I don't know if you are still monitoring this forum, or if you posted this question elsewhere, but I think bricks would go well as raised planters with your brick facade. :)

Thanks for your continuing suggestions! A couple of weeks ago, my Tomato plants' leaves started to change their color and become a bit brownish. I was really worried that the mild hale we had one night (roughly a week after they were planted) might have caused blight. I took a couple of samples (one bad looking old leaf and another newly growing one) to a local farming store (OC Farm Supplies in Anaheim, CA). The guy there was so patient and cooperative, he told me that he can't see any kind of disease with it and felt I might be watering them too much. Relieved, I came home and cut down on my watering routine of every other day to twice a week. It's been a week since and my plants are looking good already. Additionally, I went to the beach early Sunday morning and collected a couple of buckets full of Kelp. I soaked them in a big 13 gallon bin by filling it with water for about 12 hours. I took the thick juicy water out and added one part of this juice to an equal part of water and gave them to all my plants. There was enough left for me to give to my trees as well. This juice is THICK. Afterwards, I took out small chunks of this Kelp and laid it around my plants and covered them up with aged horse manure compost (which could double up as mulch, too). I am planning to repeat this process once a month throughout the growing season. From what I read, this thing is full of nutrients, so I am hoping this will help my plants to have enough of N-P-K. I bought Dr.Earth's Tomato, Vegetable & Herb Fertilizer (5-7-3) but haven't fed them any of it yet. If I continue feeding them Kelp juice every other week, would that be enough or should I still be fertilizing more? I want to keep away from any store bought feed (like Dr.Earth's), if I can. Your expert advise will be grately apprecaited. Thanks, Telugu Raithu

I had my garden re done and veggie beds raised several yours ago.This is what professionals did exactly as nicely said in this post, so I will paste it: "Cardboard and or newspaper is a good idea to smoother the grass. If you do cut the sod with a sod cutter you could turn the cut sod upside down so that the grass side is in the dirt and the dirt side is up" That made sense to me too, so here is what I had to learn the hard way. I had no veggies for couple of years following that makeover.I had to find out what was eating and killing all my newly planted veggies ?The beds were totally infested with wire worms.When I took a shovel full of soil to garden masters to help me diagnose they were under impression that it took me several hours to collect that many healthy and shiny as they said wire worms.After I explained that I just took a shovel and that is what I came up with.They were shocked and said that the best way to deal with this problem was to remove all soil and start new.I have raised beds and it would have been a huge not to mention expensive project.So I have taken lots of time to learn all about them and how to get rid of them.Took at least 2 to 3 years to get rid of them totally.Wire worms live undisturbed under your lawn not too deeply.They do not travel horizontally so they won't cross to your veggie path even if its next to it.As you disturb "their home"they will come up to surface no matter how high you cover it.They want to live.Since you will have newly planted plants they will eat them or make tunnels in your veggies that nothing will be left for you.So if I were to do it again I would not even consider putting this in the bottom of my compost.I hope it helps you as they are not easy to deal with and they multiply really fast.Good luck to you.

What he said. No wood to create what is essentially a curb. Too, what you said about "making it neater and easier on the eye" ... I'm doubtful that raising the edge is going to help. Creating a nice edge that is not raised will be just as effective, if not more. If you want to make something easier on the eye, the first thing to do is get rid of the extraordinarily wicked looking stone dinosaur teeth sticking up atop the wall. Nothing at all would be better. Or replace them with a nice stone cap. When taking pictures, learn to hold the camera level.