13 practical ideas to create raised flower beds that are easy to manage and also ideal as a compact vegetable garden

When it is necessary to make space for the cultivation of vegetables - but also some ornamental plants - very often it is a habit to group the various types in flower beds, thereby allocating the plants to a specific spot. Flower beds are generally dug into the ground, but where this is inconvenient or there is no space available (perhaps the garden is paved for instance), then raised flower beds become very useful.

They can be large planters on supports of various kinds or portions of land contained by supports of different types: you can use DIY projects to build raised planters with wood, with bricks, with concrete or even by creatively recycling waste items.

If you don't feel like construction or recycling, you can use fabric flower beds: they are made of a durable, yet breathable fabric, and they can be installed in no time at all. They basically only need to be filled with soil!

These planters have a similar shape, but are the result of creative recycling: it is a solution obtained by giving a new life to old tires - perhaps even painted in cheerful colors.

Plastic crates of the super sturdy type: you cover their insides with a suitable fabric, and then start growing your plants in the soil (which is inside the crate).

Bricks: a bit like setting up decorative borders, but used to demarcate a dedicated flowerbed!

Old metal basins, drinking troughs, barrels and wooden vats - they can all become your raised vegetable beds. But they will also look beautiful with ornamental plants growing out of them.

And then there are an infinite number of DIY projects with wood - some more sophisticated than others.

It is also easy to join wood and metal sheets - although these are best for building very large flower beds, as the metal heats up easily.

In large planters of this type, you can also install irrigation systems.

It is also useful to protect the flowerbeds from any unwanted guests - perhaps with a small mesh fence to deter rabbits.

Or an arched cage / barrier that prevents birds from eating all the seeds.

The convenience of raised flower beds lies in the fact that they bring the level of the ground to be worked on to a height that is comfortable for everyone. Think how nice it is not to have to bend down constantly to remove weeds or collect the fruit.

And you could even make one with tall legs, and with space for extra shelves - it'll be a protected planter and can even be used as a work station.

Another easy and inexpensive option is to use concrete cinder blocks.

Happy gardening!