Container Garden: Your Next Weekend Project

March 7, 2017

A garden — already? With spring just weeks away, it’s hard NOT to think about a grow-to garden.  Just imagine the flowers, herbs, veggies and plants in and around your Southshore yard, porch and patio! Then, imagine how nice your garden can look with a little spring planning.

You can always pick up a planter at your local hardware store. But if your tastes tend toward the unusual and artistic, try these weekend projects to enhance your garden greenery.

Do-It-Yourself Wooden Planters

 Centsational Girl gives you step-by-step instructions for a set of criss-cross wooden planters that perfectly complement the white French doors leading to her patio. Yours might cost less than the $80 Kate spent on each one, depending on where you buy the wood.

For a simple wooden planter with four sides and mitered trim, Lowe’s has both a video and a 10-step photo tutorial. For a rolling planter box you can reposition at will, the father-daughter pair at Four Generations Under One Roof provides stepped instructions for a great-looking rectangular garden container on wheels. You pick the paint.

Noah, the creative handyman at Instructables.com, created barrel planters out of rain drums he sourced off Craig’s List and some scrap wood. You may not have redwood slats like these laying around, but Home Depot does – in fact more than you need, and you can find salvaged shingles online, as well.

Upcycled Pallet Planters

Woohome.com has 30 stunning low-budget examples of DIY garden planters and containers. How about a wooden pallet with terra cotta pots randomly (or symmetrically) placed in the slats?

Next, TheMicroGardener.com shows you 20 creative ways to upcycle pallets, both vertically and horizontally. Use them for flowers, vegetable gardens and even 3-D screens with plants.

And then there’s Pinterest, with a few dozen creative ways to turn reclaimed pallets into everything from potting benches and garden shelves to plant pedestals and garden seating!

Unusual Garden Containers

Earth 911 repurposed a throw-away dresser with coats of complementary pastel paint and used the drawers as containers. It’s an unexpected treat for your eyes to devour.

Then, Kelly Elko with Eclectically Vintage did a similar flip with a smaller dresser and a coat or two of Behr Peacock blue to set off her geraniums and ferns.

Finally, this cinder block planter by Pith and Vigor sounds blah and uninteresting, but looks great against a similarly hued fence. The flowers pop against a grey backdrop. And A Piece of the Rainbow found that you can turn anything into a planter. Check out the painted tires, rubber boots, purses and totes — even spaghetti strainers!

Bikes and Trikes

Bicycle baskets make artistic containers, as do the bicycles themselves. Just attach pots right to the bike. Homestratosphere.com offers 30 different bicycle-as-planter looks for you to admire or co-opt for your own garden.

And, while the Garden Lovers’ Club cheated a few times using antique art tricycles, most of these repainted, repurposed trikes are the kind your tykes are used to pedaling!

Southshore Garden Parties

The backyards and patios in the new homes in Southshore are the perfect blank palette for your imaginative container gardens. Take your ideas and inspiration with you on a tour of Village Homes‘ models, the spanking-new Delaney model from Richmond American Homes and the latest offerings from Century Communities in The Hills at Southshore. Our master-planned community features both ranch and two-story models, priced from the $400s to the $700s.