Sloping sleeper bed

Daithi29

Hi all. Finished this at the weekend but quickly realised it wont work with the soil sloping from left to right. Tried leveling it a bit but still the same problem. 

Would you make it a 3 tiered bed by putting slats across at the different levels? Would that work? Or drive stakes in to make the different levels? Or just remove the soil and level it to the lower level? Or something I'm not thinking of? 

All suggestions welcome

Thanks a mil

Dave

Dave Humby

Does the garden slope left to right or is that just the effect of how you've arranged the sleepers? If it does then you need to flip how you've arranged them with 'higher' sleepers to be on the right hand side as you look at it. 

If it's level ground then you'd want the same numbers of sleepers on all 3 sides. In which case if you took the two top sleepers off and added them to the RHS then it looks like you'd be pretty level. Maybe I'm missing your point? 

Daithi29

Hi Dave. No the garden is flat but just built the bed like that for purely aesthetic reasons. We had an old plain level bed there previously so wanted something different. 
 Cheers

KeenOnGreen

I assume you want an asymetric bed, in which case well done for not just going with the usual level bed!  Straight angles and level soil can make for a dull garden.  I prefer the sloping soil in photo one.  

Where you have banked the soil up against the brick wall in the second photo doesn't look so good to me, but you should go with your personal taste.  It doesn't look steep enough that the soil will slip down the slope, so no need for additional sleepers to be added between each section.  You could have a lot of fun with the planting, playing on your idea of a slope.  Let us see what it looks like when finished, and don't be tempted to make the planting level, really run with the "lopsided" look.

Dave Humby

Davewalsh29 said:

Hi Dave. No the garden is flat but just built the bed like that for purely aesthetic reasons. We had an old plain level bed there previously so wanted something different. 
 Cheers

I'm with you now Dave. For some reason it didn't look like your second pic downloaded when I first viewed your post but having read KOG's comments I can see now! Yes I also like the look of this unbalanced arrangement, it might look a little 'boxy' otherwise. You could have some groundcover type planting to the RHS if you have any concerns over soil loss etc. Go for it.

Daithi29

Thanks guys. Appreciate the feedback. I think it looks nice the original way, sloping from left to right, but its driving my artist wife crazy. Apparently you cant have a slope against the straight lines of the wall and the bed!! Or can you....

I'm presuming if left like in the first photo there'd be no issue of the lower level plants, on the right, being waterlogged from the top level? 

KeenOnGreen

I must admit the square trellis with the sloping bed doesn’t work for me.  Ask your wife for her creative suggestion about what to do with it!

Perhaps if you moved the trellis to the right hand side of the bed it might look more balanced.  Something in art known as “the golden triangle “

Lizzie27

It doesn't work for me either I'm afraid, I agree with your wife.

Greenbird

Will you really notice once it's full? 

Daithi29

Just had that thought myself Greenbird. Know it looks a bit off now but once the trellis is full of sweet pea and there are a few evergreen shrubs at the back of the border I think it might balance out? 

Also need to figure out what to start growing to fill it 🙂

Yviestevie

It's the trellis that makes it look strange.  Instead of a square trellis with a straight top can't you echo the slope of the bed and make the uprights taller at the left hand side and shorter on the right.