Raised Planter Boxes Built — Block Planters and Cedar Garden Beds
A bed that keeps washing onto the walk, a blank strip along the house, or a garden you want up off the ground — planters built in block or cedar that hold soil, drain, and hold their shape.
JMB Builders builds raised planter boxes across the Twin Cities metro: block planters along the front of a house or around a patio, paver-and-block planter boxes at a walk or entry, and cedar raised garden beds for vegetables. Block planters go on a compacted base with a cap; wood beds are built from cedar with corner posts. Every planter is lined to hold soil and drain water. Priced per project.
- Priced per project, quote from photos
- Block, paver or cedar planters
- Set on a compacted base, lined to drain
- Filled and planted on request
- Licensed MN contractor BC809005
A raised planter is a small retaining wall that holds soil on every side, and it fails the same way a wall does: settled corners, a bulging face, and soil washing out the joints. A planter built on a compacted base, with drainage stone at the bottom, fabric behind the block and weep gaps at the base, holds soil and sheds water for as long as the house stands next to it.
Along the house, a block planter is set on its own compacted class 5 base with a gap between the back of the block and the siding, and the soil inside sits below the siding line. Soil piled against siding rots the bottom course and invites insects, so we keep it off the wall on purpose. The block is pinned or glued, capped, and lined with filter fabric so the fine soil stays in and water gets out through the base.
Vegetable gardens are a carpentry job. Cedar raised beds are built with corner posts and screwed, not nailed, so the sides stay straight when the soil freezes and pushes. We set them level on the grade or on a pad of compacted base, line the inside, and can fill them with a garden soil mix and add a drip line stub if you water that way. Painting or staining a cedar bed is quoted as a separate line, or leave it raw and let it gray.
What you supply
- The block, paver or cap style from a supply yard or samples, or the cedar size; we order and deliver
- Photos of the spot along the house, patio or walk, and a rough length and height
- Whether you want it filled with soil and planted, or left empty for you to plant
- For garden beds: how many, how big, and whether you want them tall enough to work standing up
What JMB supplies
- Layout, a compacted class 5 base trench, and a level first course
- Block or paver planter walls pinned or glued, corners cut, and cap units on top
- Filter fabric liner, drainage stone at the bottom, and weep gaps so water leaves
- A gap and a grade between a planter and the house so soil never touches siding
- Cedar raised beds built with corner posts, screwed, and set level on grade or a base pad
- Garden soil mix, mulch and plants installed when you want the planter finished
- Haul-off of old timbers, sod and spoils
- Painting or staining of a cedar bed when you want it, quoted as its own line
- Photos of the finished planters in your job folder
How it is priced: per project
Quoted in writing from your photos within one business day. What moves the number:
- Length and height of the planter walls, and how many corners and curves
- Block, paver or natural-stone-look unit vs. cedar
- Free-standing planter with four faces vs. one built against a wall or into a slope
- Soil, mulch and plants included vs. built empty
- Old timbers, edging or sod to remove before the planter goes in
- Access for pallets and a soil delivery vs. materials carried by hand
- Staining or painting of cedar beds, quoted separately
Send a photo of the spot with something for scale, a tape or a person, and say how long and how tall you want the planter. Most planters are quoted firm from that.
How long it takes
A block planter along the front of a house: one to two days. A set of cedar garden beds: one day. Planters built into a patio or walk go in with the patio.
How your project works
- 1
Send photos, get a written quote
Send three photos of the space and a sentence about what you want. You get a clear, itemized quote within one business day. We only come out to measure first when the job needs a tape measure — no pressure, no games.
- 2
Pick materials, or bring your own
We help you choose profiles and materials that fit the house and the budget, or match your existing millwork exactly — or you buy the door or trim yourself and we install it. Everything is confirmed before the crew is scheduled.
- 3
Clean, precise installation
The crew shows up on time, protects floors and furniture, and installs with tight joints and consistent reveals. Photos of the finished work go in your job folder.
- 4
Walkthrough and invoice
We walk the finished work with you. If anything is not right, we fix it before we call the job done. Then one invoice, paid by check or direct deposit — no card fees, no payment links.
Situations and options
Block planter along the house
A knee-high planter the length of the front or the garage side, capped, lined and set off the siding on its own base. It replaces the bed that washes onto the walk with a clean edge you can sit on.
Paver planter box at an entry or walk
A square or rectangular box in the same block and cap as the walk or steps it sits beside, so the entry reads as one piece. Often paired at both sides of a stoop or at the end of a walk.
Planter built into a patio
A raised bed set into the edge of a paver patio, doubling as seating, with drainage stone under it that ties into the patio base. Built with the patio, or added to one that is already there.
Cedar raised garden beds
Vegetable beds in cedar with corner posts, screwed together, set level and lined. Any size; taller beds for working without kneeling. Filled with a garden mix on request.
Replace a timber planter with block
Rotted landscape timbers pulled, the soil set aside, and a block planter built on a compacted base in the same footprint. The old soil goes back in on top of drainage stone and fabric.
Raised Planter Boxes Built — Block Planters and Cedar Garden Beds: questions, answered
Can you build a block planter against the house?
Near it, not against it. The planter sits on its own compacted base with a gap between the back of the block and the siding, and the soil inside stays below the bottom of the siding. Soil against siding rots the lower boards and lets insects in, and a planter set tight to the wall also traps water at the foundation. Built with the gap and a grade that drains out, it is fine along the whole front of a house.
How does a raised planter drain?
Through the bottom and the base. We put a layer of drainage stone at the bottom of the planter, filter fabric over it and up the inside of the block so soil stays in, and leave weep gaps in the bottom course. Water runs down through the soil, into the stone, and out the base. A planter with no drainage turns into a tub, and in winter the frozen water pushes the walls out.
What do you build raised garden beds out of?
Cedar, with corner posts and screws. Cedar lasts outdoors without treatment, and it is safe around food plants. We do not use treated lumber for vegetable beds. Block planters also work for gardens and last longer, but for a vegetable patch most people want cedar beds they can rearrange or add to.
Can you fill and plant the planter too?
Yes. We bring a garden soil mix or a planting mix, fill the planter over the drainage stone and fabric, and plant shrubs, perennials or annuals you have picked out. Mulch or rock on top is the same visit. Or we build it empty and you plant it yourself.
Will a block planter heave in winter?
Not on a compacted base with drainage. Heave comes from water sitting under or inside the planter and freezing. A compacted class 5 base does not hold water, the drainage stone and weep gaps let the inside drain, and the block is pinned or glued so a course cannot creep. Planters set on dirt with no drainage heave every year.
Can you match the planter to my paver walk or patio?
Yes. Most paver lines have a matching wall block and cap in the same color, so a planter beside a walk or built into a patio is made from the same family. If your pavers are older or from a line no longer sold, we pick the closest block and cap and show you a sample before we order.
Get a written quote for this job
Three photos and a sentence is enough. You hear back within one business day. Or text the photos to 763-204-2099.
Related jobs we do
Retaining Wall Installation — Block Walls Built and Repaired
A slope that will not hold, a bed that spills onto the driveway, or a block wall that is leaning out after ten winters — built or rebuilt on a base with drainage behind it.
Read moreLandscape Bed Edging and Mulch Installation — Beds Redone
Beds that have lost their edge to the lawn, mulch that is more dirt than mulch, and shrubs hidden in weeds — recut, edged and mulched so the house looks kept.
Read moreShrub Planting Service and Tree Planting — Foundation Plantings
Dead junipers in front of the picture window, a bare foundation on a new house, or a fence line that needs screening — planted right so it is still alive in three years.
Read moreBlock Steps Installation — Paver and Retaining Wall Block Stairs
Timber steps rotting into the hill, a front walk that ends in a scramble up the grade, or a retaining wall you need to get through — steps built in block that stay level and even.
Read moreLandscape Rock Installation — River Rock Beds and Foundation Rock
Rock is the bed you do not redo every two years: no mulch washing out, no re-spreading, and a clean line along the foundation, the deck or the fence that stays.
Read moreFire Pit Patio — Backyard Fire Pit Built with Pavers
A place in the yard to sit around a fire on a fall night, with pavers under the chairs instead of mud, and a pit that is built to take the heat.
Read morePage reviewed September 24, 2026 · JMB Builders LLC, MN license BC809005 · All pavers pages
Where we work
Pavers near you
Based in Zimmerman, scheduling across the Twin Cities metro. Closest first: