Highland Yoga Collective’s studio needed some greenery adding to the front of the building to soften the path and exterior render. There was plenty of space to create a low maintenance raised planter with a bench but the design needed to fit around a fixed handrail and external notice board that was already attached to the building.
Raised planter with bench for a yoga studio
After measuring the space outside the building, the studio team sent a request with drawings and a few pictures through our Free Design Service to create a narrow raised bed with integrated seating using our modern capping option. To keep the studio entrance accessible, the design needed to be 37.5cm wide and have a total length of 6.75m to cover as much of the building as possible.
To ensure the notice board did not have to move, the bench needed to be 1.5m wide and start after the first planter section of 1.35m. Using modern capping would allow the structure to be built close to the building and not protrude into the walkway, unlike our traditional capping which has a 12.5mm overhang on each side.
Planning the Garden
Our experienced WoodBlocX designer Harry created a Design Pack for Highland Yoga Collective which was used to share the concept with the wider team before ordering through our website. As this structure was going to be built on hard ground, angle floor brackets were added to the design. When using our Free Design Service, we offer unlimited revisions until you are 100% happy with your WoodBlocX design.
As this order was a local delivery (not far from our sawmill in Dingwall, Scottish Highlands), the WoodBlocX components for the design were picked, shipped and delivered on a pallet within just a few days! As the design was going to be built on concrete, no ground work was necessary.
Preparation and building
Following the detailed layer by layer printed instructions, a few members of the studio team built the WoodBlocX kit very quickly in around 6 hours. The hardest challenge was stopping work to allow yoga classes to run undisturbed throughout the day! You can choose to include printed instructions with your order – they are also always attached to your order confirmation email.
To maximise the lifespan of the WoodBlocX raised planter, an internal liner (which was added as an extra item to the order) was installed under the capping layer to cover the sides and brace supports. To help with excess water drainage, small holes were added at the bottom of the liner and a few bags of gravel tipped in to create a simple drainage layer. Soil and plants were kindly donated to the Highland Yoga Collective from a local supplier and planted up shortly after building the raised bed.
If you need help calculating the soil volume of your raised bed, please contact our team.
Finished Garden
The completed WoodBlocX raised planter with an integrated bench fits the space perfectly and has totally transformed the building’s exterior. Spanning the full width of the yoga studio, the planter has created a great focal feature at the front of the building whilst providing a seating space for students to sit before or after classes.
Once the mix of evergreen and hebe foliage starts to grow, it will cleverly provide all year round interest in the raised bed and continue to cover more of the external render. Most importantly, as the WoodBlocX design could be tailored exactly to the available space, the studio’s entrance remains open and accessible for all.
Highland Yoga Collective said:
“WoodBlocX has been the perfect product for our yoga studio and has helped to add some interest to the front of our building! From submitting our details through the design service to building the blocks layer by layer, we have all enjoyed this project. Now we just have to wait for the raised bed plants to grow! If you need a bespoke planter that’s easy to build (no power tools skills required), we’d recommend WoodBlocX!”
Transform the outside of your building with WoodBlocX
WoodBlocX raised beds can be customised to suit your outdoor space. Our long lasting wooden block system is fun and easy to build. With just a few simple measurements, our team can work with you to design something bespoke for your project.
