Is there something wrong with your soil that requires you to have raised beds? I ask because I think overall they are so much more work than planting in the ground. Anything in those beds will need to be at least one zone hardier than your zone in order to survive the winter reliably, especially since they are so narrow. And the narrowness itself limits your choice of plants. Also, eventually, in less time than you think, they'll need to be repaired/replaced and that will be an enormous job to save the plants in them.

Yeah. My soil is absolutely pure clay, with plenty of rocks mixed in. It is best for supporting crabgrass. I don't mind limiting my choice of plants if the plants are ones I like. I had to limit the width of the beds because they back up next to a tall fence and I would not be able to access the back of the bed for maintenance otherwise. The beds are made of cedar, sprayed with wood preservative. I am sure I will get at least a decade out of them.

Same reason we do a lot of raised beds here in Colorado. Our soil is absolute clay. It's incredibly difficult to plant.

I have a couple of raised beds (with open bottoms) that were happily housing hostas (until I lost my peach tree last year, but not the bed's fault).

laceyvail, think of them more like you might see terracing or stonewall beds. In this clay world, having at least a few inches of raised soil makes life so much easier!

Thanks, popmama. I am also using vinyl-clad 1/4" hardware cloth on the bottoms to avoid rusting.

Wow. A lot of areas to plant. I would consider planting annuals in spots instead of all perennials. There are lots you can grow from seed, so it costs very little, you get to try different things every year, annuals generally bloom more than perennials, and you can easily overwinter by collecting seeds and replanting next year for free.

Some benefits of raised beds is they warm up faster in the spring and they drain better than the ground.

After 2 medical appointments today, I treated myself to a trip to an excellent local nursery with a great selection. I decided to put one small shrub in each of the beds which will get full sun as a sort of focal point, and leave the beds across the back of the yard fallow this year---next year, veggies will be planted there. So I picked up a Firepower dwarf nandina, a Candy Corn dwarf spirea, and a dwarf buddleia called Tutti Fruitti. I also picked up an echinacea or two, could not resist a beautiful specimen of Hosta Cameo, a lovely heuchera for the shady side of the yard, and a couple more sun loving perennials I can't remember. Can hardly wait to see the cedar beds all assembled and ready for me to order bulk soil for them and then PLANT them!

did i miss what you are filling the beds with???

it will be the absolute most important variable in defining success ..

ken

No, Ken, you did not miss that. That is why I posted this query. The western side of my backyard is shaded by the neighbor's mulberry tree on the other side of my new fence, so the cedar beds on that side will be populated by hostas, heucheras, and painted ferns. The two L-shaped corner beds at the back 2 corners of the backyard will be planted with one dwarf crape myrtle in the large 4 x 4' section, plus various sun perennials in the two arms. The middle sections in the back of the backyard will be left fallow this year and have veggies planted next year. The cedar beds on the eastern side of the backyard will feature one small shrub in the middle, flanked by various sun perennials and maybe some annuals. So far, I have a dwarf buddleia for one bed, a Candy Corn dwarf spirea for another, and a Firepower dwarf nandina for yet another eastern bed. I also got some echinacea plants and other sun loving perennials, although I probably need to buy more to fill the beds.

you created giant POTS.. you need a potting medium to do it right .. but i suspect cost might overwhelm the budget ..

but i would still visit a couple of soil dealers.. and find some good stuff to put in your pots ...

not just any old pile of dirt is going to work for you ...

soil first.. plants later ... in fact.. i might fill them with the media... or soil.. and leave them until spring .. or fall bulb planting time... august is not really the time to be planting ANYTHING... you can buy.. but hold planting until night temps are reliably in the 50s... imo ..

ken