However, I learned so many things that didn’t work for me, my garden design plan, and the entirely new planting zone I moved to – but that’s the whole point of gardening, right? To learn. (And to fail… Let’s not forget about failing because that’s also how you learn!) So this year, I am still overzealous about my garden design plan, but the difference is I have a much better understanding of what works and doesn’t work for me and my space.

So over the next 8 weeks, I’ll be running around like a madman transforming last year’s failed garden attempt into its full potential! (Hopefully, I can sit back next year and just enjoy the season.)

My top 5 garden design plan must-haves for 2023:

1. 1. Smaller-sized beds.
      Last year I went with 3ft x 8ft beds and quickly realized that my short T-rex arms could not reach across the beds to work my plants. I couldn’t access them from each size due to a trellis or fence, so I had to stomp around inside the beds to reach everything, and that’s a big gardening no-no. So this year, I’ll be building 2ft wide beds instead.

1. 1. More space for plants.
      Have you heard of square-foot gardening? It’s an intensive gardening method where you plant a TON of plants into your bed. I tried it last year and ended up with a squash plant takeover and a massive jungle. So this year, I’m scaling it back. I’ll still companion plant, but each bed will have a dedicated main crop. I hope to end up with an orderly jungle instead of a chaotic one.

1. 1. More beds.
      Smaller-sized beds + more space for plants = more beds. I’m really excited about this and a bit nervous because I need to build a lot of beds in less than 4 weeks. The exciting part is that I’ll be repurposing wood wall planks from our house to create all these. The downside is I’ll need a lot more soil to fill them….

1. 1. Irrigation
      Have you tried hand-watering a 40×40 garden? One with 100+ plants? No? Me neither! And I certainly don’t plan on trying to attempt that. I had maybe 50 plants last year, and hand watering was a nightmare.

1. A fence for the garden.
   We have 3 large dogs; need I say more? Last year our husky jumped into one bed and crushed all my plants… Needless to say, I was devastated. So, fencing will be going up long before plants ever get transplanted.

All the DIY projects for the garden:

Obviously, you all know I’ll be DIYing the heck out of this garden. Everything I am going to build or install by hand, so here’s what I have in store this year:

• Repurposed wood rectangle raised garden beds
• Fun tiered garden beds for strawberries and herbs
• Three different types of trellises
• Trellis arbor to match the one we already have
• Bean pole trellis
• Raspberry trellis
• Super fun hand-made garden décor
• A potting bench
• Seating area
• Chicken coop??! (The chicken coop will likely be next year because it’s out of the budget this year. *sad face*)

Follow My Garden Project!

I am participating in the One Room Challenge for this garden build project, so I’ll post weekly progress updates here on the blog. You can also catch all the behind-the-scenes action on my Instagram!

Week One – Garden Design Plan 2023 (you are here).

What’s your garden must-have? Tell me in the comments below!