Garden design idea!

So, to make my raised garden, I first cleared a spot in the yard and laid down the black  fabric stuff that weeds can't get through.  (I can't remember what it's called).  It was like, 200 feet for 27 dollars from Costco. Great deal!  Once that was down, we covered it with about 3 tons of dirt from the local compost place.  We got it through the city.  It was about 30 dollars.  We got the kind with out fertilizer in it, cause we had plenty of fertilizer from the chickens we'd had.  Then I built boxes and filled them up with dirt.

 Once the boxes were in place we planted our plants.  We got them from a local nursery.

The garden has been weed free.  It's been great!  Note:  I wouldn't repeat planting the zuccinni and summer squash here.  They need A LOT more space.  We knew that when we planted them there, but we still did it anyway. :( Not smart!

 I put on this photo (below) to show what we have done.  We split the dirt area we had in half. Half went to the garden.  The other half we had converted into a sand box.  We put down 3 tons of sand.  The kids LOVE it!  We built them little boxes too where they plant their fake flowers and plastic food.  It's their "farm".

 In another area of the yard, we have put in squared off gardening areas.  They are not "raised" beds, but rather designated areas for plants to grow.  Under the bark we put down the weed fabric.  It's easy to maintain!