Concrete planters are all the craze this year among the gardening community for their minimalist design that allows the plant’s green hues to pop. Lately, urban gardeners have been using these contemporary planters with small succulents to produce nifty displays, creating a chic contrast of greenery against a solid industrial gray, and adding modern vibes to any garden or home.
With a few materials, you can easily create your own concrete planters at home with no sculpting or chiseling necessary! Let us walk you through this step-by-step process to help you get started.
What you’ll need
- Sturdy plastic containers to use as molds (cups, Tupperware, etc.). Feel free to experiment with containers of any shape.
- Smaller containers for the cavity
- Fine concrete. Try purchasing repair or topping concrete. These types are smoother and usually made with sand, as opposed to standard concrete, which contains gravel that can leave bulky chunks in your planter.
- Cooking oil
Mix the concrete with water
Make sure to read any instructions on your concrete package. If there is no specific concrete-to-water ratio for the amount you are making, mix enough water into your concrete to give it the texture of pancake mix, but make sure it isn’t too runny.
Grease the molds thoroughly with cooking oil
Do this especially if you’re using sturdier plastic like Tupperware; the concrete will slide out with little difficulty.
Fill your containers ¾ of the way with the concrete mix
Do not fill your larger molds completely, as the concrete will spill when you place the smaller molds in the cement mixture. You can also choose to fill your containers less if you wish to create flatter planters like the one pictured below.
Place the smaller containers into the mixture
These will create the cavities for your plant. Grease the outside of these smaller molds to let them slip out easily once the concrete dries, and make sure they don’t touch the bottom of the larger containers.
Use these to make even more planters! Fill the cavity molds with concrete to make smaller planters, and grease the insides of these as well. Place rocks or pebbles inside the final container to weigh it down. Don’t feel obligated to make your planters centered, be creative with your placement!
Flatten the surfaces
Give your planter the smoothest appearance possible by flattening the concrete’s surface to remove any air bubbles.
Allow your planters to dry
Let your planters sit for 24 to 48 hours. When your planters are dry, simply shake or squeeze them out of their containers. If necessary, cut or peel any remaining plastic on the concrete.
Drill holes at the bottom for drainage
This step is optional, but recommended for larger planters and for plants that require more frequent watering. Use a concrete drill bit if you decide to do so, and let the concrete cure for another couple of days before drilling.
Place your planters in your home and garden
Fill your new planter with rocks or soil to give your plants a stylish new home!
Please SHARE this fun and easy project with your friends and family.
[Source: gardentherapy.ca, urbangardensweb.com]
