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Building A Raised Bed Garden - Page 4

© Marge Talt

The design called for this kind of abutment in several places which gave me a bit of grief down the road, since what actually happens on a site will vary from the most carefully drawn plans.

Grading

This garden needed to slope from the steps to a drain at the opposite end so that hard rains would run off and not flood it. A slope of approximately one quarter inch in every foot was needed to make sure water would flow where I wanted it to go. The amount of cut had to allow for the final thickness of the flagstone plus the stonedust underlayment.

Considerable time was spent futzing with a string level and stakes and doing copious mathematical calculations on the backs of envelopes...not my forté. Eventually, I got it about as accurate as I was able to and began the grading.

I've done a good deal of grading, over the years, and the one indispensable tool for this work is my old "come-along". It may have another name, but that's what I learned to call it from the concrete installers who use it to spread concrete. You won't find this tool at the garden center. You need to find a contractor's supply house. They are not expensive and pay for themselves many times over. Mine's been through the wars, as you can see. If you're planning any grading, I highly recommend getting one of these. They are also useful for smoothing out planting beds, leveling gravel - just about any job that requires making an even surface.

The soil in the beds was left at its original level since there wasn't a reason to remove it - lousy soil can be improved. Grading started at the high end, at the foot of the steps. About half way down the length of the garden I realized that my first attempt at masonry with mortar was in trouble.

At the upper left of the photo of the graded area, you can see this pathetic item, a catch basin with a fitted cast iron drain. It was meant to be the low point of this garden. As you can see, my initial calculations were a bit off. This had been built several years ago, when the drain tile went in, by excavating a hole and building the brick catch basin in the hole. In a hole no more, it had to have the two top layers of brick removed and the grate had to be reset so that it would be level with the paving.

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