I am a raised bed convert. With very little sun in our backyard, I've been forced to do a front-yard vegetable garden to seek the sun. Fortunately, my neat, handsome Farmer D raised beds keep my veggie garden neat and tidy (a picket fence also helps hide the garden from passerby) and hopefully inoffensive to neighbors who may not think a front yard vegetable garden is visually appealing.

But there are lots of reasons to choose raised beds. Among them:

1. Better Soil

With a raised bed, you control the soil and make sure it's healthy, balanced and ready for optimum growing.

2. Easier Gardening

The right raised bed on a good surface can eliminate bending for those who can't easily move about, and can allow for wheelchairs to navigate, making raised beds ideal for the elderly and disabled.

3. Pest Control

Even raised beds that aren't especially high can remove your lovely edibles from trolling pests.

4. Small-Space Ready

If you have a small, or no yard at all, there is almost always somewhere you can use a raised bed; on a deck, a patio, or even a fire escape if you are very clever. Raised beds on legs are especially useful space-savers because you can store all of your supplies, like watering pails, potting soil and tools beneath.

Raised Bed Options

African Key Hole Raised Bed

Keyhole gardening comes from parts of drought-stricken Africa. This keyhole bed has a tunnel in the center, which operates as a built-in composter, so you can compost kitchen scraps directly in the bed to help provide moisture and nutrients to your plants while saving 70% of the water you would normally need to keep your produce well-watered. The beds are made from a food-grade, BPA-free polymer extrusion. For every 4 beds sold, Vita Gardens builds one of these high-performance keyhole beds in Rwanda, so you're doing good on two fronts: supporting sustainable architecture in Africa while limiting your water usage in your own garden. Beds come in various configurations and sizes, as well as color choices—depending upon what suits your space—with a natural wood-color and a pretty bright white perfect for a cottage garden. I recently added the handsome Urban-style African keyhole garden to my own Atlanta yard, which blends beautifully in the one sunny gap in my otherwise woody backyard and has a substantial amount of growing space. The bed was super-easy to install (unless there is any leveling of the ground needed, which can entail a bigger time commitment): 10 minutes from the box to the backyard.

Learn more about keyhole gardening here.

CedarCraft Raised Bed

The perfect fit for a small space, the CedarCraft Elevated Planter is ideal for balconies, patios, decks, anyplace where you might want to plant but don't have a great deal of growing room. These planters are high enough to keep back strain to a minimum (and keep pests away) and handsome to boot, with thoughtful design elements. Constructed of lovely—untreated—Western red cedar, so you can safely grow edibles, they are also easy to assemble. I keep mine on my deck right outside my kitchen door where I grow small pepper plants, herbs and other compact edibles that I can take from "farm"-to-table in a snap!

Farmstead Raised Garden

Handmade from Vermont white cedar, this Farmstead Raised Garden bed kit is based on a 17th century design. A slot and peg assembly holds the boards more securely than nails or screws. Use the 8-inch high beds separately or stack them for an elevated working surface. Stacking also lets you grow plants with very long roots. 

Raised, With Fence

A 13-1/2" high fence surrounds this 20"-high garden bed, helping deter dogs and rabbits. The front fence panels are hinged, so you can get into the 3'X6' bed to tend or harvest your plants.

WallHugger

Ideal for small spaces or gardeners who can't do a lot of bending or stooping, the VegTrug Wallhugger works as a raised garden bed. The V-shape design lets you grow plants with long roots. Use it in front of a fence or trellis for plants that need support, or tuck it into a narrow spot. Available in a kit, the trug is made of sustainable, plantation-grown fir.

Seed 'n' Feed

Some gardeners use galvanized troughs as raised beds for a cool, industrial look. This modular trough is made of long-lasting, coated Zincalume steel. Sold in a kit with 10 panels, the bed can be assembled into one of four shapes. Use one or more beds to fit your available space.  

Plant-a-Bar Garden

A raised bed with a little something extra, this very on-trend Plant-a-Bar raised bed allows you to grow the herbs, edible flowers and produce that will deliciously ornament your cocktails. Two tastes that taste great together: mixology and gardening are even better together!

Build Your Own!

Tackle the ultimate DIY project and build this handy raised bed with trellis to more easily grow tomatoes, beans and other edibles in need of additional support.