Old Pool Deck Converted to Raised Garden Beds

My house used to have a pool.  In fact, when we first toured the house there was this very large, above ground pool with clean water and a sprinkler fountain.  A few months later when we actually closed on the house and we finally moved in we found an empty pool with a half torn cover on it and some kind person had decided to relieve us of the working parts inside the filter.  It was not a pleasant looking or pleasant smelling addition to the house.  After much consideration, we decided to remove the pool all together.  Which left us with a raised deck section attached to our existing side deck.  A few years later, we finally figured out what to do with the old pool deck and converted it to raised garden beds.

 

This post is all about creating a garden area to enjoy while living on a very wooded lot with little sunshine.

 

I didn’t want another pool anyway.

To be honest with you, I never really wanted another pool anyway.  Gasp!  Shocking I know to hear someone say they didn’t want a pool.  The thing is, I had already owned a very large in-ground pool for seven years at my other house and felt like I was constantly a slave to the everyday upkeep and cost of such a large pool.  When I saw that this house also had a pool, on what is a very densely wooded lot, I just cringed thinking of how many hours I would have to spend each day getting the leaves out of that pool.  I didn’t want it and when we discovered the parts had been stolen, we gladly removed the entire thing.

 

 

For many many years I have dreamed of a beautiful home garden, with walking paths and hidden gems of plants and sculptures and an overall charming place to enjoy.  Including a full produce garden to grow and enjoy. The reality is that my very wooded lot is overgrown with vines, weeds, plants I have never seen before, and creatures that love those types of areas.  Slowly but surely I will get that beautiful walking garden I dream of, but until then, I have created a small area that I can enjoy and attempt to grow some vegetables and flowers every summer.

 

 

Fast forward a couple of years and eventually the dug out area was enclosed and became our dog pen.  Since the raised part of the pool deck was part of that enclosure, we were left with the dilemma of what to do with the raised portion of our deck.

 

My husband was the genius behind converting the deck to a set of raised garden beds.

First thing we had to do though was some repair and maintenance work on the structure.  The rotten steps were replaced and all of the deck boards removed.  My husband and daughter then cut down the boards and created a walking area on the deck around the open areas for the beds.  Then we added a fresh coat of exterior paint that matched our house trim to the entire deck, lattice work, and beds.

 

 

 

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Old Pool Deck Converted To Raised Garden Beds

For a similar project such as this you will need:

• Wood raised garden bed kit or do something like we did and reuse what you have.
• Hardware Cloth
• Weed Barrier Fabric
• Raised Garden Bed Soil
• Plants of your choice

Next, he attached hardware cloth to the inside of each bed to hold the soil in place but to also allow for drainage.  A layer of weed barrier fabric was next and then about 20 bags of raised garden bed soil.

 

Now we have tomato plants, peas, beans, okra, peppers, and cucumbers rapidly growing in our small garden.  I am looking forward to picking our first batch of each in a few weeks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The squirrels must have thought we built this for their nut hiding places so we put up a fake owl.  Yeah…that only scared them for about a week.

 

 

He is cute though.

If you have put in a raised bed garden this summer I would love to hear all about it.

 

 

And if you dream of a beautiful, creative, and inspiring garden for your home like I do, check out this list of some of the best gardens in the world for inspiration.

 

 

 

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do.”  Ephesians 2:10