[Editor’s note: This is the first in a series of three posts from Carrie Bettencourt about her backyard makeover. Read the second post on seed starting and the third post about installation day.]
To start this story I have to start at the ending — otherwise all the crazy details might not mean so much. Today I have a fabulous garden filled with beautiful cedar raised beds. Wow!
Before the makeover
The story starts with a plan to move to a house in Southern California. The yard had nice sunlight and an area of lawn but, sadly, no gardens. Maybe not a problem for most, but I would be leaving behind an established garden — a rocking urban garden!
Although I knew we’d be making the big move in June — the height of the growing season — I just kept on working my old garden like I would be there forever. I thought that at least the new owners would be all set for a summer of veggies.
In my state of denial, I did one little thing that changed everything — I ordered some planters from Gardener’s Supply, a company I had used as a resource for ages. My three little containers arrived and I filled them with plants that I planned to move with me. I was so happy with the containers, I photographed them and posted the pictures on Instagram. Lucky for me, Deborah from Gardeners Supply Company noticed my photo and contacted me. Deborah coordinates research and product testing, and we began a relationship that involved me testing more garden containers.
The Big Move
Greens, herbs and flowers thrive in Carrie’s new raised beds.
Then moving day came — cue sadness. The new place didn’t have any gardens. But I couldn’t give up on gardening, so I just kept growing things in containers for the rest of that first summer and winter. In spring I would make a decision about where and how to make my new gardens.
This delay had a silver lining, because it gave me time to get to know my new space. I moved my planters around and figured out the seasonal sun path. I won’t bore you with all the challenges and pitfalls, but they included the usual things like pests, drought, and raccoons. Without those insights I would have made different decisions about almost everything. I definitely recommend taking time to get to know a new place before digging in.
As Christmas approached the stars must have aligned, because I was starting to think that raised beds would be the right solution here. At the same time, Deborah at Gardener’s Supply was thinking that maybe I’d want to test the CedarLast raised beds they planned to introduce in February. She didn’t have to twist my arm — I jumped on it and knew just the right area for them.
Planning Time
I poured all my past season’s frustration and longing into the design of the new space. To plan for the new beds, I drew a grid and moved around scaled cutouts of the raised beds I’d be receiving. My goal was a layout that was lovely and functional.
I planned for:
- Enough space between beds to roll a wheelbarrow,
- Some areas of shade so I could grow greens during our hot summer,
- Aesthetics, since this would also be living space for us.
I wasn’t looking for a huge garden with unlimited tomato varieties and such. We are urban dwellers and my aim is to have a kitchen garden full of things we like to eat — a doable goal with our limited space.
My list of planting wants included an herb garden, lots of greens and salad makings, beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, okra, and artichokes. Also on that list are flowers for the pollinators — and the humans. I try to keep everything edible, even the flowers, in the spirit of a true kitchen garden. I left some unplanned space in case I came across something new or interesting to try.
Next step: ordering seeds! In the next post I’ll share my seed starting adventures.
I was lucky enough to see Carrie’s garden during a recent visit to the west coast. It’s as great as it looks and I left feeling inspired. I have had great results with the Tomato Success Kits for years, and trust me I’m no Gardner. Might just be ready to try something new this spring. Thanks Carrie! Keep up the good work.
What a great story, Carrie! I always check with Deborah regarding gardening occasional problems and failures. I love to report successes!
Keep up the good work!!
This is an inspiration for my adult son and me. We continue to strengthen our realationship in many ways. This spring it is breaking new ground through gardening. I retrieved the two Gardeners Supply raised beds from a house I sold three years ago. The new owners were not using them and agreed to let me have them. I moved them to his new home where we will work together to continue the gardening tradition with him and his family. He is already talking about adding more beds and planting more vegetables. We will continue to grow our relationship as well.
Carrie, your garden looks fantastic! I’ve told my wife that once we have found a house that we’re going to stay in for the rest of our lives that I wanted to turn my backyard into what you have done. Now that I’ve seen your yard, I’ll have to nudge my wife “a tad harder” to make a decision on the house we’re in now or move! 🙂
Great job and thank you for sharing! God Bless
Thank you so much! I hope you get your home soon. Until then, I had great luck using containers and I am still using them along with the beds.
Looks great! I would like to do something similar.
Did you put all the gravel down first and then put the planters with soil in them on top of the gravel?
Thank you! We put down a weed barrier first and then the beds. The pea stone was added last after the irrigation and beds were in place.
Weed barriers last only so long. And moving all the gravel is not very practical. How do you plan to address the weeds/grass besides pulling up? once the barrier is broken – yipes!!