DIY your own raised flower bed

Ever dreamed of having a bed filled with colours to greet you from a tough day at work, shopping fatigue, etc? There's healing in colours when it is sent through the body.

Pink - promotes inner peace and love; helps people to become relaxed and can help with stress related problems.

Orange - helps one to become passionate and filled with desire in either love or life itself.

Yellow - helps a person to feel strong and have a sense of will to achieve in their life. It also helps people to let go of negative issues that are blocking them from moving on in their life.


Purple - helps a person to activate their psychic abilities, to restore memory loss and help to remove negative images that store in the brain.

Green - heals any traumas that a person has had or is facing within their life. Green is a positive colour that represents hope and healing on all the levels of consciousness. It can also open one up to unconditional love.

Step 1 : Spot a space for flower bed 7' by 2'. Gardeners will recommend you to choose a spot where it'll conveniently draw attention daily. Do lookout for ideas of flower beds and plants on the internet or any home magazines. Visualise a design that fits you. Draw up a simple map using measured squares and fill in the surrounding environment and your desired plants - this will give you an estimate cost for your budget.

P/S: We deviated a bit during plants-shopping. I would recommend you to visit nursery with plants-variety to choose from; arrange as if you were at your flower bed to decide on the plant colours, structure and theme - before your purchase. This prevents over-buying while you'll get the right look and satisfaction.

Yellow, Orange Marigolds takes backstage, Zinnia Yellow Flame takes center stage accompanied with Zinnia Pink and ends with matching leaves, oblong to ovate 3-10 cm long, the everlasting purple Gomphrena globosa. Gomphrena is commonly known as globe amaranth or Bachelor's Buttons.


Step 2 : Observe for a) 8-hours of sunlight, b) a distance away from trees and shrubs and c) no direct rainfall off the roof. Flowers need sunlight and heat for growth and blooms while strong rainfall impact will cause tender flower stems to bend out of shape and root rot from excessive watering.

Here, rainfall lands on the floor tiles, sends water splatters to neighbouring flower pots (left) and future flower bed (right) -which is good.

The new flowers are able to withstand the heat and rain for 2 days before planting.

Step 3 : To shore the Flower Bed edge, I decided on having rails of wood pieces (1' tall, cut into semi-circle) stapled to a weatherproof black band on reverse side - this forms a linkage. Why? It is lighter than rocks, taller than stones, flexible to shape the bed and easier to transport/carry. Weighs about 5kg each rail of wood pieces c/w steel needle 6" long stuck at bottom of both ends; needles act as anchor into the ground for firm grip.

The untreated flowerbed edge is then coated with Jotun's Woodshield protection to withstand high humidity and heavy downpours for long term. We selected colour 'Mahogany' to match our home exterior.

If you observe the end result, the linkages' coat colour harmonises with the dark soils - wonderful.

Step 4 : Here, our matured Philippine grass is cut according to the required shape and removed.

To my delight, previous fill 3'-4' of sand was enough a) to hold the linkage at the bottom and b) for drainage.

Step 5 : We dug a mini-trench to fit the linkages.

Once the linkages inserted into place, we flatten the sand from the middle to fill up the sides and gaps for firmer grip. Grass will fill up the outer sides over time. Voilà, a flower bed!

Step 6 : Flower plants are then placed into the flower bed as planned. Removed 1/10 of bottom roots each to fit below the level shortest linkage. Using black organic soil to a) fill the gaps between the plants and b) cover the plants' root and base of stems. Soil is pressed to remove air pockets and hold plants firmly. Removing air pockets in soil minimise root diseases and minimise sunken soil after watering.


Step 7 : Water to hydrate the new soil and to encourage root growth after all the damages during planting. Then add time-release fertiliser pellets.

Amazing colours in the sun.



Flower plants from Sg Buloh, flower bed edge and Jotun Woodshield from One-Stop and garden maintenance by Bkt Rimau Nursery.