We shop at Sam’s Club all the time – with five kids, what do you expect? It’s a monthly journey to stock up on the stuff we need and take a look at what Sam’s Club has going on. Right now they have some incredible outdoor living items available, including this cedar raised-bed planter – their Backyard Botanical Complete Gardening System. I was sent one to review and we’ve had it set up for about a month now.
My helper unpacking the boxes.
The kit comes in two boxes with all the components needed inside. Unlike some kits we’ve tried in the past, the Backyard Botanical actually has all the needed parts.
Drilling the panels and braces together.
The sides are cedar paneling that Sidney says is a little thin for his taste. Definitely pre-drill your holes when you are screwing the panels together to avoid splitting the wood. The directions were easy to follow and all the parts were marked clearly making it easy to put together.
The raised bed planter is big. It’s a full-sized garden set up with a watering hose, spray nozzle, timer, soaker hose, trellis system, and gates. So don’t expect that this will be an hour-long project. Give yourself a full weekend to put it together, fill it with dirt, and add the plants.
Soaker hose and trellis
The outside sides have one trellis panel and the outside back has three trellis panels. Inside the garden system, where you see Adam standing above, is open for easy access.
Watering system included!
One of my favorite features is that this garden system included a complete watering system. The soaker hose that lays into the garden part is a little flimsy so I’ll probably replace it next year. The hose pictured above, and watering nozzle attachment is awesome. I’ve been using it with my hose in the front yard as well. The timer works perfectly and is great if you are easily distracted like me!
A month later
A month later you can see how well all the plants are doing. The gate keeps unwanted critters (and kids) out. The cedar wood is naturally water resistant so I anticipate this garden bed lasting for a long time. Once the cedar raised-bed is put together it is very sturdy.
Tomatoes tied to the trellis
We’ve tied our tomatoes up onto the trellis with bailing twine as needed. The growth has been amazing in just a month thanks to the ability to fill the bed with aged manure, good dirt and simple mulch AND the easy watering system that makes it less of a chore to keep the plants well watered.
Eggplant and herbs
The Backyard Botanical Complete Gardening System is available at Sam’s Club stores and online. It seems like a good deal when you consider the raised-bed is complete with gate, watering system and timer, and the lumber is water-resistant so it will last for years and not rot. I was sent a system to review and all opinions and photos are my own.
Oh I have been seeing these kits. I want one so bad. Hubs solution was to build a raised bed. Functional yes, but nowhere near this pretty and no little fence. Lol would live to get something like this for my mother in-law too!
I’ll have to show it to you when you come over next time. I really liked the watering system that was all included in it.
yep. And I think being almost waist high would be really nice for older folks. Heck, it would be nice for me. Haha
Yes exactly. Or pregnant…man that would have been REALLY nice. Also makes it harder for the little ones to “help” you too much…
Wow, this looks amazing. It would also be a great project to do with the kids. My son is so interested in gardening.
I always mean to garden more with the kids but I am a novice. This looks like it would give us a nice starting place!
This would be excellent for a beginner because it is easy to maintain with the water system right there built in AND the smaller scale would make it more manageable starting out.
Ang this is wonderful! Kept Sydney busy I’ll bet!
This is really nice. My kids would love it!
Wow! Looks so pretty with the cedar, and how cool that it has worked pretty well for you. However, I’m not getting a sense of the shape. Is it a square with an opening on one side? Do the plants have a bottom or do they sit on the ground?
I had to laugh when I read your line about 5 kids and visiting Sam’s Club monthly. Yup! That’s us.
Correct – it’s an open square. So three sides have the planter and trellis, and one side has the gate and two front ends of the planter sides. The two sides have one trellis panel in the back, and the back side (that you see immediately in front of the gate) has three trellis panels making it the tallest. You open the gate and walk into the square…it’s pretty cool.
And yes – Sam’s Club is a must.
I absolutely LOVE this! And I think it’s perfect for someone (like me) who really wants to build something, but am not a very good woodworker (though I pretend to be). Going to keep this in mind for next year.
Oh SWEET CHEESES, where were these when we started planting this year? I wanted raised beds this year. The thing is, my hubby isn’t all that much of a handyman. He tries. It’s sweet. Yet I end up with things like a “re-purposed” old grill and my shallots corralled by those cheap plastic “fences”. You know, the ones that fall over and break as soon as it looks like the wind might blow. Next year we get a new deck and my long awaited outdoor pizza oven. I see this product in our future. I refuse to allow him to plant in another coffee can!
LOL! Our compost bin is totally a repurposed compost bin right now. It’s…interesting? Filled with character? Not pretty…definitely not pretty. Lol!
I love that it comes with the watering system! That is key – plus it looks nice – functionality is all fine and dandy, but I want something pretty too. 🙂 And your basil is making me jealous – for some reason mine is floundering this year… How am I supposed to indulge in Caprese without fresh basil?
We are DESPERATE to garden in this hot Texas heat. This looks AWESOME!!
Wow… that looks awesome. I wish we had one!
These are so cool. We have a very small yard and do a little square foot gardening BUT the little bunnies and critters get into it easily. This would take care of that problem I think!
I love the look of these and I think our HOA would approve. Honestly, will the gates keep the bunnies away? We have a lot of critters in Colorado, but I’ve only seen bunnies and an occasional gardener snake in our back yard. Hungry bunnies!
Glad to see a review of this product that was written longer than 1 month after receiving it… Curious how it is doing after a year of use… How did it weather the winter, etc. Do you think it could be built on a large deck which is already level? How do you determine if you get enough light in the spot you pick.
You could definitely put it on a large deck. It did well over the winter and shows no sign of wear and tear although the soil has washed out about 1/2 an inch. If you keep a regular layer of mulch and add compost occasionally you’ll be fine.
I love the idea of this. We have so many rabbits that roam our 3-acre property and this looks like it would be way easier to maintain than a traditional backyard garden.
I ordered and installed mine!! Thanks for the inspiration.
My husband bought this for me and LOST the instructions before assembling it! Any idea how/where I can get replacement instructions???
Ooooh I don’t know!