DIY Succulent Planter Box – Easy Weekend Project!

DIY Planter Box for Succulents

I have been wanting a DIY succulent planter box to place on my back deck for quite some time, so this weekend while waiting for stain to dry on another project, I decided to use some scrap plywood I had to make one.  I also had some metal ribbon and wood appliques that I had purchased at Hobby Lobby in hopes of using them on a future project, and this weekend I found what that project would be!  I used them to dress up my planter box to give it a little pizzaz!  This was a quick and easy build that helps gives some character to my back deck.  Here’s how I made it:

Materials:

• 5/8″ scrap plywood
• Miter saw or circular saw (or hand saw will work as well)
• Ryobi Airstrike brad nailer (or hammer and finish nails)
• 1.25″ finish nails
• wood glue
• speed square
• metal ribbon
• wood appliques
• wood stain
• outdoor polyurethane finish

Cut List:

• 2 @ 16″ x 5.5″ (long sides)
• [email protected] 6.75″ x 5.5″ (short sides)
• [email protected] 16″ x 5.5″

Using a miter saw, circular saw, or hand saw, cut out the boards for the sides and the bottom.  Once all boards are cut, you should have 5 pieces.

Plywood board peices to make planter box.

Begin by attaching the long side boards to the bottom board.  I used wood glue, then used my Ryobi Airstrike Nailer and 1.25″ finish nails to attach the side boards to the bottom board (use a speed square to ensure the boards are square before nailing).

First, adhere the boards with wood glue.

Next, adhere side boards to bottom board using Ryobi Airstrike nailer (or hammer and finish nails). Be sure to use speed square to ensure boards are straight prior to attaching each piece.

Once both long side boards are attached to the bottom board, attach the short side boards to the bottom board and the long side boards using wood glue and finish nails.

Use glue and Ryobi nailer to attach short side boards to bottom and long side boards.

Once the box is assembled, it should look like this:

Assembled planter box.

I found these great wood appliques at Hobby Lobby for 50% off and had been waiting for a project to use them on.  I used wood glue and attached one applique to the middle of each of the long sides of the box.

Wood appliques sold at Hobby Lobby (this isn’t the actual applique I used but shows you what the packaging looks like).

Wood applique I used (after staining) on my planter box.

Next, I used Minwax Dark Walnut to stain the box:

Planter box stained with Minwax Dark Walnut wood stain.

I then applied three coats of Varathane Outdoor Polyurethane in satin finish to the entire box.

Apply at least three coats of Varathane Spar Urethane Outdoor in Satin finish.

Once the box completely dried, I added the metal ribbon detailing.  Hobby Lobby carries a few metal ribbon designs, so I had previously purchased one of each design for use in future projects.  The one I used for the planter is 1.25″ ribbon with a flower scroll:

Metal ribbon from Hobby Lobby.

I cut four pieces of ribbon that were each 5.5″ long.  I then used my Ryobi Airstrike nailer to attach one piece of ribbon to each end of the long sides of the box.  Once the ribbon was attached, the planter box looked like this:

Completed planter box.

Before planting my succulent plants into the planter, I lined the inside of the planter with a large plastic bag (I used a trash compactor bag) and cut it to size.  I adhered the bag to the inside of the box with finish nails.

Used large plastic bag to line the inside of the planter box.

Cut the plastic bag to size and adhered to the inside of the box with finish nails (using my Ryobi Airtrike nailer).

I then drilled holes into the bottom of the planter box and the bag to allow for water drainage:

Drill holes into bottom of planter box and plastic bag.

I then filled the box with potting soil specific for cacti and other succulents and planted my succulents that I had purchased at Home Depot:

Potting soil for cacti and succulents.

Succulents planted in planter box.

And the completed project:

Completed planter box with succulents.

Completed planter box in it’s final location.

Completed planter box with succulents.