Fence Picket Planter

Here's another wonderful planter from Ana White.  I thought, "hey, I can make these!" So off I went to search for the lovely cedar fence pickets, 1/2" thick x 4.5" wide x 6' long.  I liked the idea of using cedar, it weathers beautifully, it's safe to handle and it has a smooth paint-able surface.  I don't like to plant herbs or anything edible in pressure treated wood.  I could not find the cedar pickets at either of the big box hardware stores, but I did spot pressure treated pine pickets at one of them.  I was itching to make these planters so I bought six of them.

I cut two boxes out together with my miter saw.

The boxes measure 20" long x 6.5" wide x 5.5" high, large enough for three 5" pots. You can download the printer friendly instructions, HERE.  I started to assemble the box but the parts didn't seem to fit correctly! I finally realized that the cut list that I used was for 1/2" cedar but my pressure treated pine measured 5/8" thick. Oops! I made it work and will keep this for myself. I used exterior liquid nails in a caulking gun plus exterior 1 1/4" screws to assemble.

Using exterior liquid nails is easy & less messy!

I proceed to make two more boxes, and they went together easily. I'm going to make a few more but bought some 1 1/2" galvanized finishing nails to assemble them.  Using Word, I printed out the words "HERB GARDEN" using outlined text. After printing it out, I used carbon paper to transfer the words to the box. Next I filled in the letters with a paint brush Sharpie pen. It didn't turn out great because the pine was still a little rough. Boy, I wish I had the smooth cedar pickets. I did a quick white wash with white DecoArt Patio paint. I added handles that I had in my stash box, and will add some rope handles to the next ones I make.

Easy to add the lettering!

Love the fork & spoon handles I saved from an old birdhouse.

Great spoon handle!

Black iron knobs on both ends.

Rope handles work great, too. Drill holes larger than rope diameter.

I saw another post HERE for a tapered planter using just half of the six foot cedar picket. Oh, I just had to try it with my last picket. It was a little difficult to match the sides when assembling because my pressure treated pine pickets weren't perfectly straight. I chose to predrill the holes then use the screws, it was easier to build. I wrote "BLOOM" on the front and installed rope handles. Next, I filled it with soil and planted a flower. It's now on my front steps!  I still had three feet of wood left and decided to make a smaller planter with straight sides. I'm on a roll . . .

Another 1/2 size, a gift for my daughter.

More gifts . . . complete with potting soil and seed packets!