How To Lay Garden Sleepers For A Planter

Making your garden into a truly unique and enjoyable place to spend your time shouldn’t be difficult. However, most of us are forced to deal with limited space, and doing anything other than keeping the grass neat can take a lot of time; a project that most of us just can’t afford between work, spending time with the family and socialising.

It’s no surprise, therefore, that as soon as summer rolls around we’re taking a few days off to get our gardens in order for the rest of the year. Even this time can seem like too little to do any major work, but there are a range of simple landscaping materials you can use to make a real difference to your garden in a short period of time.

Garden sleepers, or railway sleepers, are a great component of modern landscaping which can not only add a little variation to your garden space, but can also enable you to take a more vertical approach to your otherwise flat garden space.

What Are Garden Sleepers?

Garden sleepers are actually railway sleepers which are regularly used to support train lines. However, they are available as both reclaimed and new designs, with softwood and hardwood variations. Thanks to the simple and rustic design of these components, they place an absolutely essential role in many gardens.

They are an extremely diverse landscaping material, being little more than large rectangles of distinctive wood, and are extremely versatile. As well as being used to create pathways and frames in the garden space, they are most commonly stacked to create distinctive planters or flowerbed retaining walls.

Tools You Need For Laying Your Garden Sleeper

If you are going to lay your own railway sleepers, then you need to make sure that you have the correct tools for the job. To make sure the project goes through without a hitch, you’re going to need:

• Spirit Level.
• Hammer.
• Screwdriver.
• Saw.
• Protection, including gloves and goggles.
• Potentially a Power Drill.
• Sandpaper or a Plane.

Creating Railway Sleeper Planters

1. Creating A Raised Bed: Once you’ve measured the size of your new planter, you need to double check that you have enough material to finish off the project. Make sure that the area is cleared of any unwanted vegetation as well as any other potential obstructions. You need to dig a shallow, level trench to make sure that you have room for the bedding material.
    
2. Lay The First Sleeper: Start by bedding the first garden sleeper onto a semi-dry mix of concrete in the trench you have just dug. This will enable to shape to stay in place for many years to come.
    
3. Building Up: Lay the next course of sleepers on top of your base. Make sure that you are overlapping the joins at any corners. Once they line up, you can either use a hammer and nails to hold the shape together or drill screws for a neater, less rustic aesthetic. Continue to build the wall until you reach the ideal height.
    
4. Finish Off: Once you’ve reached your chosen height, make sure that the entire structure is solid. It is also important that any sharp or dangerous edges are smoothed down with sandpaper or a plane. Any exposed surfaces should be treated with wood preservatives without any potentially plant-killing chemicals.
    
5. Fill The Sleeper Planter In: Once your garden sleepers planter has dried and set, fill it with soil and plant your chosen flowers in the bed. After that, you can easily treat your planter just like any other kind of flowerbed, and water the plants as needed.

For High-Quality Reclaimed And New Garden Sleepers, Get In Touch With Challenge Today

Here at Challenge Fencing, we are proud to offer a full range of garden sleepers for all kinds of designs. Whether you’re looking to create a rustic or a thoroughly modern garden space, our new and reclaimed railway sleepers are the perfect option for you.

For more information, don’t hesitate to get in touch with your local branch of Challenge Fencing today. Alternatively, you can order directly from our online store and get it delivered at a time that is convenient for you.