Brighton-Le-Sands, NSW

This couple in Brighton-Le-Sands wanted to make the most of a sunny spot at the back of their garden, and the trellis on their new bed lets them grow tomatoes, cucumber, snow peas, beans, sweet potato and a range of other crops that thrive in a wicking bed.

Right on Botany Bay, Brighton-Le-Sands gardens cop salty, drying sea breezes that are tough on conventional beds and pots but kind to a bed that waters itself from below. The wicking reservoir keeps the roots cool and steadily supplied through summer, so the garden shrugs off the wind and heat that would leave an ordinary patch wilting. Adding a trellis, as we did here, lets the family grow upwards and get far more from a compact coastal yard.

Climbing crops like tomatoes, cucumbers, beans and snow peas do well up the trellis, while leafy greens and herbs fill the bed below. Kept low and neat, it's an easy, good-looking way to turn a sunny back corner into a productive one.

We build from kiln-dried, vegetable-grade timber with a food-safe finish, made to last for years by the bay without rotting or needing sealing. If you've a sunny spot in Brighton-Le-Sands, Ramsgate or elsewhere across the St George area you'd like to turn into a productive garden, we'd love to help you plan it.