apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

How did you create it?
I designed and built these beds for longevity since contact between the wood and wet soil is minimal. Four bottomless beds are framed in redwood and lined with 16-inch slate tiles. They are 3.5' wide x 8' long x 19" high.

Top edges are 2x6s; bases, ends and vertical supports are 2x4s alternated with ripped 2x4s. End sections have 4x4 corners and are lag-bolted to sides. The bottom edge of each tile rests on nails pounded into inside edge of base 2x4s. Tiles fit flush under inside edge of top 2x6s and the soil holds the tiles against the wood frame. Each tile seam is hidden behind a 2x4 vertical support.

I had a lot of fun color-matching the different tones of slate tiles for each of the boxes.

My two strawberry pots sit up on tree stumps to keep them out of the reach of my little-girl-dog Maggie. Last fall, we had a storage shed built shoehorned into the street-side corner of this side yard. It's just under four feet wide and nineteen feet long, with three doors along its length. Even after six months, we still refer to it as the "best money we ever spent."

The shed's only possible siting meant that our city garbage and recycle cans migrated further into our side yard, so I built a willow screen to shield them from view.

I'm an enthusiastic composter! I always have two bins cooking. The larger green garbage can is full of finished compost and the smaller tan can has leaf mold.

And, there's always a project waiting! I'll next attempt to fashion a stump table from sections of an oak tree that was cut down on the nearby greenbelt. My ears perked up when I heard a city crew with a chain saw. I'll also try to convert my recent find of a vintage storm window into a garden wall cabinet. And, a concrete urn is patiently waiting to be used as a fountain or succulent planter.

Recommended store, site, product or resource?
The Garden Terrace/Antique Trove in Roseville, CA for the cabinet; Silverado Building Materials in Sacramento, CA for the slate tiles; and Hibbert Lumber, here in Davis, for all of the lumber.