Flower Pot Box Thing

Two thoughts:

1. Our front porch is horrible and needs some love.
2. I found a big pile of cedar planks in the basement.

So I decided to build a flower box. I did some searching around online, and found this design by Ana White (a bit of a personal hero of mine). I wanted to make a few modifications, but generally follow her design.

Shopping List:
1 pack of cedar planks (already had)
1 2x2 - 8ft long
1 1x2 - 8 ft long
4 1x3 - 6 ft long

Step 1. Make Four Side Panels
I started out by cutting down all the cedar planks to 23 inches long (so the whole box will be 2 feet tall). To determine the total size of the box, I laid them out and decided that the width would be 7 panels wide and the depth would be 4 panels wide. Then I cut 2 strips of 1x3s for the top and bottom of all four panels, to those measurements. Then I nailed the cedar planks to the strips from the inside, so the nail head wouldn't show. Next, I cut down the 1x2s to the width of the wide panels, and nailed them to the back of the cedar panels roughly half-way up. These will be the supports for the soil.

cutting down the boards

attaching cedar planks to 1x3s on top and bottom

attaching the soil support to the back side of the wider panels

 

Step 2. Attach the Legs
I cut the 2x2 board in fourths, for 24" tall legs. On the design plan, you're supposed to use a kreg jig to drill pocket holes, but I don't have one. Instead, I just used large screws to attach 2 legs to each of the side panels. It would be nicer for them to be hidden, but I figured it wouldn't be that noticeable. Unlike the plans, I wanted the legs to be flush with the height of the panels.

Step 3. Build the Box
Next up, I attached the front panels to the side panels, forming a box. The trick here was holding everything together while I screwed them in. This always seems to be my problem on carpentry projects, but usually I can find a table or chair to lean things against and make it work.

box coming together

Step 4. Finishing Touches
To make it pretty, I mitered 1x3 boards to frame the top of the box. This makes it look super fancy and professional. Last step, I cut remaining scrap wood to the depth of the box and just laid them on the supports. These will support the soil, but let water escape. Since they will take the brunt of the weight and water damage and may need to be replaced in the future, they are just sitting on the supports and not attached permanently.

 

with new frame on top and supports inside

moved out front

 

Step 5. Paint!
I could've left it unfinished, but I thought paint would help protect it from water and make it look a little nicer.

painted

 

Step 6. Landscape Fabric
So, after it was painted- it just sat around for a while. Our postal worker seemed to think I had built a fancy mailbox and kept leaving things in it, but since that really wasn't my plan, I eventually got some landscape fabric and finished the project. I just placed a piece of landscape fabric loosely inside and stapled it to the sides. This should prevent soil from escaping every time I water it.

 

lined with landscape fabric

 

Step 7. Fill and Enjoy!
Last up, I just dumped in some potting soil we had on hand, and filled it with plants. Since it doesn't get any direct light, I picked things that should be ok in the shade and will add some much-needed color to the porch. We've got an evergreen azalea, that will keep its leaves all year and bloom in the spring, plus some pansies that should bloom through the fall and winter. I also stuck some bulbs in, so we should have something nice pop up in the spring.

done!

 

Total Cost - $20 (not counting plants)

Active Time - 10 hours

Total Time - 1.5 months