If you’re hoping to revitalise your garden simply and affordably, outdoor planters could be just the answer. With an abundance of styles and a wide array of colours, there’s something to suit every taste and garden setting.
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Choosing the Right Planter
First, think practically about the purpose of your planter. Are you after something that can hang from a wall, sit on the patio, perch on a stand, or even dangle from the ceiling in a macramé hanger?
Some gardeners enjoy quirky or unconventional styles, while others prefer sustainable solutions, such as reusing everyday objects as planters instead of buying new. Altering the appearance of a planter is straightforward, but remember you’re limited by its size – so always consider the plants you wish to grow when making your selection.
Material choice is another important aspect. Popular options include:
- Concrete
- Stone
- Metal containers
- Terracotta
- Ceramic
- Plastic flower pots
Each material brings a different look and set of characteristics to your space.
Colour Choice
Perhaps you’ve spotted the ideal planter, but it’s not available in the shade you want. Painting planters is an easy DIY task at home.
Spray paint works well, though some materials suit painting more than others. If your planters will be exposed to the British weather, choose your paint wisely – metal and plastic pots are generally the easiest to transform with paint.
Popular Outdoor Planter Types
Hanging Baskets
A cost-effective way to bring colour to your outdoor area. Upgrade the standard plastic hanger for a handmade macramé one or select a vibrant shade to contrast with green foliage.
Urn Planters
A timeless classic, often seen in pairs filled with bedding plants, shrubs, or topiary. If you already have urns by the front door, why not relocate them to the back garden?
Pedestal Planters
Great for adding height and drawing the eye. No pedestal? Use a tall stool for a similar effect.
Vertical Succulent Options
Repurposed items like shutters, old pallets, or even shoe organisers can be used to create eye-catching vertical succulent displays.
Boxes or Troughs
Made from wood or metal, Boxes or Troughs are perfect for defining spaces or creating garden paths. Building your own wooden box is a classic weekend project with lasting results.
Materials for Garden Planters
Terra Cotta
The classic, earthy choice that’s been popular for centuries in all shapes and sizes.
Ceramic
Novelty designs – from animal shapes to boots – inject charm, especially on a shelf in a shady corner.
Stone or Concrete
Incredibly tough, they complement both traditional and modern gardens. Customise them with a lick of paint to suit your style.
Hand Painted Pottery
Bright, cheerful, and available online or at discount shops, these elevate any planting arrangement.
Plastic
Economical and ideal if you like to refresh your garden look often. As they don’t absorb water, plants will need regular watering. Decorative DIY pot covers are a quick way to pretty up basic plastic containers.
Metal Flower Pots
Often featuring decorative patterns, though the drainage will need checking before use. As with others, don’t be put off by the colour. This can be changed easily
Creative Upcycling and Repurposing
Don’t overlook the potential in household or thrifted items; almost anything can be transformed into a characterful planter: upcycle and repurpose household items to contain your favourite plants.
You can turn practically anything you have at home into a plant pot. The next time you’re at a thrift store or yard sale, try seeing the potential.
Vintage Bicycles and Wagons
A basket on a bicycle or a little red wagon filled with flowers makes a whimsical garden centrepiece.
Teacups and Saucers
Ideal for miniature flowering plants and for adding interest to shelves.
Pots, Pans, Colanders, and Coffee Pots
Paint and use for colourful displays, or turn glass coffee pots into quirky terrariums.
Metal Watering Cans
Perfect as succulent planters – just add drainage holes.
Chandeliers
Retrofit with small dishes or teacups for creative hanging planters.
Old Footwear
Shoes, boots, and wellies (especially children’s ones) bring a sense of fun and are excellent for displaying small flowers.
Wooden Drawers, Chairs, Ladders, and Pallets
Stack, lean, or use for inventive plant displays; even broken chairs can have a second life outdoors.
Stack unwanted wooden drawers for a show of beauty.
Wheelbarrow Planters
Upright or tilted, they are ideal for displaying trailing plants and ground cover.
Old Tires
Using old tyres for plants and flowers has been around for decades. The tires can be painted, cut into designs, or stacked. Stacking the tires can produce a teacup, wishing well, or elevated structures.
The Kitchen Sink
Yes! You can even use the kitchen sink! Old toilets, sinks, or bathtubs can be planted up and given a second lease of life.
Planter Ideas From The Recycling Bin
Old tin cans make fantastic free planters. You can make plant pockets by crushing one end of the can to close it. Use paint or decoupage to decorate the plant pockets, and customise them to your liking.
Glass jars and bottles. Jars are so easy to turn into a hydroponic garden with the kids. Didn’t you watch a potato grow in a pickle jar held in place with toothpicks as a child? Glass bottles can become a quick bud vase holding that last rose you received in a bouquet. A large jar turned on its side filled with small plants is suddenly a terrarium.
Milk jugs, toilet paper tubes, and egg cartons are given new use as seed starters indoors before planting outdoors.
What to Plant in Your New Planter
If you’re wondering what to grow, here are some favourites:
- Petunias: Brilliant for beginners, thriving in full sun and flowering all season.
- Geraniums: An enduring choice for pots, happy in sun or partial shade and low-maintenance.
- Marigolds: Their vivid blooms perform well in full sun.
- Fuchsias: Perfect for hanging baskets, preferring some shade and offering cascades of bell-shaped flowers.
- Coleus: Tolerates shady spots and offers eye-catching foliage.
- Impatiens (Busy Lizzies): Ideal for shade, with an abundance of blooms in white, orange, pink, and red.
- Succulents: Require minimal care and water, great for forgetful gardeners.
- African Violets & Orchids: For the more adventurous; while hardy, they need the right conditions and careful watering to thrive.
No matter your taste, budget, or level of gardening experience, there’s a planter and a planting combination that will make your outdoor space shine. Happy gardening!
Main image credit: Jill Wellington.
Gail Wilson
Gail Wilson is the author and mastermind behindMy Repurposed Life. She is obsessed with finding potential in unexpected places and believes that with a little hard work and imagination, any old thing can be made useful again, including herself! Gail reinvented herself during a midlife crisis and has found purpose again. Gail will guide you step by step with each tutorial as she hopes you will find new ideas for old things and pick up a few tools along the way.
