Build Patio Planters
Make portable timber beds to grow potted plants for seasonal displays.
These planters take the hard work out of patio or deck gardening. Instead of filling them with soil and planting each shrub separately, set potted plants directly inside.
You can conveniently switch plants as the seasons change or move the planter to a new location without effort by unloading the pots first.
The planters are designed to fit any pot with a 275mm diameter or less and a maximum height of 250mm.
To create the illusion of a fully planted box, you could just fill in the areas around the pots with woodchips, bark or other mulch.
The planters were built in two sizes. All dimensions are identical except the length. The large planter is 1220mm long and the small one is 915mm.
They have 20mm diameter holes drilled in the base every 150mm to drain water and the side boards have a 5mm gap between them to ventilate the mulch and help it to dry out.
The planters can be made from new or recycled hardwood, but this will make cutting and working the timber more labour intensive, and result in a very heavy planter.
We used treated pine for this project, which is less likely to split along the grain. Treated pine is also lighter and easier to work with, as well as being more resistant to insect attack and decay.
Select 290 x 45mm treated pine for the legs and base with as few large knots as possible and 140 x 45mm timber for the sides and ends.
The 115mm wide capping is cut down to size from 140 x 25mm treated pine decking boards.
Finishing the timber
The planters can be left to weather with age and exposure or painted, stained or clear finished. We painted the legs and capping with exterior gloss paint to accent the clear decking oil finish on the sides and ends.