Dreaming of Raised Beds

We have a beautiful and spacious yard, ripe for having a garden. In fact, we tried several times! But the combination between a heavy clay soil, and the burden of responsibility being on myself, we haven't achieved much. Last year we got a few peas and a carrot, oh and some tomatoes.

This year we amended the soil, tilled it, and planted seeds. But unfortunately either by planting to early or around too many hungry birds, we grew nothing but 2 broccoli plants. Oh... and a whole heck of a lot of happy healthy weeds!

Now I'm dreaming of raised garden beds! This would solve the problem of the soil, as well as making it easier for me to be sole-tender of the garden.

All I need is wood & soil/compost!!

Here are some of my inspirational photos:

 

http://www.sunset.com/garden/backyard-projects/ultimate-raised-bed-how-to-00400000011938/

 

http://gardening.sheknows.com/tag/raised-bed-garden/

 

http://www.raisedvegetablegardenbed.com/

 

http://www.homestead-hearth.com/

 

http://blog.ufpi.com/blog/decking-and-outdoor-living/raised-garden-bed-how-to-build-a-raised-garden-bed-in-three-steps

 

http://followinginmyshoes.com/around-houston/finders-keepers/

 http://www.popularmechanics.com/home/how-to-plans/lawn-garden/4308264

 http://www.sunset.com/garden/landscaping-design/raised-bed-vegetables-00400000020697/

 http://raisedvegetablegardenbeds.com/the-simple-way-of-building-a-raised-garden-bed

Hopefully my dreams will become a reality soon enough!! I just don't know how long I can wait........

So if you were planning a raised garden bed(s), what materials would you use to make the bed, and what dimensions would you make it in? I'm thinking cedar and 18-24" high with a dimension of 3x5 or so. I have to be able to access the whole thing easily. Admittedly I have a physical disability, so it has to be easy for me to manage without too much movement on my part.......

Thoughts?