Planting Bed Agist Siding

The house is stucco.

Planting bed agist siding.

Ideally following that half of the full final width plus a foot rule. Keep the soil a minimum of 12 inches away from siding. Homeowners savvy about gardening can use evergreen shrubs for the bones of the foundation planting beds then supplement with plants offering spring blooms summer flowers and or fall foliage. Foundation beds can be a great place for mixed gardens that include a wide variety of plants including spring flowers.

In my own yard a few years ago i put fiber cement siding to use in the landscape as a flexible form for a curved concrete porch and also to hold soil back temporarily during a grading job. A planting bed next to your house can sometimes lead to excess dirt on the brick or siding. Add 6 to 8 inches of organic material on top of the soil in the bed and till it approximately 6 to 8 inches into the soil. You dig the plastic in at least 12 leave enough above ground to stick up at least 4 above the soil in the raised bed.

Then you can use white stone 3 8 to 1 2 inch to provide a fill that will stay dry and prevent the problems that are caused by dirt contacting the siding. Water and soil against a foundation can damage siding causing mold mildew and rot. Both cedar and redwood add a beautiful look to your raised bed garden while also employing a natural resistance to moisture bugs and rot. I wonder if it is necessary to build a barrier against the house using brick wood or simply plastic.

While i ve seen fiber cement siding suggested as a raised bed material it doesn t strike me as a durable product for holding back heavy wet soil. The traditional advice on layering a landscape is to have the smallest plants in the front and the tallest ones closest to the house so you can see the progression of plants but the taller the plant the further it needs to be positioned away from the house. Nail it into place with finish nails. Or can i just fill the planter directly against the side of the house.

While these materials will still break down over time you ll easily get five or more years from a properly built cedar or redwood bed with some even lasting a decade or more depending on the climate. My intuition tells me that filling 2 feet of dirt against the siding would probably not be ideal but would like professional advise. All kinds of creative items can be used to make raised bed gardens including siding and repurposed materials. Tilling the organic material into the soil helps create a rich planting medium most plants thrive in.

Line up one of the 1 x 38 pieces of cedar on the bottom of the siding.