I Read It In A Magazine

…Say, Candy and Ronnie, have you seen them yet
But they’re so spaced out, Bennie and the Jets
Oh but they’re weird and they’re wonderful
Oh Bennie she’s really keen
She’s got electric boots a mohair suit
You know I read it in a magazine
Bennie and the Jets…

I have no idea why this song lyric is in my head this week, except that I have been thinking about a raised bed garden that I saw in a magazine way back in the 1980’s. This particular raised bed garden was built for a handicapped woman so she could sit in her wheelchair and tend to her garden. She was growing flowers and vegetables and herbs. The whole setup was beautiful. I think it was in Better Homes and Gardens as one of the featured gardens of the month.

When we owned our last house in Douglasville, Georgia, I had a raised bed garden in the back yard. There were actually two raised beds, each one measuring 4 feet wide by 12 feet long. I could grown a lot of vegetables in that space. It was easy to tend to, easy to keep weeded and watered. Those were only about 12 inches tall though, so I would have a really hard time, if not it was not impossible for me, to work it.

Yesterday we went to the hardware store so Fabgrandpa could buy a wheelbarrow and a leaf rake. The store had spring plants out: basil, parsley, oregano, thyme. They had some vegetable plants of things I love like lacinato kale, broccoli, brussels sprouts, tomatoes, peppers….That is when I started missing the raised beds.

I have googled raised bed for handicapped gardeners, and found quite a few plans and actual kits online for some pretty cool looking gardening beds. They have a pretty steep price tag on them, though. I know we could probably make something that would work for me, so I’ll just keep on searching and planning, so that maybe next year I can be prepared for springtime. I did find these online at Home Depot. Maybe a raised bed fairy will bring me one.