A raised bed can not only be set up in a simple box made of wood, plastic or metal, a dry or mortared border made of natural stone is also ideal for building such a little garden. This variant is particularly recommended for terraced or sloping gardens, but such constructions also fit perfectly into the overall ensemble in normal gardens.
A raised bed can be delimited with a dry stone wall, for example
Advantages of natural stone
Natural stone has a number of advantages over other materials. Stone - not only natural stone, but stone in general - is extremely robust, so that raised beds made of it can be used for many years, even decades. In addition, beds with brick borders serve other purposes than just keeping the filling material inside: walls support slopes in hillside gardens, are suitable for creating a terraced garden or can also be used as seating or storage space. A creative variant of a raised bed is, for example, this one with a wide natural stone wall, on the edge of which a wide board has been embedded as a bench.
Other advantages of natural stone raised beds are:
- The natural cracks and small caves serve as shelter for small animals.
- This ensures that beneficial insects such as hedgehogs, earwigs, etc. feel at home in your garden.
- The side joints between the stones can be filled with soil and planted.
- Various rock garden plants are very suitable for this.
- Natural stone blends completely naturally and harmoniously into the environment.
- You can also use the stones to build paths or patios.
- The topic of "natural stone" runs like a red thread through your garden.
Which types of natural stone are suitable for building raised beds?
Of course, natural stone is not just natural stone, there are countless different types suitable for building a raised bed. These differ in their nature, their appearance and their processing. Granite or basalt can be used for dark-colored raised beds. If you like it lighter, you can use sandstone. On the other hand, constructions made of dolomite or crystalline marble look very elegant. Of course, many of the rock types mentioned are quite expensive. You can save a lot of money by building in boulders - which you have collected yourself, for example.
Building a natural stone raised bed - step-by-step instructions
You can create a natural stone raised bed without mortar as a dry wall or as a brick variant. Irregularly shaped stones that are stacked tightly on top of each other and whose joints are filled with potting soil or gravel, if necessary, work best for dry stone walls. For mortared walls, on the other hand, stones with a straight, even edge are recommended, which are carefully placed on top of each other and firmly bricked up. A foundation is required for both constructions, for which you dig a pit at least 20 centimeters deep. Their bottom must be carefully compacted with a vibrator, then fill in gravel. This too needs to be consolidated. For correspondingly high walls, depending on the statics, cast concrete floor slabs or point foundations could also be useful.
tips
To keep your natural stone raised bed looking attractive for longer, you can clean it regularly (or have it cleaned). This can be done mechanically with a sponge, water and soap - or, especially with materials such as marble or dolomite, with a steam or high-pressure cleaner.(119.90€)