Raised planters on tarmac???

[cactuskiller]

I have a tarmac garden and wanted to build some fairly narrow raised planters (to border a decked area). Does anyone know can I build them from brick? If so I wanted to ask the following questions:

Would I need to drainage holes?
Do I need to line the brick work with anything?
Do I need drainage material in the bottom?

I wanted to plant a small range of grasses in these planters and they would be approx 2.7 metres long and about 0.5 metres wide (including the brick work)..hopefully this would allow enough planting space for about 6 to 8 grass.

Bear in mind if responding that I have no building experience (but my OH does) and between us we have no knowledge on gardening..this will be my first ever garden

Thanks in advance!!!

[Bigmallly]

Firstly, welcome to the vine. Would it help if you grew them in pots rather than go to all that trouble for it not to work out. I can't comment on the planters as I'm not technically minded when it comes to brickwork etc.

[cactuskiller]

Thanks Bigmally for your reply. I will be "attempting" to grow some wild flowers and small bushes in pots but really wanted the raised beds to act more as a "frame" for the decked area which will be in a sunny corner...oooh!! You have given me an idea!!!...maybe a hollow brick wall built just wide enough for me to slot in some individual plant pots? You can get rectangle plant pots can't you?

[veggiechicken]

I have something similar using plastic planter troughs that drop between two low walls. If you're going down that route, buy the troughs before you build the wall to be sure that they'll fit!
And Welcome from me too!

[cactuskiller]

Thanks veggiechicken!! I have just been looking on B&Q and the creative side of my brain has kicked in!!! I was thinking of 3 x 45cm troughs (only £4.50 each bargain!!) and was going to get about 6 thick wood posts and use these to build up a frame made from Gravel Boards (these seem cheap enough too!!)...once I get to the base height of the troughs I was thinking of nailing chicken mesh across and then one more gravel board on top..idea would be that the frame would be just slightly wider than the trough and the trough would pop in the top of the frame and sit on the mesh!!!

Wish me luck!! Hopefully it will be affordable!!

I'm off to find out more about wild flowers, climbing plants and growing my own veg!! For someone that managed to kill a cactus kept on her desk I sure am being ambitious lol!!!

[Bigmallly]

How high is this wall?........fill in the "hollow" with compost and do away with pots........I've reversed my original answer now......Oh, my heads gone!..........

[cactuskiller]

I wanted to build them about 1 metre high. My main worry was that I would be building onto a tarmac base so I was worried about them becoming water logged....our entire garden area is black tarmac..not a spec of soil in site!!! My other half said that the tarmac would absorb water well enough though.

My other worry is cost...being as though a have a budget of £0.00 lol. I could source 2nd hand bricks which I was I was headed down that route..but then with the raised beds being so high and narrow the bricks would need to be pretty strong to take the weight of all the soil!! I guess I would need some hardcore in the bottom if I went down the troughless route?

[DGoulston]

I could not deal with a tarmac garden. I have a roof terrace at the moment, and miss the green.

Currently I am buying a house, and of the 75ft garden about 12ft of it is concreted over, and not long after we move in, we are ripping most of the concrete up for a veg patch/more grass, the less concrete the better!

[Bigmallly]

If the wall is to be a permanent fixture, chisel out the tarmac between the 2 courses of brick or drill holes in the tarmac every 6" or so.
Edit: If you are putting 2 walls close together you may need to put ties in to stop them seperating.

[cactuskiller]

DGoulston..I agree 100%. Our flat is ex-housing exec and they "landscaped" the garden areas. At present it is a black tarmac square with 7 foot black fencing around it...the focal point used to be a rotary dryer..which was replaced last week with a bird feeder..yay progress we now have birds visiting!!

Bigmally I think you have a point ref putting ties in between eek!!....I think it might be alot of work (my OH will be impressed lol)....so tempted to get him to kango the entire garden up!!!!

I think maybe the wood posts with garvel boards may be the way forward..I could maybe even have a go at building them myself..."clears throat" lol also at least these can be moved around the garden if need be..and took with us if we ever sell!!!

Any chance of any tips on the cheapest place to get gravel boards???

[chris]

Welcome to the vine.

I'm planning on laying a patio, and having two or three raised, rendered planters on it. As they'll be situated on the patio, they'll be no where for any water to drain out of, so I'll be incorporating drainage holes, on the side facing away from the house (so you can't really see them unless you look at the house from the garden).

Otherwise, any compost will start to go sour/growing medium will become waterlogged.

[Potstubsdustbins]

If you use brick be sure to groove the tarmac under the brickwork to get a good bond. As to drainage drop in 15mm plastic pipe in the bottom of the bottom row of vertical joints in the brickwork. Finally between the two walls fill the first foot of so with broken polystyrene to act as crocks.

Colin

[Bigmallly]

Any chance of any tips on the cheapest place to get gravel boards???

Do you have any scaffold companies nearby that could sell you some boards, you could always stain or paint them. Only thing with timber is it's lifespan but if lined with polythene.......

[Newton]

Cactus killer. Quest que ce?

Beware Tarmac mites if planting above the black stuff......welcome to the vine!

[Urban]

I'd try drilling a few holes in the Tarmac, or some plastic pipe with holes in, and then a few inches of gravel covering the holes/pipe then fill with soil, use ties to hold the walls together like someone mentioned previously