HGTV Dream Home 2012: Make a Planter Box

Create stylish planters, complete with bolt head trim, to flank and define your front door.

By David Brown
Filed under: Garden Pots

Materials Needed:

1/8" drill bit
power drill
24" W x 30" H pieces of 3/4" exterior plywood (2)
22 1/2" W by 30" H pieces of 3/4" exterior plywood (2)
water-resistant glue
1 5/8" or 2" exterior-grade silver drywall screws
Phillips head drill screwdriver bit
tape measure
pencil
4x4 treated post cut into four 6" lengths
22" W x 22" H piece of 3/4" exterior plywood
1-1/2" finishing nails
10' lengths of 1x4 rough-sawn cypress (4), cut into eight 25 1/2" lengths and eight 24" lengths
5/16" drill bit

hammer
wood filler
one or two sheets of 150-grit sandpaper
3" paintbrush
exterior primer
exterior paint or stain
5/16" x 2" carriage bolts, washers and nuts
socket wrench
chicken wire
staple gun
wire cutters
birch branches
moss

Gather Materials

Pay a visit to the hardware store to purchase sheets of exterior plywood, posts and cypress, plus tools and materials needed to construct the planter box. Have wood pieces cut to size.

Assemble Planter

Using the 1/8" drill bit and working 3/8" from the edge, drill five equidistant pilot holes on each long edge of 24" x 30" (front and back) panels. Place glue along long edges of 22-1/2" x 30" (side) panels. Create first corner by gluing long edge of front panel to long edge of side panel at a 90-degree angle. Using the 1-5/8" screws and the Phillips head screwdriver bit, screw panels together at pilot holes. Repeat procedure for each planter box corner.

Attach Legs

Measure 1 inch from the bottom of each 4x4 treated post and mark measurement clearly with a pencil. Lay planter box on its side. Using the 1/8" drill bit and measuring 1 1/2 inches up from bottom and 1 1/2 inches out from the side of each bottom corner, drill pilot holes. You will drill eight pilot holes total. Place glue on two sides of a post. Position post, glued sides toward panels, in a planter box corner, making sure that the 1" mark lines up with the bottom edges of the box. To secure the post, drill a 1 5/8" screw into each pilot hole. Drill three additional screws into each corner. Repeat the procedure for each post.