DIY Project: Flower Planter

This year I decided I was not going to fill my outdoor planters with soil and flowers. I had a few reasons for coming to this decision-- first, the weather around Calgary is not always so nice. I can be snowed on during any month of the year (Don't laugh, it's true!) and it is often windy. Soil isn't always heavy enough to weigh the planter down and I have experienced hucked planters after a good blow. Flower planters are like decorated Christmas trees; once they've fallen down they are never again the same.

Click to enlarge picture

The second reason involves the first one... since the weather if often unpredictable, said flower planter often needs to come indoors. There might be a frost (which ends around early June here and begins up again by August end), or hail, or yes, snow. Hauling a container of this size inside is not an easy feat. Also, if I could continue on the life of the plant by simply bringing it indoors over the winter and keeping it going till the next season, that would be cheaper  nice too.

The Solution:

Drill holes in the bottom of the planter for drainage.

Use rocks to fill the planter half way. We used big rocks for the bottom portion and then switched to smaller gravel.

Keep the flowers in a pot (a nice 10/12 inch diameter is usually sufficient for most plants). Once you have the large rocks in the container, place the flowers in and carefully add gravel to hold it in place.

Sit back and enjoy!

When bad weather comes, simply remove the flower pot from the planter and take it indoors. You can easily replace it when the sun is shining again! If you sport a 'green thumb', perhaps these flowers will even last a few seasons.

Bonus tip: If you do manage to 'off' your flowers before the season is over, simply pull out the dead flower pot and replace with a new flower pot.