Custom Garden Design: Stunning Corten Garden
Picture this: stepping right off your patio to a stunning Corten steel garden that blends seamlessly with your home’s style. It’s perfectly placed near the grill and outdoor dining area, making it effortless to grab fresh herbs, crisp greens, or vine-ripened tomatoes while cooking. Not only is it incredibly convenient, but it also adds a striking design element to your backyard, turning it into a true garden retreat.
Garden Before and After
When we first visited our wonderful clients, they were working with a raised-bed border garden that just wasn’t practical. At 4 feet deep and tucked against a fence, it made upkeep and harvesting a challenge. So, the first step in this transformation was removing what wasn’t working.
Once the old structure was gone, we installed a beautiful, productive Corten steel kitchen garden designed for easy access and an abundant harvest—perfectly suited to this family’s needs.
Corten Raised Bed Garden Custom Design
Let's take a closer look at the key features of this garden.
STEEL RAISED GARDEN BEDS
We designed these two 11-foot by 6-foot L-shaped Corten steel garden beds to fit seamlessly into this backyard space. With the home on a long, narrow city lot, we wanted to make every inch count—both for growing and for creating a space that feels welcoming and inviting.
The patio, right off the kitchen, is the heart of the outdoor space, so we designed this garden to have a cozy, courtyard feel—a spot that’s not just for growing food but for enjoying it, too.
The L-shaped layout makes the most of the space while creating natural walkways, adding a little sense of discovery as you move through. It’s the kind of garden that pulls you in, making it easy to step outside, grab fresh herbs or veggies for dinner, and soak in the beauty of a space that feels like an extension of home.
Why use Corten Steel for Raised Beds?
When I design and install raised bed gardens, Corten steel is one of my favorite materials to recommend—especially for clients who want a garden that’s both beautiful and built to last. Here’s why:
1. Built to Last
Corten steel is incredibly durable. Unlike wood, which can rot over time, or standard metal that may rust through, Corten develops a natural patina that protects it from further weathering. This means your garden beds will last for decades with little to no maintenance.
2. A Stunning, Timeless Look
One of the things I love most about Corten steel is its aesthetic. That warm, rustic patina blends beautifully into any garden setting—modern, cottage-style, or anything in between. And because it naturally changes over time, your garden beds develop even more character as they age.
3. Low Maintenance, High Reward
When I install raised beds, I want my clients to enjoy gardening—not worry about upkeep. Corten steel requires zero sealing, painting, or staining—just let nature do the work. Once the patina forms, it protects the steel, so you don’t have to worry about replacing or repairing your beds.
4. Strong & Sturdy Design
I’ve seen firsthand how well Corten steel holds up in the garden. It won’t warp, bow, or crack under soil pressure like some other materials. This makes it ideal for larger or deeper raised beds, especially if you want to maximize growing space.
5. Helps Extend the Growing Season
Because Corten steel absorbs and retains heat, it can help warm the soil earlier in the spring and keep it warmer in the fall. This can give your plants a head start and extend your growing season—a huge bonus for any gardener! (Of course, in hotter climates, I recommend deeper beds and mulch to regulate soil temperature.)
TRELLISES
Trellises aren’t just practical—they bring a whole new dimension to a garden, making it feel lush, inviting, and full of life. They give climbing plants the perfect place to thrive, which means more food in less space and a beautiful, ever-changing focal point.
With the right plants, these trellises stay productive all year long. In the cool season, sugar snap and snow peas climb their way up. Warm season brings cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, and pole beans, and the heat of the summer is the time for Malabar spinach, luffa gourds, Armenian cucumbers, and yard-long beans to take over.
For this garden, we designed a custom arch trellis to match the unique details of the home, making it feel like it had always been part of the space. Now, it adds both function and a little bit of magic to the raised beds, drawing you in and making the garden even more of a joy to be in.
Our client also added a rustic folding trellis you can find on Amazon because she wanted to grow even more vertical loving plants.
GARDEN PATHWAYS
We went with Blue Shadow stone for the walkways to seamlessly blend with the home's existing landscaping tiles while also complementing the rich, rustic tones of the Corten steel raised beds.
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