Get hands-on with your garden with these one-day DIY projects!
Garden of Art: One-Day Succulent Shadowbox
Wake up your patio walls with these framed wall planter boxes.
What You’ll Need
- Selection of plants/succulents
- Shadowbox
- Planting soil
- Sphagnum moss
- Chicken wire
- Floral wire
- Stapler and staples
- Scissors
How to Do It
Construct a simple shadowbox frame or adapt a store-bought shadowbox frame for this project. Add a 2-3-inch layer of soil, followed by 1 or 2 inches of sphagnum moss. Cut the chicken wire to size to fit over the shadowbox opening (this will help keep your planting medium in place). Then, staple it to the frame. Choose your plants, (succulents work best for a planter such as this) and snip openings in the chicken wire where you’d like to place your plants, filling the frame as fully as you can. You can also use floral wire to secure larger succulents in place until the roots take hold (about two or three weeks).
Bottles Up: DIY Vertical Garden
Upcycle old drink or shampoo bottles into this eye-catching vertical garden arrangement.
What You’ll Need
- Emptied, clean bottles
- Scissors
- Drill with small drill bit
- Small houseplants
- Pebbles
- Planting soil
- Garden stake or pole
- Screws and nuts for fastening to stake or pole
- Screwdriver
How to Do It
Cut an oval-shaped opening along one side of the bottle and then drill a few drainage holes on the opposite side. Then, through the top opening, screw through the bottom of the bottle to attach it to a tall stake or pole of your choice. To plant, first add a layer of pebbles to further assist drainage. Then add a layer of soil before adding your plants.
For the Birds: DIY Waste-Free Bird Feeder
Composting is a wonderful way to turn scraps into garden “gold.” And this simple bird feeder is another way to avoid food waste.
What You’ll Need
- 1×6-inch pine
- Hole saw
- Metal skewer
- Whole fruit
How to Do It
Construct a simple A-frame (or butterfly/folded plate roof) silhouette house shape from 1×6-inch pine and use a hole saw (at least 5 inches in diameter) to cut an opening in the center. Drill a small hole through both sides of the house—straight across—in order to insert a metal skewer that will be used to hold fresh whole fruit.
Customized DIY Tile Planter Box
Customize your container garden pots by using store-bought tile to create a simple planter. Square tiles are the easiest to use. You’ll make a box-shaped pot. You can also create rectangular planters (as seen here), but be prepared to cut the side tiles to size.
What You’ll Need
- 5 tiles of your choice
- Tile cutter
- Drill with ceramic drill bit
- Denatured alcohol
- Epoxy
- Silicone caulking
- Clamps and heavy weights
How to Do It
- If you’re not using square tiles, cut two tiles to size to form the sides of your planter.
- Using the drill with a ceramic drill bit, create one or two drainage holes in the tile that will serve as the bottom of your planter.
- Determine how the tiles will come together to form your five-sided pot. Prep the edges that will adjoin each other by wiping them down with denatured alcohol.
- Put the bottom tile (the one with the drain holes) in place. Then, affix the first side of your planter by applying a bead of epoxy along the bottom where the two edges will meet. Place a heavy weight behind the tile to keep it in place.
- Repeat this process with the remaining three sides of the planter. Let it sit for 10 minutes to allow the epoxy to start curing.
- Once the tiles are well affixed, run a bead of silicone caulking all along the inside seams to further secure and reinforce the joints.
- Let your planter dry for 24 hours before planting anything in them.
Air Play: Easy DIY Air Plant Arrangement
Tillandsia, or air plants, are wonderful plants for beginners just developing their “green thumbs.” These plants extract all their nutrients from the air. If you live in a humid climate, nature does all the work for you. Otherwise, plan to mist them once a week and then give them a deep bath a couple of times each month. This project puts you in touch with your creative side. You can find these plants at most big box home improvement stores or large garden centers (inside the store, near the shade and houseplants). The arrangement will look great on your patio or outdoor dining table.
What You’ll Need
- A selection of air plants
- Wide planter or bowl
- Rocks
- Moss
- Votive candles
How to Do It
Choose a wide planter or bowl and fill it with decorative elements such as rock, moss and even votive candles, as seen here. Then artfully arrange a variety of air plants in the planter.
Want to get every last drop out of summer? Don’t miss our roundup of summer cocktails, inspiration for an MCM picnic, and a collection of some of our favorite pools. And of course, don’t forget to follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest for more Atomic Ranch articles and ideas!
