Modern Planter Build It Any Size You Like—in One Afternoon

A planter like this is super simple to build. And it’ll last a long, long time because there’s no soil-to-wood contact—and therefore no rot.

- Travis Larson

Instead, the soil is contained in a plastic planter inside the wooden planter. The only part that touches the ground is never-rust aluminum. You’ll find everything you need for this project at a home center.

1 FIGURE OUT THE LENGTH OF YOUR SIDEBOARDS

Lay out the liners, decking boards and a 1/4-in. shim to establish the length of the side boards.

2 ESTABLISH THE LENGTH OF THE END BOARDS

Measure a liner plus a 1/4-in. shim to determine the length of the end boards (Photo 3). Cut eight boards of each length and apply finish to all four sides and the ends.

3 ASSEMBLE THE PLANTER RINGS

Clamp and screw together each ring of deck boards with two2-in. exterior screws. Choose the best-looking board sides to face outward.

Choose your plastic planters first

The plastic planters (called “liners” from here on) determine the shape and size of the planter boxes, so shop for those first. Choose ones with sturdy plastic lips that can support the weight of the plants and soil. Your planter shapes can range from square to long, narrow rectangles; it all depends on the liner sizes and how you decide to configure them. You can adjust the height of your planters simply by using more or fewer rings of decking boards (Photo 4). But if you make your planters shorter, be sure the liners will clear the ground when they’re in place.

Buying the materials

We built our planters from 5/4x6 cedar decking (1 in. thick and 5-1/2 in. wide), the standard dimensions for decking. If you plan to stain your planters, you can save 30 to 40 bucks by substituting treated decking boards. If your planters will rest on a composite deck, you may want to choose matching or contrasting composite decking.