Two summers ago, my husband planted a garden in our backyard. Determined to get lots of good veggies and fruits, he put a wire fence around it to keep the dogs out. That didn’t last long—we slowly watched basil and rosemary plants being stripped clean by the dogs!

This project is a result of trying to find a way to have a garden and keep the dogs out of it! If you’re not a handy one, you might want to hire someone to help you out in constructing your base. (Intermediate carpentry skills required—My daughter’s drum teacher helped us!)

Supplies:

  • Screw gun and screws
  • Drill
  • Chalkboard spray paint
  • 2 Ikea Trofast storage boxes (they come in either pink or orange )
  • 1 bag of river rocks (available at home improvement stores)
  • 1 bag of potting soil
  • chalk

Lumber:

  • 4″ x 4″ x 9′ beam
  • 2″ x 6″ x 6′ beam
  • 2″ x 4″ x 90″ beam

Directions:

Before you start cutting and building, we suggest you spray paint all the pieces with the chalkboard spray paint. We will do this in three steps: the top, the base, and the legs.

Top

  1. Cut your 2 x 4 into four pieces: two 32″ pieces and two 13″ pieces.
  2. Attach the 13″ pieces to the 32″ pieces with screws to form a large rectangle; dimension should be 13″ x 36″.
  3. Put this rectangle to the side.

Base

  1. Cut your 2 x 6 in half so you have two pieces of lumber that measure 2 x 6 x 36.
  2. Attach these two pieces to the “bottom” of your rectangle.
  3. Using screws and your screw gun, make each 2 x 6 flush with the edge of your rectangle base leaving a 1″ or so gap down the middle of your rectangle.

Legs

  1. Cut your 4 x 4 into four 27″ lengths.
  2. On a flat surface, stand all four legs upright and gently place your rectangle base on top of the four legs. You will have to adjust the legs so that the four legs will be flush with the four corners of the base.
  3. Make sure that you have the 2 x 6 part of your base down, resting on the legs. Gently screw through the 2 x 6 into the legs until you have all four legs attached. Use at least two screws for each leg.

Preparing for Your Garden

  1. Now that you have your base built, it’s time to get to the fun part!
  2. Drill 6 holes in the bottom of your bins for water drainage. Insert your bins. Fill halfway with river rocks. Pour 1″ of soil into each bin. Plant your herbs into the soil, filling in dirt around your herbs.
  3. Take your chalk or chalk pen and write across the front of your base the names of the herbs in your garden. Water gently and tend often. Enjoy!