Useless Pallets & Garden Planters

Timber pallet mountains are a thing of the past as we can now find so many uses to put our old pallets to. The question you ask is; what pallets am i talking about? Well most shops and businesses often find themselves with a pile of pallets amounting in their store yard and are often at a loss as to what to do with them.

It is these very pallets that us gardeners cherish for their versatility, practical and sheer number of uses they can be put to. Of course every one will have seen a timer pallet fence. And this truly is a great way to make use of old pallets and safe a lot of money on buying fencing panels. If done tastefully a timber pallet fence can really look great and they are extremely quick to build.

Garden planters are another great use for the left over pallet, and whether you have 1 or 10 you can get going on making a truly unique and brilliant planter. The first step is the choice of pallet, if you are spoilt for choice then i recommend that you choose a pallet that is short and study. A bulky pallet built from heavy timber may be hard to maneuver but will last longer and give you a better garden planter.

The next thing to do is to find a location and this is the great thing about these planters. The Pallet Planter can be placed up against an existing wall or can be modified to be positioned anywhere you want in the garden. Alternatively, two pallets can be place up against each other, back to back to create a free standing timber planter wall.

These timber planters will act as ‘hanging garden’ or ‘wall gardens’ meaning that you can now think vertically about your planting and recreate on of the great wonders of the world – the hanging gardens of Babylon. Ok, so maybe not on the same scale but the opportunity to plant vertically is something that has been limited in gardens.

Once you have a position for your pallet planter you can start on modifying it. Firstly you will need to seal over the back of the pallet , this is to allow you fill the inside of the pallet with topsoil  and compost. To seal the back of the pallet the easiest thing to do is the run sheet of weed membrane (mypex or ground fabric) across the back and staple or nail in place. You can leave the bottom, top and front of the pallet open.

Your almost there! Next begin adding compost to the planter. Add the compost and plants together in layers. First fill the bottom up to the height of the first gap, once there start planting the first gap. Because this is the lowest point add plants such as Heuchera, Candytuft, aubrietia or sedums and succulents. water in these plants gently and allow their roots settle into the compost.

Next begin filling with more composts , again do this slowly and carefully so that the soil doesn’t fall through the gaps. Continue this process up to the top of the pallet. As you get to the top of the planter you can consider larger plants and trailing plants such as grasses, petunias and vinca

You can paint your planter and I would suggest a scheme that worked with your style of garden. For a soft, cottagey or natural garden you should paint with pastel colours of pinks and sky blues. A more modern garden could go black.