Make My Day Camp: Deck Planter Box

Monday, January 23, 2023

Deck Planter Box

We have wood planter boxes on top of a retaining wall on our kitchen deck which we love. It makes the space cozy and cute, blocks a little of the neighbors looking straight into our deck, and softens looking at the tall wall of the neighboring condos. I've struggled for years with what to plant in the boxes - I've tried filling the planters with dirt and planting right into them, I've tried dropping potted plants into the boxes, we've rigged up irrigation systems...nothing has been perfect. We aren't here year round so when we leave I either had to uproot the plants, or toss them, or leave them to deal with next time we're here - and I always forgot to water until we set up the irrigation but then the water ran straight down the sides of the walls which isn't good long term. What to do...

This year I had an 'ah ha' moment and thought I'd try fake plants and see what happens. The biggest catch is that it's very windy here and how could I anchor the lightweight faux fern plants that I found at Hobby Lobby? Dave and I went to Lowes to see about maybe some pea gravel or small stones or something. He saw some thick rubber pavers and we brainstormed how we could possibly use them - they're less than 6 bucks each and we only needed 3, so we figured we'd try.

We were able to cut them in half with a hack saw and drill a hole in the center a little smaller than the diameter of the plant stem. Jammed the stem in the hole as far as we could, then jammed the paver and plant down into the planter box. The pavers are a little bigger width-wise than the boxes so jamming them into the box made for a very tight fit.

Last week was very rainy, chilly, and super windy - I kept checking the plants and while they were whipping around like they might take off in flight at any second they held! Woohoo! It's ridiculous how happy this simple solution makes me - the deck looks great and other than bringing the plants inside when we leave there is no more maintenance. Love.