Why You Need a Nursery Bed Near Your Garden

A nursery bed is a small area of a yard or garden that's used simply for growing certain plants without regard to design.

Often the goal of the nursery bed is to grow young or newly propagated plants to a certain size. That might be a size at which they can be easily transplanted, a size at which they'll make an impression in the larger garden or the size/age at which they first flower. (This is especially helpful if you're not sure what color the flowers will be, as in the case of open-pollinated seedlings that may bloom differently than a parent.)

A nursery bed can also be used to evaluate unfamiliar plants to see if they're worthy of planting in the larger garden, to observe their growth habit and color before choosing a best placement or to watch them for pests or disease without putting other garden plants at risk. You can also use this bed to experiment with combinations.

Plants in a nursery bed may be seedlings, divisions or cuttings taken from a larger plant. Often nursery beds also end up holding impulse buys that don't yet have a place in the garden!

These beds can work for ornamental plants or edible plants. A nursery bed is especially helpful for vegetable gardeners practicing succession planting, in which a steady supply of fresh produce is maintained by staggering the planting of seeds. While one batch is maturing in the main garden, seeds may be sown in the nursery bed, producing plants ready for transplant at the time that the first crop is exhausted.

Making a nursery bed is no different than preparing any garden bed, except that you don't need to worry about carving out a pleasing shape or arranging the plants in an artistic way. Nursery beds are typically tucked away where they won't interfere with views of the main garden.