One of our main summer projects this year is to build raised beds for cut flowers. We are building them in the front garden, and this year Kirsten has decided that she is going to grow dahlias. She purchased a large selection of bulbs from Sarah Raven a few months ago, which she has been nurturing in the studio, and if all goes well they will be planted out towards the end of May provided we don’t get any more frost warnings.
We are using 4″x”8, 2.4m long oak sleepers for the raised beds, which we have built into a large L-shape. The base (consisting of two levels) is now in place, and the biggest job to this point was levelling out the ground, which is on a slight incline, so that the raised beds are level.
The other mammoth task was lifting and arranging the sleepers, because they are ridiculously heavy. They are, however, now all in place. Over the course of the next few days (weather permitting) we will build a frame so that we can create a support structure for the dahlias, some of which will exceed 1.2m in height.
It’s been hard work so far, but it’ll all be worth it if Kirsten gets vases full of cut flowers this year.