I have a little bit of research in front of me. We (hired helpers really) built a loft bed for our daughter. After painting it to her specifications, more or less, we slung the mattress up and had one perfectly good boxspring left over. I tried to give away to be used as boxspring but no takers.
My brainstorm is to reimagine and remake it into a raised bed on top of our flat garage roof. It's heavy with the springs in it. Probably quite a bit/lot lighter without. I'd remove the springs, paint with outdoor paint, fill with lightweight potting soil and plant up with scavenged sedum. The roof should be fine. In the winter we shovel tons of snow from the 3-story porch on to it. No other place for the snow to go. The shallow planter would be much more compact and lighter.
The questions in my mind are:
Is this a good idea?
Is this a bad or dumb idea?
Is my plan doomed to failure?
Will the wood warp or rot in short order in spite of being painted?
What material should I use on the bottom for drainage--lava rock, gravel, or something else?
What other plants would survive hot full sun and wind in a shallow planter?
If anyone has words of advice, direction, or validation I would love to hear from you.
My brainstorm is to reimagine and remake it into a raised bed on top of our flat garage roof. It's heavy with the springs in it. Probably quite a bit/lot lighter without. I'd remove the springs, paint with outdoor paint, fill with lightweight potting soil and plant up with scavenged sedum. The roof should be fine. In the winter we shovel tons of snow from the 3-story porch on to it. No other place for the snow to go. The shallow planter would be much more compact and lighter.
The questions in my mind are:
Is this a good idea?
Is this a bad or dumb idea?
Is my plan doomed to failure?
Will the wood warp or rot in short order in spite of being painted?
What material should I use on the bottom for drainage--lava rock, gravel, or something else?
What other plants would survive hot full sun and wind in a shallow planter?
If anyone has words of advice, direction, or validation I would love to hear from you.
2 comments:
An idea worth trying. What about halving the box spring shell, doing it as a prototype? Native plants, small grasses, prairie style might be happy there.
I like that, 2 would be better than 1, better for symmetry,
yes, prairie plants would likely stand up to southern exposure and baking wind, thanks
I saw a vertical wooden fixture similar to a box spring or pallet affixed vertically to the back of someone's house in the back, could tell what it was planted up with, seems that gravity and rain might wash soil away, wonder about the enigineering and construction of that thing
in our situation though, horizontal would fit better
Post a Comment