DIY Cinder Block Raised Garden Bed

4 Materials
$40
2 Hours
Easy
I have a garden bed in my home's front yard where nothing grows. Even worse, the ground there is hard as a rock! So I recently built a super inexpensive raised garden bed there so I could plant some colorful fall mums.
I had some concrete/cinder blocks left over from a previous project, so I decided to put them to use. I thought they'd be good for building a raised garden bed, so I laid them out in a rectangular shape.
After the garden bed was laid out, all there was left to do was fill my new garden bed with dirt and plant some mums! I also used some concrete bricks to cover the holes in the cinder blocks. (Another option would have been to also plant in the holes of the cinder blocks.)


The mums add a lot of color to my home's front yard. I am looking forward to planting the bed with some pretty flowers in the spring! I also might place a colorful Adirondack chair next to the planting bed.
At some point, I'm thinking of using concrete to mortar the bed together and to add more concrete bricks to the top of the raised garden bed frame. This was a super easy project -- it took me less than 2 hours in all!
I'm pretty happy with how my project turned out. In the spring, I'm contemplating perhaps getting more concrete bricks to better cover the holes in the blocks. I might often widen the bed a bit. Or, I could plant ivy or marigolds in the holes. I would also like to add more mulch to the garden bed. It's a work in progress!
Resources for this project:
12 Cinder Blocks
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Lauren of Mom Home Guide
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  • Zzz8284885 Zzz8284885 on May 12, 2018

    When I saw the cinderblocks by the big tree, I was hoping that there was a project around the tree, that is what i need to dress up my big tree. nothing wants to grow there. Can you help me.

    Thanks,

    zzzmex@comcast.net

  • Dla7578319 Dla7578319 on May 12, 2018

    Yes, ready I am.... just need the blocks

    What do I use for the liner... can I use large black plastic Bags ... ?

  • Loretta Loretta on Jul 17, 2021

    Did you prep the soil under the blocks or just start where blocks paced ie.. till, put down weed retardant

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  • Bobbi Convery Bobbi Convery on Jun 03, 2018

    This little planter will fill in nicely and you will be glad you did it. Thanks for the tutorial.

  • Lauren of Mom Home Guide Lauren of Mom Home Guide on Jul 18, 2021

    Thank you! It's nice to have a garden. When I put this garden together I was dealing with a heath issue at the time. So it was nice that I was able to quickly create a garden that I could enjoy without a lot of work.

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