North Central resident Bob Yen was inspired to create the TableGarden raised planter bed after watching his wife, Li, suffer from back pain from stooping, bending and kneeling in their home’s ground-level garden (submitted photo).
Long-time North Central residents Bob and Li Yen, together with other local partners, are producing and selling garden beds that elevate gardening to new heights—table height, to be exact.
These raised garden beds, produced at a Phoenix facility and made from western red cedar and polyfelt from recycled plastic water bottles, allow gardeners to plant and tend their gardens while standing or even seated in a wheelchair, without the physical strain of having to bend, stoop or kneel.
The TableGarden also has wheels that allow planting in a cool, shady spot, before rolling the garden into optimal sunlight. The TableGarden’s construction and compact size make it a perfect fit for patio and even balcony gardens.
Bob Yen, a lawyer who has practiced in the Valley for more than 30 years, came up with the idea after building a raised vegetable garden for his wife, Li, whose green thumb for flowers is apparent in the front yard of their Piestewa Peak home.
“After trying to figure out the best location in our yard for a raised garden and after spending hours at the big box store cutting lumber, buying hardware and hauling it all home, I figured there had to be an easier way to grow vegetables and flowers,” Bob recalls. “And after watching my wife stooping, bending, kneeling—and groaning—I figured there must be a better height, too.”
After building a dozen or so prototypes, he obtained a design patent for the TableGarden, which he says was designed to be functional, aesthetically elegant, sustainably made , and so easy to assemble and set up that it can be done in less than five minutes by one person.
TableGarden is being offered online for $239. Local gardeners, though, are being offered the TableGarden at $199 ready for pick-up (near 15th Street and Bethany Home Road), or you can choose the optional free delivery and assembly for the North Central Phoenix area. For more information, visit www.tablegarden.net, call 480-747-0518 or e-mail info@tablegarden.net.
