Super Easy DIY Window box

Last year my husband and I installed a large shed at the back of our property. For my husband, the shed is a useful structure where he plans to do his woodworking, but for me, it is a big, grey, box in the middle of my garden. It may be a utilitarian structure, but I want it to be at least a little bit pretty!

So I came up with this super easy window box idea that takes mere minutes to make up and install. The best part about this project is there is no woodworking involved! Anybody who has access to a power drill can make this window box!

Long metal troughs seem to be everywhere this spring. I have seen them at Walmart (under $10) in the housewares department and at the Dollar Store (only $4!). The one I used for this project is available at Loblaw garden centres here in Canada ($15). 

The metal troughs at Walmart and the Dollar Store are unpainted, but you could easily get some multi-surface spray paint and fancy-up a plain trough.

To prepare your trough for planting, take a metal spike (or a large nail) and hammer holes into the bottom for drainage.

As you can see here, my husband punched a good number of evenly spaced holes into the bottom of the trough to insure my plants would have good drainage.

The plants I used are:

• 1 and a half trays of good-sized pansies

• 2 four-inch pots of variegated ivy

• 2 pots of daffodils (from the grocery store floral department)

• 1 tray of purple violas + a couple of plugs from a tray of yellow violas

The window box is at the back of the property well beyond the reach of a garden hose so I used Miracle Grow's Moisture Control Potting Mix. It absorbs up to 33% more water than basic potting soil. I will still have to lug a watering can to the back of the property to water the container planting, but at least I will have to do it a little less often. 

(Note: Another bonus of this potting mix is that it has built-in fertilizers that will feed my plants all season long.)

Planting up the trough took less than ten minutes. First, I filled the trough with a generous layer of potting soil (about half to three-quarters full). 

Then I placed the 2 pots of daffodils, plastic pot and all, at the back of the trough and worked them snugly into the soil. This may sound like an unorthodox way to plant up a window box, but I have a good reason for not removing the daffodils from their plastic pots. 

The daffodils will look great for a few weeks. Then the flowers will start to fade and the foliage will start to brown. Before my window box begins to look tattered, I want to remove the two pots of daffodils and replace them with something else (most likely some other annuals that I'll buy at a garden centre). Leaving the daffodils in their plastic pots will make them easy to lift and remove.

The daffodils won't be wasted. I'll remove them from the pots and plant them out somewhere in the garden where their foliage can die back naturally. With any luck, they'll bloom in the garden next spring.

(Note: Never cut back the fading foliage on your daffodils! If you want them to bloom year to year, you must allow the foliage to feed the bulb that produces next year's flower.)

Once the pots of daffodils were in position, I planted the pansies, violas and ivy as you would do normally– making sure there were no air pockets in the soil between my plants.

The pansies and other plants should look great well into summer. At that point, I may or may not want to freshen up the window box to see me through the rest of the season.

Once it's all planted up, installing your window box couldn't be easier!

I purchased two 8 inch metal brackets at Walmart (Note: the size of your brackets might vary slightly depending on the size of your trough). My husband installed the brackets with his drill and a few screws.

The handles on my trough made it a snap to lift the window box into place on top of the two brackets. Even if your metal trough has no handles, it should still be a simple job to put the window box into position. 

The weight of the container planting is enough to hold the window box in place. 

Watering the window box is easy too. Surplus water will run through the drainage holes in the metal trough to the ground below. No rotting wood!

I am super pleased with how this project turned out. It makes the utilitarian shed fit nicely with the rest of my garden.

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Simple DIY Pot Hanger that folds for Easy Storage

This type of pot hanger is not particularly a new idea. Variations on this theme have been around for years. The advantage of our version is the quick way the whole pot hanger can be collapsed for easy winter storage. 

At the end of the season, simply take down the hanger and remove the plant pot. 

Next, loosen the nuts on the eye-bolts on all four corners of the wooden frame. Remove an eye-bolt from one of the four corners. Fold the frame like a fan.

Reattach the eyebolt loosely to one of the corner pieces (just so it is less likely to go missing when you store the frame).

Place the chains, the S-hooks and the folded wooden fame inside the clean, empty plant pot. Store the compact unit it away for the winter.

Here's how to make your own pot hanger:

Materials you need:

• one plastic pot–7" pot with a total 9" diameter (including the lip) 

• 1x 1.5" S-hook

• 4 x 1.25" S-hooks

• 4 x 2.5" eye bolts and nuts

• 4 x 14" lengths of chain

• 4 x .25" washers

• 4 x 9.25" pieces of  1"x 1" cedar

Tools you need:

• measuring tape

• saw

• drill

• pencil

• pliers (optional)

A few words about the Pot:

I don't recommend a terra cotta pot. It's likely to be too heavy. I recommend a plastic pot with a lip for this project. The lip sits on the cedar frame and holds the plant pot in place. 

Pots with lips are pretty common, so I don't think you should have any difficulty finding one. I found the blue plastic pot you see here at the Home Depot for under $10.

A few pointers about the Chain:

Do yourself a favour and don't try to cut the chain yourself. It is hard to do unless you have really sharp cutters! Ask the retail assistant at the hardware store to cut you four 14" lengths of half-inch sized chain.

Step 1: Cut four 9.25" lengths of cedar (1" x 1" cedar boards).

Step 2: Place one piece of cedar on top of another and square the side and end of the boards as shown. Use the top piece of cedar to mark off a square on the bottom piece. 

Repeat the process marking a square at each end of all four pieces of cedar. You will have 8 squares marked off (one at each end) when you are done.

Next we need to mark the centre of each corner square.

Step 3: Using a piece of cedar as a ruler, draw a diagonal line from one corner of the square to the other. Flip your cedar ruler and draw a second diagonal line from the opposite corner. This is what you will have when you are finished:

Repeat the process of marking diagonal lines on each corner of the four pieces of cedar.

Step 4: Drill a hole at the centre of each X. You should have 8 holes when you are finished.

Step 5: Place one piece of cedar on top of the other and line up the holes. Pass an eye-bolt down 

through the holes.

Turn the wood over and place a washer and bolt on the end of the eye-bolt. Tighten them as necessary.

Repeat the process until you have all four corners together.

Step 6: Slip one end of a S-hook into a corner eye-bolt. Connect a length of chain onto the other end of the S-hook. Repeat this step for each of the other corners. (Optional: Close the S-hook with a set of pliers.)

A finished corner

Step 7: Gather the four lengths of chain onto a large S-hook at the top of the pot hanger. (Optional:Close the S-hook with a set of pliers.)

Place the plant pot into the frame and hang your finished project. 

I left my S-hooks open and found the hanger worked well all summer. If you want to be able to remove the pot to deadhead the flowers or to water the plant however, you may find that it is better to close the S-hooks with a pair of pliers.

The hanger is great for outdoor plants, but there is no reason you shouldn't be able to use it for indoor plant as well. 

Here I used a hanger for a pot of ivy.

This project is easy-to-do with minimal carpentry skills. Not only does the pot hanger come together quickly, it looks attractive too!

Romantic Ivy-Filled Birdcage

I've always wanted to make a birdcage planter for my front porch. This Victoria Day Weekend I finally got the job done! Here's how I made it:

What you need to make this project:

• Decorative birdcage

• A selection of shade annuals: I used 3 small pots of ivy, one plug tray of trailing lobelia and one fuchsia

• A large bag of dried green moss (not shown above)

• A length of dried coconut liner

• Potting soil

• Scissors

• Permanent marker

• Garden gloves

Just a quick on the birdcage. Select a birdcage with a wire rather than solid bottom, if you can. The wire bottom will allow better drainage. I also chose a birdcage that opened from the top and came with a hook for hanging the finished planter.

Messy project warning: This project does create a bit of a mess, so work outside or somewhere inside that will be easy to clean up afterward.

Step 1: Roll open a length of the coconut liner. Place your birdcage on top, and with a permanent marker, trace the outline of the bottom of the cage.

Step 2: Cut out the shape of the birdcage with your scissors. Open the birdcage and place the coconut liner at the bottom of the cage.

My first idea was to use the coconut liner for the sides of the birdcage planter, but I found it cumbersome to work with in the tight space available inside the birdcage. 

So to protect the roots of my plants and to fill in the sides of my planter, I used a bag of dried green moss that I purchased at the craft store. Moss makes the sensitive skin on my hands itch, so when working with it, I always use gloves.

Step 3: Working with the moss is where this project starts to get a bit messy. 

With your birdcage open, begin to pack a thick layer of moss around the bottom two inches of the birdcage. Be generous with the moss! You don't want the soil in the birdcage to drain away every time you water the planter.

Now you are ready to incorporate the first of your plant materials. I wanted to hang my birdcage on my front porch, so I chose plants that would be happy in part-shade: ivy, trailing lobelia and fuchsia.

If you wanted to make something similar for sun, try a full sun vine instead of the ivy. For the flowers you could also use petunias, a small trailing geranium or any other full sun annual of your choice.

Step 4: To begin the planting, start with the small plugs of trailing lobelia. I found it easiest to place the root ball of the lobelia inside the birdcage first and then work the tailing stems of the lobelia gently through the birdcage bars.

Once you have added the lobelia, put another half inch or so of moss on the sides of the cage. Place the ivy root ball inside the cage and tread the ivy through the bars of the cage as you did with the lobelia. Once the ivy is in place, build up the sides with the moss about another 3/4 of an inch. Add the small fuchsia to the centre of your planting. 

Fill an spaces between the plants with potting soil.

Step 5: Next, hang up your cage, so you can see the sides clearly. Fill any gaps with moss. Don't discard any surplus moss! If any gaps appear with repeated watering, add a little of the surplus moss to fill any gaps.

Step 6: With a light spray of the garden hose, give the birdcage planter a good soak.

Hang the birdcage and enjoy!