Due to the fact that humans have been growing plants for food since before the dawn of recorded history, it should come as no surprise that there are countless methods for establishing a garden. While modern gardens are not necessarily designed purely for the purpose of producing vegetables and/or fruit, this has done nothing to lessen the number of gardening methods. Some methods, such as the use of raised beds, have a lot to offer. Before covering those benefits, it would be worth spending a moment or two discussing just what a raised gardening bed is and how they are formed.

There are actually many kinds of raised gardening beds, but the one feature that is shared amongst all raised gardening beds is the fact that they contain soil added on top of an existing surface. In some cases the surface is nothing more than packed soil, but in other cases the soil may be added on top of cement bricks or other surfaces. Short raised garden beds may not necessarily need any perimeter protection, but taller raised beds almost certainly need some sort of solid material around their exterior to guarantee their integrity.

This brings up the first benefit of raised beds for gardening: variable height. Some people are not capable of, or otherwise enjoy, spending a lot of time bending over a garden or resting on their knees. Raised beds can be created in such a way that they are height-appropriate for the caretaker(s) of a garden. Different heights can also be visually appealing, especially when the garden is in full bloom. There may be some height restrictions and other benefits associated to the combination of height and material choice.

One such example of this would be the use of porous materials that allow water to pass through the soil without collecting causing the underlying soil to become unstable. Another example would be the use of cinder blocks that conduct heat better than soil to enable a garden a few more weeks of life-giving heat during the course of any given year.

The ability to control soil density is often another reason why many people prefer raised beds for their gardens. Soil density can be a problem for plants that have difficulty taking root in dense soil. Without loose soil in a semi-controlled bed, it would impossible to grow many plants in areas of the world that have soil conditions substantially different than the region in which those plants originate.

Even the shortest of raised beds offer easily identifiable walkways, which can extend the life of plants that grow wide roots in shallow soil. After all, it is difficult for a plant to grow when its roots are constantly being trampled. As a result, raised beds both guide the development of roots and ensure that the boundaries of the garden is well respected. This is especially true with taller raised beds, but even smaller raised beds benefit from the clear delineation of space and the less densely packed soil.