Raised-Bed Gardening: How to Grow More in Less Space

Whatever the size of your garden or outdoor space, raised beds can work for you. With Simon Akeroyd's Raised-Bed Gardening: How to Grow More in Less Space, home gardeners will find the perfect bed to suit their needs and objectives.

Greater yields and less watering are the keys to using and maintaining raised garden beds. The heart of the book comprises step-by-step instructions for building and maintaining 15 types of raised beds - from the conventional to the innovative "keyhole garden," which is particularly effective in hot and dry climates, to rooftop. The book also offers plans for raised-bed dining areas and designs to be used by children.

Illustrated with 250 images, Raised-Bed Gardening answers numerous questions, including how big and high to make a bed, using reclaimed and recycled materials, extending the season, tackling pests, watering and water conservation, and maintenance.

Herb, vegetable and ornamental gardens are explained in detail as well as:

• building a bed with center pond
• rotating crops
• creating fruit cages
• dealing with compost

Also included are suggestions for building projects and planting schemes to inspire you to create your own unique raised-bed garden.

Simon Akeroyd is a garden writer with a passion for both kitchen gardening and cooking. He contributes to numerous magazines including Grow Your Own (as the Allotment Gardener) and was also a garden and food writer for the BBC. His books include Shrubs and Small Trees, Lawns and Ground Cover, the Allotment Handbook, A Small Course in Veg and Fruit, RHS Vegetables for the Gourmet Gardener, and (as co-author) Grow Your Own Fruit. He was previously a garden manager for the Royal Horticultural Society, and worked at both RHS Wisley and Harlow Carr.