We Built This Garden

You were the one who built Windsor Castle with your Erector set. You know how to build a terraced garden. Don't you? Actually, you've never built anything on an incline. The principles of Erector sets will help you with your terraced garden designs. Here's a crash course:

1. Connect the joints--use 18-inch pipes or spikes to connect timbers. Anchor with timber posts if the slope and the ground permit. Use heavy cornerstones and mortar to anchor rock frames for elevated gardens.
2. Start from the bottom--if your terrace is at the bottom, it will typically be a low-riser--bury timbers, railroad ties and stone to about half their thickness to create an elevated garden frame.
3. Have a firm foundation--even in hard soil, make sure the trench bottom is firmly planted.
4. Even it out--digthe sides of your terraced garden trenches so they are level with the bottom of the first trench.
5. Build on the foundation--use the back timber of your first tier for the front of your second tier.
6. Have all your tools at hand--there's no need to leave spaces for wheelbarrows when you're lining elevated gardens with soil--though if you create paths with railings down the slope, you'll find filling your elevated gardens to be easier.

Mix your compost beforehand--you can even blend it with the soil so you don't have to make two trips. Everyone said you wasted your time with Erector sets--now you can have the least laugh and a beautiful terraced garden.