Build a Planter Box for Your Garden Using Old Weathered Wood

Preparing for a garden and decorating your yard can be a year round endeavor. Planning what vegetables and flowers to plant, deciding on what each area should look like and creating decorative items to showcase your yard, are just a few of the chores that are involved in creating just the right look.

Planter boxes are wonderful additions anywhere in your gardens and making them from recycled lumber allows you to spend your money on the pretty green things. Weathered barn and fence wood is a must-have craft supply that my husband and I use a lot of. We are always getting calls from friends asking if we want their old wood, which means that many of our craft projects are very inexpensive to make. This window frame planter box was inspired by an old window, but we decided to build the window frame from weathered wood instead.

Things You Will Need:

Weathered wood
Measuring tape
Table saw
Miter saw
Wood glue
Staple gun
3/8-inch thick plywood, scrap
Drill, small bit and screwdriver bit
2-inch wood screws
Pencil
Thin scrap wood
1-inch letter stencils
Acrylic enamel paint
Stencil brush
Hammer
1-inch brad nails

Steps for Building a Window Frame Planter Box

Step 1:
Start by ripping two to three lengths of fence sized weathered wood, 3-inches wide, using a table saw. If your wood is shorter scraps, rip more to accommodate the planter pieces.

Step 2:
From the 3-inch ripped boards, cut four lengths16-inches long, two lengths 20-inches long and two lengths 2 3/4inches long, using a miter saw.

Step 3:
Miter cut the ends of two, 16-inch boards and two, 20-inch boards at a 45 degree angle. These will make the frame of the window.

Step 4:
Place the four mitered pieces on your work surface and form a frame shape. The side that is up will be the back of the frame. The 16-inch pieces are the top and bottom of the frame and the 20-inch pieces are the sides. Apply wood glue to the cut mitered edges and tightly line up the corners. Space three staples over each corner seam with a staple gun. This will clamp the corners firmly together while the glue dries.

Step 5:
Cut two pieces from 3/8-inch plywood, 3-inches square. Miter cut the squares in half at a 45 degree angle to create four triangles. Apply wood glue to the back of the triangles and center each one over the back corner seams of the frame. Note: They are smaller than the frame corners.

Step 6:
Place the long edges of the two remaining 16-inch boards at right angles to each other, with one board standing in front of the other. Use a small bit to drill small pilot holes through the bottom front of the front board, into the edge of the board behind it. Insert 2-inch screws in the pilot holes to secure. This is the front and bottom of the plant holder box.

Step 7:
Place the 2 3/4-inch wide by 3-inch long pieces on the ends of the box, on top of the box bottom. Drill pilot holes through the front of the box and into the side edges of the end boards. Insert 2-inch screws in the pilot holes to secure. Drill pilot holes through the bottom board into the bottom edge of the end boards. Insert 2-inch screws in the pilot holes to secure.

Step 8:
Stand the window frame up. Position the open back of the box against the bottom front of the frame. Drill pilot holes through the back of the frame and into the ends and bottom edges of the box. Insert 2-inch screws to secure.

Step 9:
Create the muntins. These are the wood strips that will create the trim around the empty panes. Rip 5/8-inch wide strips from the old wood on the table saw. To insure a tight fit, you will need to measure for these after you have constructed your frame. Measure the inside opening of the frame from the bottom edge of the top board, to the top edge of the bottom board. Cut one strip using this measurement. Measure to find the inside center top of the frame and the inside center bottom and mark with a pencil. Apply wood glue to the ends of the strip and insert it in the frame at the marks. Measure the inside of the frame, from the side to the center muntin, on each side of the center muntin. Cut two more strips. Measure to find the center of the frame sides and the vertical center of the muntin. Mark with a pencil. Apply wood glue to the ends of the strips and insert them into the frame. Allow the glue to dry.

Step 10:
Cut a thin strip of scrap wood, 2-inches wide by 16-inches long for the sign on the front of the box. Use 1-inch stencil letters and acrylic enamel paint to stencil "HERB GARDEN" on the sign. Apply wood glue to the back of the sign and center it on the front of the box. Use 1-inch brad nails to secure.