8
COUNTRY GARDENS // FA LL 2019
DESIGN NOTEBOOK
suggested they follow the pioneers’ lead by installing
a wood-post and woven-wire fence to frame the space
and give it a historical sense of place. The garden also
incorporated six raised vegetable beds made from
¼-inch carbon steel plate that Chris, a product-design
engineer, welded himself. The family kept their
existing sidewalk but wove in permeable decomposed-
granite pathways between the raised beds. A tucked-in
bench backed by Russian sage and roses is a focal
point that doubles as a resting spot, and the front porch
serves as a gathering area.
For the massive, 20-foot-deep parking strip that
prefaces the front yard, Larsen selected low-profi le
plantings. “We didn’t want to just put a lot of rocks or
random ‘popcorn’ plants out there,” Larsen says. “We
planted a thyme lawn that fl owers in the spring and
added low-growing ornamental grasses.”
“In the summer when we get home, this is where
we hang out,” Keri says. “The kids are picking green
beans, eating cherry tomatoes, and watering. The
neighbors stop by and sit on the porch. It’s a little
congregation spot.”
The Victorian home has pioneer infl uences. As
Larsen explained to Keri and Chris, this history led Salt
Lake City’s older neighborhoods like theirs to feature
extra-wide streets designed to accommodate teams
of oxen pulling wagons and roving livestock. Larsen
METAL RAISED BEDS
Weathered-steel raised garden beds mix modern shapes with rustic material. Chris Orino
initially wanted to make raised beds out of Corten, a popular weathering steel, but he couldn’t
fi nd a local source. Instead, he welded the 17¼-inch-high and 48-inch-square boxes from
¼-inch carbon steel plate, which is stout, doesn’t fl ex, and is relatively inexpensive and readily
available. Each box weighs 60 pounds. Utah’s very dry environment (only 16 inches of rain per
year) helps minimize corrosive effects, but Chris still sprays the boxes with linseed oil to keep
corrosion down. Purchase premade versions online or work with a metal fabricator to build
them. Ask the fabricator to bevel all sides to remove sharp edges.
TIP: Line steel
containers with rigid
foam insulation to
help plants handle
the freeze-thaw-hot
extremes they can
experience in a metal
raised bed.
Chris Orino, Keri
Gibson, and their kids,
Oliver, 4, and Addie, 7,
choose what to plant
in the raised vegetable
beds every spring. The
family’s property is long
and narrow with a big
parking strip. The yard
is mostly at the front of
the house so they need
to make the most of it.
“IT MAKES A BIG DIFFERENCE TO THE KIDS TH AT W E
GROW THE HERBS AND VEGGIES O U R S ELV E S .”— KERI GIBSON
