A bare patio corner is one of the easiest spots in the yard to fix, and the right planter does most of the work. These 26 DIY outdoor planters cover every skill level, from a colander you can plant in five minutes to cedar boxes, tiered towers and vertical gardens that take a weekend with a saw. You’ll find budget builds made from fence pickets, pallets and old garbage cans, plus a few clever twists like a floating pond garden and a planter that doubles as a bird bath. Two DIY JOY favorites with full videos are in the mix too: a two-tier planter box built from five boards and a pig planter made from plastic bottles. Before you build, check where the sun hits, because no planter can save a shade lover baking on a south wall. Find even more ideas on the DIY planters hub.
1. DIY Tripod Planter
This DIY tripod planter comes from a project in the book The New Bohemians, and the clever part is the bowl: an old wooden salad bowl set on three tapered wooden legs, the kind you can find in the vintage section on Etsy. Drill a hole in the center of the bowl for drainage, then spray the inside with a weatherproof varnish so it holds up to watering. Fill it with succulents, portulaca and trailing creeping Jenny so something spills over the rim. It sits at side table height, which makes it perfect between two patio chairs.
Get the full tutorial at In Honor Of Design.
2. DIY Solar Light Planters
DIY solar light planters stack two terra cotta pots with a garden solar light rising out of the top. Use a 10 inch or larger pot for the base and an 8 inch or smaller pot on top, both with drainage holes. Paint them first with multi-surface acrylic: house numbers make a handy porch marker, or drag a nearly dry chip brush across for a weathered look, then tape off the rim and paint a solid band. Fill the big pot with soil, push the light’s long stake through the small pot’s hole, set it in place, then plant both tiers.
Get the full tutorial at Average But Inspired.
3. Rope-Wrapped Pots
Rope-wrapped pots dress up plain terra cotta with nothing more than rope, hot glue and a little leftover paint. Start at the top rim and glue the rope down as you coil it around the pot, working all the way to the bottom. Snip the end and tuck it under a dab of glue so it doesn’t unravel. Then brush a band of latex paint over the lower rows of rope for a pop of color; leftover front door paint is perfect here. A pair makes a simple centerpiece for an outdoor table.
Get the full tutorial at House by Hoff.
4. Three Tiered Summer Planter
A three tiered summer planter stacks three spray painted terra cotta pots into a tower of blooms. Put rocks in the bottom of the largest pot for drainage and extra height, then flip a plastic pot liner upside down inside it as a stand for the middle pot. Fill with potting soil, set the middle pot on the liner and repeat for the top tier. Plant the bottom ring first, then the middle, then the top. A pinch of fertilizer in each hole helps. Terra cotta dries fast, so plan on daily watering in full sun.
Get the full tutorial at House by Hoff.
5. DIY Floating Planter For Water Gardens And Ponds
This DIY floating planter for water gardens and ponds is cut from 2 inch polystyrene board. Glue two circles together for the base, then build a 2 inch wide rim from more board and glue it on top. Drill four weep holes in the sides for rain, spray paint it black with water-based paint and line the bottom with capillary matting. A strip of matting threaded through a 1 inch hole wicks pond water up to the roots. An eye bolt underneath, tied to a concrete block, keeps it from drifting. Sun-loving annuals thrive here.
Get the full tutorial at Garden Therapy.
6. DIY Criss Cross Outdoor Planters
DIY criss cross outdoor planters are tall square boxes with an X on every side, built from pine and poplar. Each one uses twelve 1×6 side boards at 21.5 inches, four 2×2 legs at 24 inches and 1×2 strips cut at angles for the criss cross pattern. The sides go together with a brad nailer, then pocket holes from a Kreg Jig join the four panels. A slatted shelf about 14 inches below the top holds the pot, so you need far less soil. Sand the corners, prime and paint. They frame a pair of French doors beautifully.
Get the full tutorial at Centsational Style.
7. $40 Tiered DIY Planter Box
This $40 tiered DIY planter box looks like a high end garden bed, but it’s built from just five 2×6 boards, a saw, a drill and some screws. Two stacked tiers with dividers give you separate pockets, so herbs, vegetables and flowers each get their own space. The raised top tier puts plants within easy reach, and the design is simple enough for a beginning woodworker to finish in about an hour. It fits a patio, a balcony or a small yard. The full video walks through every cut.
Get the full tutorial at DIY JOY.
8. Winter Porch Pots
Winter porch pots are one of the quickest holiday decorations there is, and you can make them from greens bought at a nursery or trimmed from your own yard. Home improvement stores will often hand over Christmas tree cuttings if you ask. Push curly willow or twigs about 3 to 4 inches into the center of a pot of soil, then add noble fir at the back, pine through the middle, cedar draping over the edge and juniper for blue berries. An old fall container works too; cut the mums down and use them as an anchor. Water once and the freezing locks everything in place.
Get the full tutorial at House of Hawthornes.
9. Pallet Bird House Planter
This pallet bird house planter puts a little birdhouse in the middle of a wooden planter box, with a flower bed on each side. Reclaimed pallet wood gives it a rustic, weathered look and keeps the cost close to free. Since a birdhouse lives outdoors year round, the build needs to be sturdy and durable enough to stand up to sun, rain and wind. Plant vinca, petunias or herbs in the side boxes and set it on a deck rail, a garden bench or a fence post where the birds can find it.
Get the full tutorial at DIY JOY.
10. $20 Tall Planters
These $20 tall planters are tapered wooden boxes built from dog ear fence pickets, about $1.58 each, plus a few scrap 2x2s. Cut each board with a slight 3.5 degree angle on both ends so the box narrows toward the bottom. Glue and brad nail the pickets into six stackable squares, overlapping one end and underlapping the other so each square stays even. Rip a few more pickets into strips to hold the stack together. A 15 inch square plastic pot sits inside, so you never fill the whole tower with soil.
Get the full tutorial at Bower Power.
11. DIY Flower Tower
A DIY flower tower turns one big pot into a column of blooms about 4 feet tall. Roll welded wire fencing (14 or 16 gauge) into a tube, line it with landscape fabric and close it with zip ties, then stand it in a pot at least 12 inches wide. Fill the tube with potting soil, and buy the big bag. Cut small slits in the fabric and tuck in plants all the way up; one porch tower held 115 pansies. Good tin snips make the wire much easier. Petunias are another great option.
Get the full tutorial at Simply Designing with Ashley.
12. DIY Vertical Plant Hanger
A DIY vertical plant hanger strings potted plants one above another on rope, perfect for a small porch or balcony. Cut scrap wood into squares about an inch wider than each pot on every side, then trace the pot’s rim and cut a circle 1/4 inch smaller so the pot drops in and rests on its lip. A jigsaw does the curve once you drill a starter hole. Drill a 3/8 inch hole in each corner, sand and stain, then thread rope through all four corners and gather it at a metal ring.
Get the full tutorial at The Inspiration Board.
13. Chevron Two-Tiered Vertical Planter
This chevron two-tiered vertical planter is a free-standing wooden stand with two long planter boxes, so you don’t need a fence to mount it on. The frame is pressure-treated lumber, which handles life outdoors; cedar and redwood are good alternatives. Diagonal boards on the front, back and sides form the chevron pattern, and every piece is cut at 45 degrees, so there are no tricky angles. Measure, mark and cut as you go for the best fit. If you want to paint or stain treated wood, let it dry out for several weeks first.
Get the full tutorial at The House of Wood.
14. DIY Pig Planter From Plastic Bottles
This DIY pig planter starts as an empty plastic gallon jug, with four small plastic bottles cut down for the feet. Prime the whole thing first, caps and gaps included, so the paint grips the plastic and lasts outdoors. Then paint it any color you like and add the eyes and snout details. The gallon size leaves plenty of room for flowers, herbs or small succulents, and a piece of cardboard inside cuts down on soil and weight. Kids can help paint and plant, but an adult should handle the cutting.
Get the full tutorial at DIY JOY.
15. DIY Garden Planters Using The Front Of Locker Drawers
These DIY garden planters use the fronts of old metal locker drawers, the kind you can find at a Habitat for Humanity ReStore. Each front becomes the face of a wooden box. For a 21 inch locker front, cut a 1×8 at 21 inches for the bottom, two 1×6 pieces at 7.5 inches for the sides and a 1×6 at 21 inches for the back. Drill through the metal lip and screw it to the bottom board, then build the box behind it. Paint each locker a bold color for a cheerful stack.
Get the full tutorial at Within the Grove.
16. Repurposed Corner Cabinet Planter
A repurposed corner cabinet planter gives an old pair of kitchen cabinet doors a second life on the porch. The two doors stand at a right angle, and scrap wood shelves fit between them, traced and cut with a circular saw. Faux drawer fronts cut from 1×4 with 45 degree ends finish the front, and a pocket-hole jig joins each corner shelf to the doors. Sand everything, paint it in bright colors and tuck potted flowers onto the shelves. It fits neatly into a porch corner that usually goes unused.
Get the full tutorial at My Love 2 Create.
17. DIY Colorful Vertical Garden On A Fence
A DIY colorful vertical garden on a fence is one of the fastest ways to brighten a dull wooden fence. Tape off the rim of each terra cotta pot with painter’s tape and spray paint the body, varying the colors from pot to pot. Once they’re dry, peel the tape for a crisp natural band at the top. Screw flowerpot hangers to the fence with a cordless drill and wood screws, measuring as you go so the rows line up. Drop the pots into the rings and plant herbs, flowers or trailing greens.
Get the full tutorial at Shelterness.
18. Colander Flower Planter
A colander flower planter takes about five minutes once you have the supplies. Cut a circle of landscape fabric and line the inside of a colander so the soil stays put while extra water drains out of the holes. Add a little potting soil, but not too much, since the plants’ roots take up space. Set in your flowers, fill the gaps with soil and water it in. A bright enamel colander looks especially cheerful. It also makes a great Mother’s Day, housewarming or hostess gift, or a mini herb garden.
Get the full tutorial at Two Twenty One.
19. Pretty Picket Planter
A pretty picket planter is a bottomless box made from leftover fence pickets that slips right over a plain pot. Cut the pickets to 14 inches and trim the tops to mimic the original pointed shape. Three pickets make each side, 12 in all. Build a simple square frame from scrap wood, measuring your three pickets side by side to size it, then nail the pickets on. A little construction adhesive on the frame helps it stand up to hot, humid weather. Add a bottom and liner if you’d rather plant it directly.
Get the full tutorial at Clover House.
20. DIY Garden Planter And Birds Bath
This DIY garden planter and bird bath threads painted terra cotta pots onto a length of rebar. You’ll need one 8 inch pot for the base, four 6 inch pots, one 4 to 5 inch pot, primer and spray paint, and a glass globe from an old ceiling light for the bath. Add 24 inches to the total height of your pots to get the rebar length, then hammer it at least two feet into the ground. Tilt the pots as you stack them, plant, then glue the globe on top with aquatic adhesive.
Get the full tutorial at Home Stories A to Z.
21. Garbage Can Flower Planter
A garbage can flower planter might be the easiest and cheapest planter here, about $5 and 15 minutes. Old galvanized trash cans get hammered copper spray paint on the handles and rim for a little shine. The smart part is what goes inside: rather than filling a huge can with heavy dirt, flip a 5 gallon bucket upside down in the bottom and set a pre-planted hanging basket on top. When summer ends, lift out the basket and the cans stack for winter storage. Keep an eye out at the curb and at garage sales.
Get the full tutorial at The Lilypad Cottage.
22. $10 Cedar Tiered Flower Planter or Herb Garden
This $10 cedar tiered flower planter or herb garden is built from three 5-1/2 inch cedar fence pickets and two 1×2 boards. Build three simple boxes, stapled, brad nailed or screwed together, then attach them to the 1×2 supports stepping down like stairs. A scrap spacer keeps the gaps even when you add the lower boxes. Drill drainage holes in every bottom. Cedar handles the weather on its own, so you can skip the finish entirely, or paint or stain it if you like. It makes a handy herb garden by the door.
Get the full tutorial at Ana White.
23. Custom Potted Hanging Herb Garden DIY
This custom potted hanging herb garden is a set of floating wood shelves strung on threaded rod. It uses five 24 by 5.5 inch planks of old pallet wood, eight 36 inch threaded rods, couplings, nuts, washers and crown bolts. Cut 3.5 inch holes with a hole saw so small pots drop in, and drill a hole an inch in from each corner for the rods. Bolt the rods to a ceiling or porch beam and thread the shelves on, locking each with a washer and nut. White pots with a gold dipped edge finish it.
Get the full tutorial at Fresh Mommy Blog.
24. Chalkboard Planters With Folk Art Stencils And Paint
Chalkboard planters with FolkArt stencils start as plain terra cotta pots with a light coat of white spray paint. Brush on acrylic paint in soft colors, building up thin coats until the coverage looks even, then seal with gloss Mod Podge. Trim the top of a bird stencil so it wraps flat around the pot, mist the back with spray adhesive and dab chalkboard paint over it with a spouncer. Go light, because heavy paint seeps under the stencil. Condition the dry chalkboard with chalk, wipe it clean and label each pot.
Get the full tutorial at Tried & True Creative.
25. Pallet Planter Box For Cascading Flowers
This pallet planter box for cascading flowers is built to grow a wall of wave petunias under a window. Four 2×4 legs at 40 inches hold a 2×2 support 20 inches down, with 1×4 boards across for the bottom. Pallet slats at 40 inches form the front and 16 inches the sides; screws hold up better than brad nails once the wood gets wet. Drill rows of 2 inch holes in the front with a hole saw, then plant a row, cover with soil and repeat. Water daily, since the holes dry the soil fast.
Get the full tutorial at Her Tool Belt.
26. $12 DIY Planter Boxes
These $12 DIY planter boxes follow a classic square planter plan with finials, and a pocket-hole jig makes them go together like a kit. The cut list is four 2×2 legs at 18 inches (20 inches looks even better), sixteen 1×4 side boards at 15 3/4 inches and ten 1×2 slats for the bottom. Drill pocket holes on the side boards, start the top board just below a mark 1.5 inches down each leg, and use a spacer to keep the rows even. Stain them dark and set one on each side of the garage door.
Get the full tutorial at Gathered In The Kitchen.
