rustic railway sleeper garden bed

[ProjectPete]

Now the the majority of my backyard is done (perfect timing for summer entertaining), it's time to turn my focus to the front. Ticked my first task off the list over the weekend.

So 450kg worth of railway sleepers, plenty of splinters and a sore back later, this is v1 of the garden makeover. There's still work to do to get the right plants in there (those potted ones have got to go) and obviously fill with some quality soil and mulch. Once that's done, I'll update pics (should be this weekend).

PS That red wine coloured door and wall will get a makeover in the not too distant future.

Before

After (obviously)

[Jason]

Thanks for sharing @ProjectPete. Love the sleepers!

What are you thinking of planting?

Jason

[ProjectPete]

Aiming for pretty hardy, likely native plants @Jason with a large succulent display (or two). Probably turning current fire pit bowl into the feature.

[kaylah_rose]

This is actually something I really want to do in our new garden @ProjectPete. Where did you get the sleepers from and did you have to prepare them in any way?

[ProjectPete]

I got them locally, found through Gumtree. I live in Perth. Where are you @kayak_rose?

No prep. Just measure, cut and drop.

You need to be mindful of picking them as straight as possible. A lot of them are bent and warped which obviously aren't good for straight edges.

[kaylah_rose]

@ProjectPete I am in VIC. That's a great idea though, I will start to have a look around. 

Easy installation then, so that's a bonus. Good tip on the straight sleepers I didn't even think of that so thanks! 

Another question... would I be looking at an expensive venture if I was to take this on? We are definitely renovating on a budget!

[ProjectPete]

You may even fins them at local mulch/sand suppliers.

There are different grades if sleepers of which you only need C or D. Anything higher means straighter, cleaner look. But the C/D are straight enough and look more rustic which is my preference.

I paid $30 each for 2.7m sleepers. Something like 2.1m are around $25.

You may need to account for trailer hire/delivery costs because they're about 100kg each so might be a bit heavy for your car (and maybe even just too long).

[kaylah_rose]

Well that's not too bad at all.

Good tip on the grades. I am going for a far more rustic feel as well, I have seen some with the railway nails still in them as well.

I will definitely be looking into these. Thanks for all your help @ProjectPete! 

[Trying]

Hello Project Pete, I'm looking to do something with sleepers too but I'm stuck. I did post yesterday with a question about using cut sleepers vertically as a backdrop for a garden feature. If you have any advice I would be very grateful. Thank you.

[ProjectPete]

I LOVE the railway sleepers and I'm doing some vertical features soon too.

I don't think there's too much to it. Just try get something as straight as possible because once they're warped, there's no turning back and it can really affect the end result for you.

Simply cut with a dropsaw if you have a big enough one but even if it's a bit small you can always flip it to finish the cut. Take it easy when you're cutting, you're dealing with solid wood.

Doing them vertically you need to think about how you'll ground them - partially buried, cement footing, supporting rocks, etc.

Is that the sort of stuff you're after or do you have some more specific questions?

Enjoy!