Floating Flower Bed

I recently posted a picture on Facebook of this floating flower bed that we built and put in our pond. I figured I would share the details of it.  It was simple to build and really cheap since we had leftover wood from another project, which I will post about later. 

The frame is simple, 4 1x4s strengthened with 2x4 blocks in the corners. 1/2" hardware cloth lining the entire inside. 

3 1x4s across the bottom for support to keep the contents inside. 

Pool noodles zip tied to the bottom to make it float. (Pool noodles were purchased at the dollar store for 10¢ each after summer)

A quick check to make sure it will float, with 9 noodles I can't imagine it not floating. 😉

The inside lined with weedmat to keep the dirt from falling through the holes in the hardware cloth. 

 Pointing soil added. 

Elephant ear plants and other bulbs added. (The elephant ear were very root bound so I took the excess roots and spread them around the top of the bed to provide fertilizer as they rot.) I also added osmocote fertilizer. 

And it's off to float around in the pond. It will provide shade for the fish and the pond water will continue to fertilize the plants.  We plan on making an anchor for it to keep it in one place. We will use a 3" PVC pipe filled with cement.  The types of plants I used will die off in the winter and come back year after year so I'm hoping very little maintenance is needed. Only time will tell. 

Since the wood and hardware cloth were left over from a previous project and the potting soil was left over from other planting in the spring, the only cost for this project was the weedmat ($10) and I only used a small piece so lots left for future projects and 9 -.10¢ Pool noodles. So this entire project may have cost a total of $2.00. We also have the supplies on hand for the anchor. So that won't cost a penny. That's my kind of project!!!