If you’re looking to build a planter box– we’ve assembled a list of 20 DIY plans below.
Scroll through this list and click the ‘View Plans’ to get the free plans.
There are a bunch of cool designs- cheap designs, cedarwood builds, indoor options, stairway blueprints, floating types, and dead-simple plans.
Check them out below!
20 DIY Planter Boxes
1. Pallet Planter Box Blueprint
If you have any pallets, you can disassemble them and use the wood to make a large garden area. Using a hand saw or chop saw, cut the wood.
Then nail and arrange the wood to make a rectangular frame, leaving the ends free if you want to use sticks to make the sides. If you do use sticks, make sure to place them very close together so the soil won’t fall out of the cracks.
VIEW PLANS2. Concrete Planter Box Idea
These boxes are durable, easy to make, and will last outside through the elements. To make them, you’ll need cardboard boxes, duct tape, concrete mix, a shovel, and some sanding tools.
Use the boxes as a mold and pour in the cement. Depending on the size of the box, the mix may take three or four days to completely solidify and dry.
Simply break apart the cardboard, sand it, paint it if you like, and you’re done.
VIEW PLANS3. Reclaimed Wood Planter Box Project
You can easily find pallets meant for the trash and turn them into something amazing.
Prying apart the wood planks can be a lot of work, and you’ll also need to cut and sand them afterward. Craft a top frame before making the bottom platform.
Then you can attach the sides to the box and even add a decorative border trim. Stain or polish the wood after everything is assemble and you’re ready to start planting.
4. Quickrete Planter Box Plan
Concrete is more durable than wood, safe to grow food in, and inexpensive.
You can make a nifty little planter box using melamine boards, caulk, mineral spirits, spray adhesive, a circular saw, pink insulation foam, and clamps.
This is composed of an outer frame and inner frame. After mixing and pouring the cement, both will need to cure and form for around two days. When they’re ready to come out of the mold, wipe them down with some sandpaper.
VIEW PLANS5. Mario Kart Planter Box Plan
This box is simple to make and a great way to bring some fun and life to your garden.
You’ll need things like cedar fence board, primer, red paint, pressure treated lumber, screws, sandpaper, and wood glue. First cut and assemble what will be the sides of the box. Then make the base and begin to cut out bricks out of your 2×4 with a table saw. Paint the bricks, let them dry, and attach them to the box.
VIEW PLANS6. Planter Box Stairway Blueprint
This isn’t too complicated to make and a great DIY project for beginners. Required materials include deck screws, stair stringers, a circular saw, plywood, and a power drill.
Set up the stringers, attach uprights and a cross piece, reinforce the upper edge, and you’re finished!
You can fit five different planters on here, though you can always adjust this to fit more or less. Don’t forget to polish or coat this once it’s assembled.
VIEW PLANS7. Floating Planter Box Idea
This planter is small enough to fit on your desk or windowsill and has lights underneath that make it look like it’s floating in the air.
The pdf instructions outline what you need- the various sizes of wood, PVA wood glue, a power drill, hinges, LEDs, a soldering iron, and some wires.
If you already have a small wooden box, you can just use that and run the wires through it to make the levitating effect.
VIEW PLANS8. Brick Planter Box Blueprint
This DIY plan is very easy to follow and inexpensive to build.
Find a good spot in your garden or backyard, level if off, and arrange four bricks to form a circle of dirt. Repeat this process two more times on a 45-degree angle.
You can now fill the inside will soil and begin planting. It’s not necessary to use glue or cement to adhere the bricks together, though you could.
VIEW PLANS9. Simple Planter Box Idea
If you’re looking for a simple and durable planter box, this is the perfect DIY plan for you.
This builder used cedar, though you can use any wood of your choice. You’ll also need exterior screws and a miter saw.
First, assemble the sides of the box and then the frame. Attach the bottom and you’re basically done. Using wax or stain on the wood is optional – if you do, make sure to let it dry before filling it up with soil.
10. Window Planter Box Project
Planters that hang outside the window make it easy for you to care for the plants and easy for the plants to get the amount of sunlight they need.
To make one, build a simple rectangular box out of pine, seal the inside and add a plastic lining, drill a few drainage holes, and mount the box outside your window with wall plugs, galvanized steel brackets, and a power drill.
11. Upcycled Drawer Planter Box Plan
If you have an old dresser or cabinet ready for the garbage, you can save the drawers and turn them into a new home for your plants.
All you need to do is use a hammer and nails to make some drainage holes and decorate the box. This builder used blue chalk paint to paint the box and painted white stars along the sides for a patriotic look. Fill this up with soil and you’re ready to start gardening.
VIEW PLANS12. Windowsill Planter Box Blueprint
Crafted out of cedar, this box can easily be placed on your windowsill and doesn’t need to be screwed or mounted to anything.
The builder even included a cut list to help novice woodworkers. To make this at home, you will need cedar, a miter saw, nails, a table saw, and wood glue. You can line the inside with burlap or plastic to make sure the soil doesn’t fall out of the sides.
VIEW PLANS13. The Ultimate Planter Box Idea
Large enough for the builder to lay down in, this box is huge. Made out of cedar, this is the perfect sized planter for those with large gardens or those who are trying to grow fruits and vegetables. This builder also made legs and a frame for this, so he wouldn’t have to strain his back and knees by getting on the ground.
You can also paint or stain the frame and outside of the planter.
VIEW PLANS14. Sub Irrigation Planter Box Idea
Similar to the oversized block DIY, this builder made cubes that could safely be placed on top of one another.
To do this, This is an inexpensive DIY project that won’t take a lot of time. If you don’t have a miter or table saw, you should be able to get your lumber cut when you buy it for no extra charge. Required materials include wood screws, drain pipes, CPVC pipe, wood stain, PEVA curtain liner, and landscape fabric. After building your box, attach the liner and fit in the drainage pipes.
VIEW PLANS15. Plastic Bottle Planter Box Idea
A great way to recycle and work with the products you have, this builder used old water bottles to a planting area. Just be advised that you shouldn’t grow fruits or veggies in this soil. Peel off the labels from all of the bottles and cut out drainage holes in the bottom of each of them.
Connect the bottles together by bending and weaving copper wire around them. Make four sides and then connect them together.
VIEW PLANS16. Rustic Planter Box Idea
This planter box is easy to build and adds a rustic touch to your outside area. Using cedar, wood glue, a miter saw, power drill, nails, skil saw, and screws, you can create this in a few hours.
First, glue the panels together and sand them. Then cut the panels, assemble the box, and a decorative trim. If you’re not growing food, you can apply a stain or paint to finish this off.
VIEW PLANS17. Indoor Planter Box Idea
If you live in a basement or apartment with few windows, this is a great indoor planting solution. A GrowLight will provide your plants with all of the faux sunlight and nutrients they need. You’ll also need an exhaust fan, acrylic sheets, and two wooden boxes.
Attach the sheets to form a rectangle and attach the boxes to both ends. Then cut a hole in the upper box to install the exhaust fan and another hole for the light.
VIEW PLANS18. Cedar Planter Box Idea
Also made out of cedar, this box is simple yet elegant. This DIY plan even has a time-lapse video to make things easier for beginners and visual learners.
Required materials include kreg screws, plastic liner, cedar or pine, wood glue, a miter saw, and deck screws. Lining this with plastic isn’t essential, but it will help keep things organized and make changing the soil very easy. After everything is assembled, you can also paint this or polish the wood.
19. Cheap Planter Box Idea
Fence boards are very inexpensive, durable, and have a lot of different uses. This builder wanted to replicate the look of pallets and cut the boards into smaller pieces that would later be nailed together.
This box also has holes on every side for your flowers and plants to stick out of. In total, this should cost you less than $25 for the materials and only take an hour or two to construct.
20. Deck Planter Box Idea
This builder wanted to make a planter that could fit a large number of fruits and veggies.
The only problem was that certain areas of their deck got more sun than others. The solution? Put the planter on wheels so it can easily be moved around to be in the sun. To make this yourself, you’ll need some wire mesh, 2x6s, trampoline fabric, weed-blocking material, and four wheels.
VIEW PLANSEverything You Need To Know
DIY planter box and vine trellis/privacy wall from gardening
A Planter Box has long been a design object on balconies and windowsills. Here you can find out everything regarding selection, materials and how to suspend one.
Finding The Right One
Whether colorful flowers, Mediterranean herbs or edibles such as tomatoes and strawberries: plants beautify every balcony and every terrace. What do you need for it? A green thumb – and the matching planter. In addition to flower pots that stand on the floor or find their place in wire holders on the balcony railing, rectangular options – also called balcony boxes – are the planter of choice for balconies, terraces or window sills.
Don’t think just of inconspicuous vats, plastic or terracotta.
Because the balcony box has long since become a design object: noble materials such as stainless steel, natural wood or high-quality finish plastics ensure that the planters no longer have to hide on the balcony – and in the best case even become a design tool.
For Hanging
The choice is also great in terms of form and functionality. There are differences especially in the attachment: classic rectangular boxes can best be attached to the railing with matching metal hooks or angles. But already there are alternatives that not only look better, but are also practical – such as options that are easy on the railing attached to.
They are also a real eye-catcher on the balcony.
They combine a rectangular shape with a base so that it can be placed on the balcony railing as required or used on the terrace as a space saver. Depending on their size, they can be planted almost like a small raised bed – making even a small city balcony look almost like a real garden.
For The Windowsill
For those who do not have a balcony or a terrace, they do not need fresh green and colorful flowers in front of the window: classic rectangular Planter Boxes can also be placed on small window sills. The sticking point is again the attachment. Metal clamps or hangers, available from gardeners, provide a dependable hold. Particularly practical are Planter Boxes, which can be clamped with a screw system in the window opening – especially in rented apartments a brilliantly simple variant that can be removed without visible legacy.
With A Trellis
Climbing plants such as ivy, nasturtium or hops can best be planted inside one with an integrated trellis. Those with a bit of patience will be rewarded with lush greenery that shields the balcony or the terrace to the side. Planter Boxes with trellis are also available as a balcony box for mounting on the railing as well as a planter for the ground. The latter can be used on the terrace as a room divider to protect the seating area from unwelcome views.
Made Of Plastic
Planter Boxes made of different plastics are the bestsellers in the garden trade. They have indisputable advantages – especially the low weight. Especially when mounting on the balcony railing avoids unnecessary loads for the suspension.
Another advantage: Unlike terracotta balcony boxes, the earth stays moist longer because the plastic is not permeable to water.
Made Of Terracotta
With its red-brown color and Mediterranean look, terracotta is the material par excellence for many when it comes to planters. Its main features: Terracotta has a high dead weight – and it is permeable to water.
The water permeability, however, ensures that terracotta balcony boxes need a little more water, as they constantly evaporate some of the precious water through their outer walls.
Important to know: If the planter is to stay out in the winter and survive even frosty nights, only goods made of high-quality clay, which was fired at high temperatures, can be used because it can not store any water in the pores.
Made Of Wood
Especially natural are window boxes made of wood. Because wood reacts sensitively to moisture depending on the processing and tree species, you should use a zinc or plastic insert or cover the inside of the box with waterproof foil – otherwise, the box will become rotten after a few years.
Particularly durable are designs made of robinia wood , which are even burned out from the inside at best, which promises additional protection against moisture.
Irrigation Solutions
In addition to color, shape and mounting, the care of the plants plays an important role in the planter.
For those who are looking forward to a sunny south-facing balcony, but have no opportunity to water the plants every day in the summer, there are special water storage boxes. They have an integrated tank that supplies the balcony plants with the necessary moisture even for days.
Alternatively, there are irrigation balls, which are filled with water and put into the ground. Advantage: They can also be used with conventional window boxes, for example.
Hi, my name’s Elena Coolidge. I’m a DIY enthusiast who loves building fun woodworking plans. These DIY plans are fun hobby projects for enthusiasts or even more advanced builders that want to build things like bunk beds, end tables or even a duck box!
