18 Planter Box Ideas

Ready to add some green to your space? These 18 Planter Box Ideas offer cool ways to show off your plants. Find inspiration for your balcony, patio, or garden and get your hands dirty creating something awesome for your favorite flowers or veggies.

Classic Wood Box

A photo of a typical American home’s garden featuring a simple, rectangular cedar wood planter box filled with colorful petunias sitting on a sunny patio.

You can build a timeless wood planter box easily.

Use cedar or redwood because they resist rot naturally.

A basic rectangle works great.

Plant bright flowers or useful herbs inside.

It looks good anywhere, adding a simple, natural touch to your outdoor area.

Tiered Planter

A photo of a typical American home’s garden showing a three-tiered wooden planter stand, each level holding various herbs and small flowering plants near a fence.

Go up instead of out with a tiered planter.

This gives you multiple levels for planting in one spot.

You can arrange different plants on each tier for a cool display.

It’s perfect for small spaces like balconies or patios where ground space is short.

Vertical Garden Wall

A photo of a typical American home’s garden displaying a wooden pallet converted into a vertical planter, attached to a wall, with lettuce and strawberries growing out.

Cover a plain wall with green using a vertical garden.

You can buy kits or make your own from pallets or pockets.

It’s a great way to grow herbs, succulents, or small flowers.

This idea saves space and makes a beautiful living wall feature.

Railing Planter Box

A close-up photo of a typical American home’s garden showing dark brown rectangular planter boxes filled with red geraniums securely mounted on a white porch railing.

Decorate your deck or balcony railings with special planter boxes.

These boxes hook right over the railing safely.

Fill them with trailing flowers like petunias or ivy.

They add color and life without taking up any floor space, making your railing much prettier.

Metal Trough Planter

A photo of a typical American home’s garden featuring a long, galvanized metal trough planter filled with ornamental grasses and coneflowers sitting on a gravel pathway.

Try a metal trough for an industrial or farmhouse look.

Galvanized steel troughs are strong and last a long time.

You can find them in different sizes.

They work well for planting vegetables, herbs, or a row of flowers, adding a modern rustic feel.

Concrete Block Planter

A photo of a typical American home’s garden showing several standard concrete blocks stacked creatively, with small succulents and sedum planted in the openings.

Get creative with simple concrete blocks.

Stack them in different ways to make unique planters.

The holes are perfect for planting small succulents, herbs, or flowers.

You can leave them plain gray or paint them bright colors for a fun, modern statement piece.

Charming Window Box

A photo of a typical American home’s garden showing a white wooden window box mounted beneath a window, overflowing with vibrant pink and purple flowers.

Add instant charm to your home’s outside with window boxes.

Mount them right under your windows.

Plant cheerful flowers like geraniums or pansies.

They brighten up your view from inside and make your house look more welcoming from the street.

Easy curb appeal!

Hanging Basket Planter

A photo of a typical American home’s garden displaying a wire hanging basket lined with coco coir, filled with trailing lobelia and verbena, hanging from a porch ceiling hook.

Use hanging baskets to add plants at eye level.

Hang them from porch ceilings, shepherd’s hooks, or tree branches.

Choose baskets made of wire, plastic, or wicker.

Fill them with flowers that spill over the sides for a beautiful, full look all summer long.

Rustic Wheelbarrow Planter

A photo of a typical American home’s garden featuring an old, slightly rusty metal wheelbarrow filled with soil and planted with cheerful marigolds and zinnias.

Give an old wheelbarrow a new job as a planter.

It adds a rustic, country feel to your yard.

Fill it with soil and plant colorful annual flowers.

You can easily move it around the garden to catch the sun or change up your decor.

Upcycled Pallet Planter

A photo of a typical American home’s garden showing a wooden shipping pallet standing upright, with landscape fabric pockets holding herbs like basil and mint.

Turn a free wooden pallet into a planter.

Stand it up or lay it flat.

You can create pockets with landscape fabric or add small shelves.

It’s ideal for growing herbs, strawberries, or lettuce.

This is a great recycling project for your garden space.

Stacked Cinder Blocks

A photo of a typical American home’s garden showing cinder blocks stacked two high in a staggered pattern, creating planting pockets filled with bright coleus.

Stack cinder blocks easily to make a planter wall or border.

The openings make perfect spots for individual plants.

Arrange them straight or staggered.

Plant herbs, small flowers, or succulents in the holes.

It’s a cheap and very sturdy planting solution you can customize.

Raised Garden Bed

A photo of a typical American home’s garden featuring a rectangular raised garden bed made of untreated lumber, filled with rich soil and rows of young vegetable plants.

Build a raised garden bed for easier gardening.

It lifts the planting area off the ground.

This helps with soil quality and drainage.

It also means less bending over!

Perfect for growing vegetables, herbs, or flowers in a neat, contained space in your yard.

Painted Tire Planter

A photo of a typical American home’s garden showing a couple of old car tires stacked and painted bright blue, filled with soil and planted with potato vines.

Reuse old tires by turning them into planters.

Clean them up and paint them fun, bright colors.

Stack a few for height or use just one.

Fill with soil and plant flowers or even potatoes.

It’s a creative way to recycle and add color.

Monogram Letter Planter

A photo of a typical American home’s garden showing a large, wooden letter 'G' planter filled with low-growing green succulents sitting near a front entryway.

Make your garden personal with a monogram planter.

Build or buy a large letter shape made of wood or metal.

Fill it with soil and plant low-growing succulents or moss.

It makes a unique feature near your front door or on a patio wall.

Self Watering Box

A close-up photo of a typical American home’s garden showing a plastic self-watering planter box with a water reservoir indicator, filled with healthy tomato plants.

Take the guesswork out of watering with a self-watering planter.

These containers have a water storage area at the bottom.

Plants drink water as they need it.

This helps keep them happy, especially if you sometimes forget to water or go on vacation.

Stair Step Display

A photo of a typical American home’s garden featuring a small, wooden three-step stair-like stand holding various potted plants and small planter boxes on each step.

Show off smaller pots and planters on a stair-step stand.

This tiered display lets each plant get sun and be seen.

You can build one from wood or repurpose an old small ladder.

It’s great for organizing herbs or displaying a collection of flowers.

Old Drawer Planter

A photo of a typical American home’s garden showing an old wooden dresser drawer pulled out slightly, lined, filled with soil, and planted with pansies on a porch.

Repurpose old dresser drawers into cute planters.

Add some drainage holes and maybe a coat of paint.

Line it if needed.

Fill with soil and plant flowers or herbs.

Set them on a porch step or stack a few for a quirky, vintage garden feature.

Tall Modern Planter

A photo of a typical American home’s garden featuring a pair of tall, sleek, square fiberglass planters in a dark gray color flanking a modern front door, each planted with a tall ornamental grass.

Add height and style with tall, modern planters.

Choose sleek shapes like squares or cylinders in materials like metal, fiberglass, or concrete.

Use them to frame an entryway or add drama to a patio corner.

Plant tall grasses or small trees for a big effect.

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