This article has been a long time coming. Since 2016, we have installed a wide assortment of gardens around our urban homestead, which has helped me to form a pretty good idea of the pros and cons of the different kinds of gardens. As always, this blog is about my experiences, and I hope that sharing my observations and opinions can help get you started in the right direction. Below I’ll be introducing you to the types of gardens we utilize here, and how they have performed for me so far.

Ready to start gardening? The first thing to consider before starting a garden is what kind of space you have to work with. As you review the different types of gardens below, try and keep in mind which descriptions seem to match your space, your needs, and your goals. 

»The Raised Bed Garden

This type of garden has become extremely popular, especially in urban and suburban areas. Raised beds are simply a constructed frame of metal or wood that sits on top of the ground and can be filled with the soil of your choice in order to grow plants. 

We started our first garden area in raised beds. Our concept was inspired by potager gardens (the French term for a kitchen garden), and was comprised of five wood beds for a total of 119 square feet of growing space. The personal reasons we chose to start with raised beds were: (1) we were beginners and felt intimidated by our hard, clay soil (2) I liked the look of raised beds for this space. The picture below is of our original raised beds we built in 2016—and we still garden in them today.

Our raised beds are made from redwood because it has great rot resistance, is all-natural, ages into a beautiful greyish patina, and will last for 5-10 years. Another great wood for raised beds is cedar. Personally, I gravitate towards natural wood (not chemically treated) because it ages beautifully and I don’t need to worry about chemicals. There has been a concern about pressure treated wood leaching chemicals into your garden soil and, while arsenic is no longer used in the process, I still recommend going with an all-natural wood.

If you are interested in crafting your own wood raised beds you can read How to Build a Wood Raised Bed. If you are looking for raised beds that are ready-to-go and quickly assembled, Greenes makes many cedar garden kits like these and Epic Gardening offers birdie’s metal beds that I used for my strawberry patch. 

While I love our raised beds, and they are still working after all these years, there are some very important cons or drawbacks to these types of raised gardens:

Buying materials. The materials to build raised beds can be expensive. You want to use the good stuff, so your beds can cost upwards of $200 just for lumber.  

Soil cost. Filling raised beds can be expensive. You’ll have amazing soil quality, but it does cost money.

Time investment to get started. Leveling your ground area and assembling your beds will take more time than a small container or digging straight in the ground. 

»In-Ground Garden Beds

All of the landcsape around the perimeter of our yard is considered “in-ground” gardening. In-ground (or flat-earth) gardens utilize the exisiting soil and entail planting directly in the ground. For us, the major benefit to in-ground gardening was cost. The bulk of the soil is already there, and so labor was really all it took to get growing. We determined the shape of our garden, removed the grass with shovels, amended the soil, and done! I have found the following pros/benefits to gardening in-ground:

If you go by square footage, we actually grow more in-ground here at Freckled Californian than in raised beds. Honestly, we have saved so much money on building materials and soil by utilizing what already came with our property. Although I feel like most of the time this type of garden is most cost-efficient, there are some MAJOR drawbacks to in-ground gardens, such as:

Why should I test my soil before planting in the ground?

A proper, laboratory soil test can cost anywhere from $50-$150, but when you compare that to the start-up cost for raised beds or large containers, it’s really inexpensive. You will also save a lot of money in the long run if you are able to amend and use your existing soil. Testing your soil properly will also give you  the best starting point for your garden. Sadly, urban soil is often contaminated by things like heavy metals and pollutants. This could come from factories, refineries, freeways, and even older homes that were painted with lead paint. Make sure you ask for lead, heavy metal, and contaminant tests so you can proceeed knowing your soil is safe. We got our soil tested when we first moved in so that I knew we could garden safely for the future and knew what kind of soil we were working with. I have never regretted that decision!

If you are ready to create an in-ground garden bed, check out our front yard transformation in the video below. PS: while you are there, make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel!

»Container Gardens, Pots, and Grow Bags

This year I added a lot more grow bags to our garden. A huge advantage was how quickly we could set up the grow bags and start growing. Also, we currently have over twenty different herbs and trees growing in containers around our property. We love growing in containers for the following reasons:

I really recommend starting a container garden if you just want to grow a few herbs and see how you like it! It’s a simple, non-committal way to get into gardening. While we love having plants growing in pots or containers, there are some cons to growing in containers:

Choices for containers, pots, and grow bags

You have some choices when it comes to containers to grow in.

There are products called “grow bags” that are essentially heavy duty fabric pots. Grow bags are re-usable and easy to store when not in use. Companies like Smart Pots also tout benenfits like “air pruning” which is supposed to benefit the root systems of plants. We use a lot of grow bags in our garden, as you can see in the photo above. I’m growing tomatoes, basil, and marigolds in large 15 gallon grow bags.

There are also a lot of materials you should not use for gardening—especially for any edible plants. Be wary of plastic containers, painted containers, or metal ones. You want to be sure that whatever you are growing in won’t leach toxins into the soil—especially if you are growing plants you plan on eating! Many pots at the store will have the words “for decorative use only” listed on them which signals that it is not safe for growing food.

Terra Cotta is a very traditional material for gardening containers, as long as it is unglazed.

»Elevated Gardens

This is kind of a hybrid garden, between a raised bed and a container. Elevated gardens are wonderful for patios, balconies, and small spaces that need to be multi-functional. They come with the benefits of raised beds (like control of soil quality and ease of tending), while also being much larger in capacity than your regular containers, pots, or grow bags. Also, a lot of these elevated gardens have the option for mesh covers that assist with protecting your vegetables from pests and critters-—highly beneficial for those of us in urban environments or even patios/porches.

As far as beautiful elevated gardens go, I find that VegTrug makes a wide assortment of products for balconies, patios, small spaces, and more. Most of their products are like a raised bed that is simply much taller. Another option for elevated gardens are vertical planters. For example, I’ve heard great things about this tower garden from GreenStalk.

Conclusion

Are you ready to start gardening? I hope this article has helped you get a good feel for the different types of gardens and which garden that might be right for you. Every space is different and each gardener has different priorities, which is why there’s not only one way to garden! Remember, it’s also okay to have ALL these types of gardens in your space! If you enjoyed this blogpost please leave comment or share it with a friends. Feel to sign-up for my FREE email newsletter where I send out updates, garden reminders, seasonal recipes, and more!