You don’t need a sprawling lawn to be a gardener. Any outdoor space — be it a balcony or small patch of grass — can be home to a raised garden bed. Though useful for all gardeners, they’re especially great for beginners because you can control factors like garden size and soil conditions, making it feel like “gardening with training wheels,” says Carmen DeVito, a certified New York State landscape professional and founder of Garden Cult, a garden and landscape design company.
I talked with experts about the benefits of raised garden beds and how to make your plants thrive in one. I also rounded up highly rated raised garden beds across different sizes, styles and price points from Best Choice Products, Foyuee, Land Guard and more.
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The best raised garden beds to shop in 2026
This list includes raised beds made of varying materials, sizes and colors. All of the wood options are warp-resistant, according to the brands’ descriptions, and all of the containerized raised beds have built-in drainage systems.
The best supported raised garden beds
Land Guard’s raised garden bed is made of heavy duty, anti-corrosion metal and it’s oval shaped, differentiating it from the square or rectangular shaped beds you typically see. NBC Select senior editor and gardener Nikki Brown has two of these beds in her yard, and says they’re lightweight and easy to assemble. “I’ve had these beds through multiple growing seasons and they’re holding up beautifully,” she says. “Plus, in my experience, the thin edges are super ideal for attaching netting when I want to keep squirrels and other small animals away from my crops.”
This bed provides you with enough space to plant a large garden filled with your favorite greenery, vegetables, herbs and flowers. It’s built with crossbars that add stability and have an anti-rust coating, helping them stand up to the elements season after season, according to the brand.
You can assemble this garden bed without tools. Its frame is made from thick, two-ply reinforced steel, making the walls durable and stable. The exterior of the bed has vertical stripes, giving it some visual interest, and multiple layers of paint to prevent rust from building up over time. You get two pairs of gardening gloves and gardening tags included with your purchase.
Since this raised garden bed is modular, you can build it in six different configurations depending on the space you have available. Its height (11 inches or 17 inches) is optimized for root growth and health, according to the brand, and it’s made from 100% recyclable, food-safe, anti-rust metal. Vego sells add-ons for its raised garden beds separately, like attachable solar-charged lights, an arched trellis system, a wall trellis system, a tool box and a garden cover system.
Greenes Fence’s wooden raised beds come in over a dozen shapes and sizes, letting you choose the style that best fits your property. All beds can be assembled without tools — their walls slide into posts to create the frame. You can also stack beds on top of each other to add height, or arrange them next to one another to create longer and wider areas to garden in.
You can stack the boxes of this garden bed to create a three-tier structure, or use each box individually on the ground. The bed comes with all the hardware needed for assembly.
The best containerized raised garden beds
Since it’s built with two wheels and a handle, you can roll this raised garden bed like a wheelbarrow when needed, making it a highly portable option. The bed has a shelf on the bottom and hooks on the side to store your gardening tools, extra mulch or a bag of soil mix.
This raised garden bed comes with a liner that separates the weather-resistant, Chinese fir wood from the soil, preserving the structure’s condition over time, according to the brand. Best Choice Products also makes a similar raised garden bed on wheels if you’re looking for portability.
Jumbl’s weather-resistant, red cedar wood bed comes with all the parts and hardware you need to assemble it, as well as liner for your plants. There are pinholes in the liner and small spaces between the wood slats that allow water to trickle out. Step-by-step instructions are included with the bed for an easy assembly process.
Vertical gardening allows you to plant upwards instead of outwards, making it suitable for narrow or small spaces like balconies and patios. This vertical raised garden bed comes with five containers on five different levels — if you’d like, you can make one level a vegetable garden, one level an herb garden and one level and flower garden, for example. You’re also able to remove the containers from the frame when you want to add or tend to plants.
Giantex’s raised garden bed adds a pop of color to your deck or yard, and its steel frame is easy to clean — you can hose it off or scrub it down with dish soap once the season is over. The bed has a deep interior space and comes with all the hardware you need for assembly.
The planter box of this raised garden bed has divided sections, allowing you to separate different types of plants. There’s a storage shelf on the bottom, plus the bed comes with a seed sprouting tray. It’s also self-watering. The raised garden bed is designed with a water reservoir that keeps soil moist, a water gauge that indicates how much water is in the reservoir and a drainage tap that removes excess water when needed.
This grow bag gives you a total of eight grids to organize and grow plants in. The non-woven felt fabric also allows for adequate drainage of water. Make sure these planters are always filled with soil while you’re using them to prevent them from collapsing, according to the brand.
How I picked the best raised garden beds
Here are the factors experts recommended I keep in mind when compiling this list:
- Type of bed: There are three types of raised garden beds. Raised ground beds are flat-topped mounds of soil that are six to eight inches high and do not have elevated support frames. Supported raised beds consist of a mound of soil surrounded by a supportive edge or frame. Containerized raised beds are essentially large planters or pots that have taller sides and a base.
- Size: Survey your outdoor space and think about how much of it you want to dedicate to a raised garden bed, as well as where you want to position it.
- Material: Metal and plastic beds are usually longer lasting than wood beds, and fabric beds are an affordable option some people prefer.
- Drainage system: A drainage system allows excess water to be released from containerized beds, helping prevent plant roots from rotting or developing fungus and bacteria. Many containerized beds have drainage holes drilled into their base, while others have spouts you can open and close to let water out, or small spaces between wood slats for water to trickle through.
What are the different types of raised garden beds?
There are three types of raised garden beds: raised ground beds, supported raised beds and containerized raised beds. All three work to lift plants and their root systems above the ground, but from there, they differ in style and construction.
Raised ground beds
Raised ground beds are flat-topped mounds of soil. They’re typically six to eight inches high and do not have elevated support frames. Raised ground beds are the simplest above-ground gardening option since they only require soil, and they’re sometimes referred to as built-in raised beds, says Venelin Dimitrov, senior product manager for Burpee, a gardening company. They’re especially useful for gardeners with large areas for planting who do not want the added expense of building support frames.
Containerized raised beds
Containerized raised beds are essentially large planters or pots, and they’re typically what most people think of when they talk about raised garden beds, according to our experts. Containerized raised beds have tall sides and a base, and they can be used on lawns, walkways, decks, patios, driveways and porches. Always make sure the area you put this type of raised garden bed can tolerate its weight and the moisture it may give off, says Dimitrov. You also may need to use more soil to fill a containerized raised bed, but they’re versatile and work well in high-traffic areas, he says.
Supported raised beds
Supported raised beds consist of a mound of soil surrounded by a supportive edge or frame. These beds are especially useful for sloped or uneven ground, says Dimitrov — you can use them to build a flat surface on top of an uneven surface. Many brands sell edges or frames for supported raised beds, but to save money, you can also DIY your own with materials like bricks, concrete blocks and large stones.
How to shop for raised garden beds
After deciding what type of raised garden bed works best for you, further narrow down your options by considering factors like material, drainage holes and liners.
Material
Raised garden beds are commonly constructed from wood, metal or plastic — metal and plastic beds usually last longer compared to wood, which may rot over time, says DeVito. Some people may prefer wood, however. In those cases, she suggests investing in a pressure-treated or rot-resistant wood bed, and looking for those made from Ipe or Cedar wood.
Some companies sell raised garden beds made from fabric, which are a more affordable option, says DeVito. If you’re opting for fabric, she recommends using smaller sized beds since they’re easy to move. Fabric raised garden beds should be put on top of gravel, soil or stone — they would make a deck too wet if you placed them directly on top, says DeVito.
Drainage holes
Like indoor pots, outdoor planters (such as containerized raised garden beds) need drainage holes to allow extra water to drain out the bottom. This ensures that water does not gather at the base of the planter, which can cause plant roots to rot or fungus and bacteria to build up, experts told us. A lack of drainage puts plants at risk of staying wet for a long period of time, and too much water is just as harmful to plants as too little, says DeVito.
Liners
Some raised garden beds come with liners, which you place at the bottom of your bed before adding soil. DeVito typically does not suggest using liners inside raised garden beds unless there’s a reason for it, like soil contamination, tree roots or aggressive weeds. Liners can also come in handy if you’re putting a raised garden bed on a wood, stone or concrete surface — this can help protect the surface from staining, says DeVito.
Frequently asked questions
Raised garden beds are popular because they allow gardeners to control the soil quality they’re planting in, says Dimitrov. When you’re planting in the ground, it’s hard to know the exact composure of the soil or if it has the proper nutrients your plants need to thrive. But since you fill raised garden beds with the soil of your choosing, you can be sure it’s not contaminated or stripped of essential vitamins and minerals. The soil inside a raised garden bed is also able to thaw and warm up faster than it is on the ground, he says.
Additionally, raised garden beds are beneficial if your property is filled with tree roots, large shrubs or aggressive plants that make it challenging to dig in certain areas, says DeVito. Planting in raised garden beds is essentially a blank slate — you can start from scratch and avoid some of the challenges that come with in-ground gardening. Raised garden beds also make gardening easier for people with certain mobility issues, like disabilities that make it difficult to bend over, work on their knees or squat down close to the ground, says DeVito.
The first step to preparing your raised bed for planting is filling it with garden soil. What you’re planting often dictates what type of soil you should use, but as a general rule, DeVito relies on screened topsoil — soil without any rocks, sticks or clumps — mixed with compost. You can also purchase soil that’s premixed with compost — look for options that have 50% soil and 50% compost, says Dimitrov.
There’s no special way you need to water plants in a raised garden bed, says Dimitrov. In fact, raised garden beds are able to drain excess water away from plants’ root zones, which ensures that they don’t get over-saturated. Raised-bed gardens tend to dry out more than in-ground gardens, which may mean plants like flowers, vegetables or herbs need to be watered more often, especially during the hot, dry summer, says DeVito. Overall, she recommends hand-watering plants using a garden hose with a shower nozzle attachment, or, for larger raised garden beds, setting up an automatic soaker hose system.
Raised garden beds are most often used for growing food like vegetables, herbs and fruit. You can also use them for a cut flower garden filled with perennials or small shrubs. The only plants DeVito recommends against putting in a raised garden are large trees or shrubs that require a lot of space for their root systems, leaves or branches.
Raised garden beds are a great way to introduce kids to gardening, says DeVito. The contained area gives kids their own space to explore working with dirt and seeds, and she recommends starting kids off with growing easy, low maintenance vegetables like radishes and beans, or those they eat frequently, like leafy greens for salads.
Meet our gardening experts
At NBC Select, we work with experts with specialized knowledge and authority based on relevant training and/or experience. We also ensure that all expert advice and recommendations are made independently and with no undisclosed financial conflicts of interest.
- Carmen DeVito is the founder of garden and landscape design company Garden Cult and a certified New York State landscape professional.
- Venelin Dimitrov is a senior product manager for gardening company Burpee.
Why trust NBC Select?
I am a reporter at NBC Select who has been covering indoor and outdoor gardening products since 2020. I have also researched and written about gardening tools. For this story, I consulted gardening experts about raised garden beds and compiled a list of options that align with their guidance.
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