The starting pointOur first project · Home & Garden
Planning a rustic hillside garden in Northeast Ohio
We are turning an underused 20-by-10-foot edge of our yard into a protected garden for vegetables and native flowers.
- Footprint
- 20 × 10 feet
- Sun
- 4–6 hours
- Budget
- About $1,250
- Build
- Mostly DIY
The plan
The site sits where the lawn meets a dense wooded border. Tree roots, filtered light, wildlife, drainage, and a slight grade all shape the design. Rather than clearing it into a formal rectangle, we want raised beds, wood-chip paths, a simple wildlife fence, and native perennials that soften the transition into the trees.
We will reserve the brightest area for fruiting vegetables, use the filtered-light areas for leafy crops and herbs, and keep the beds narrow enough to reach without stepping into the soil.
Where the budget goes
- Raised-bed lumber and hardware$250–$350
- Fence, posts, and gate$250–$400
- Soil and compost$200–$300
- Paths, irrigation, and native plants$250–$475
Next: staking the footprint, watching the light, and comparing local bulk soil with bagged material.