The Princess & the Pea

This drawing from the original work "The Princess and the Pea" is certainly a raised bed.  BUT not quite the kind I had envisioned for my garden.  My little fairy tail started like this:

Once upon a time, grandma said to grandpa, "The weeds keep creeping into my garden and it makes it hard to keep it clean." 

Once upon another time, grandpa ignored grandma.

Grandma put down "Preen", layers of newspapers, manure, different kinds of weed block fabric and cardboard (which I'm still picking up from where the wind blew it mostly to the east).  Lots of heavy rocks and brick to hold things down created a walking hazard.  And, there's still weeds.  Poor grandma.

Grandma would pull weeds, hack weeds, hoe weeds, and still there were weeds.  Poor grandma.

The lettuce, rhubarb, and asparagus at the edge of the garden got totally lost in high weeds.  Grandma weeded and weeded and still there were weeds.  Poor grandma. 

Then one day, grandpa got the idea to make a raised bed where the garden stood.  And he did - he really did.  The whole thing was weeded, shot with weed killer and a layer of good landscape fabric was put down.  The sides are 14 inches tall.  To this was added 10 ton nursery grade black top soil.  Grandpa raked, shoveled, leveled, tilled, and smoothed the soil.  Poor grandpa. 

And as the spring planting season starts Grandma dreams that all things are possible:  a weed free garden, huge beautiful perfect veggies, people coming from miles around to take pictures of a perfect garden example and we have to set up a vegetable stand because we have so much produce and almost, but not quite, make back the rather large investment to make a raised garden bed.  And they live happily ever after.

Grandpa is in his recliner, with his remote in his hand and fast asleep.  Grandma is happy.

Is this where they get the saying, "If grandma ain't happy - ain't nobody happy?"