Building a raised planter?
Does anyone have any experience building a raised planter? Mike and I are putting in a new patio/pond area. The pond is going to be raised, but I wanted a geometric shape, so we're planning on surrounding our odd shaped pondliner with a rectangular raised planter. The rectangle will be roughly 4' wide by about 7' long and 2' tall. In the middle will be our (sorta) figure 8 shaped pond, surrounded by dirt for the planter. We're not really sure what to make the planter surround out of, or how to build it!  We do have LOTS of wood planks from the kitchen floor project, and some misc bricks that have been weathering out in the yard. Originally I thought we'd use cinder blocks, but if I can figure out how to use materials we already have, so much the better, esp for our budget. any suggestions guys??? |
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| I'd like to know too. I was just gonna buy some plantars and stick them together. You could google building a plantar box.
What I do know is cedar is the best exterior wood as it naturally is resistent to rot. Smells good too. Or pressure treated wood, or railway ties...flat on one side and rounded on the other, makes a log house look if you stack them, drill holes and spike them to keep it together. |
| When building any enclosure you have to think about drainage. If water builds up behind, the water will push apart your planter or even a retaining wall. Don't think 2' isn't tall enough to worry about, it is.
Without knowing how many bricks you have, it's hard to say what to do with them. Are you thinking a brick cap.....top course? Or brick corner pots...pilasters? Would you run the wood long or short? Will it be stout enough to withstand the soil pressure from behind? Also remember soil and wood don't work well together. Moisture and bugs cause the wood to break down quickly. As stated before, redwood and cedar are rot resistant. Pressure treated wood is better. I HATE railroad ties because of the chemicals used.......never grow veggies against railroad ties. There are other reasons, but I know others of you do like them. Anyway, back to the drainage issue.......put a gravel drain around the base of your rectangle, inside. And leave drainge weep holes through the walls about every 2-3 feet. Then when you go to fill your planter, you need to cover the gravel with a drainage fabric. Now there is some real nifty stuff on the market, but shade cloth or landscape weed barrier fabric will be fine. The cloth is to keep the soil from clogging up your gravel drain. If you have a lot of trees or shrubs nearby, you might want to put the landscape weed barrier fabric across the "floor" too to keep the tree and shrub roots from coming up into your planter. Finally, remember the pressure is pushing out so your planter must be reinforced to withstand the push. Think of a box that comes in the mail with those plastic straps around them. You need to find a way to keep the planter bound together. Hope I haven't confused you. My suggestion is to get graph paper, count your bricks and measure your wood and start designing. Try many different ideas. Nothing worse than starting a project and finding you won't have enough material  been there, done that. |
| Why is cedar not a good choice? I thought it was the best natural wood product, if you want to have it plain. After all we have cedar shakes for roofing, and cedar decks, and cedar siding? Then they put cedar in steam rooms, where they are under alot of moisture. I just assumed it was a great product. As well as pressure treated.
Of course brick or stone last forever, but it costs more. I was thinking this was a plantar box for flowers, like annuals...guess I was way off. Good luck, we have a retaining wall, and there was so many steps to get it done, and then we had to fix it...we had contractors come both times, I am still not happy with the results. However you do it, make it the way YOU like it the first time. |
I'm not sure about this, but I am curiuos to see who does know. Once you find out, please share what you learned and also post pictures. I would love to "steal" some ideas . . .  |
| no, no, it says cedar is Rot resistant........it's good stuff. indeed, that's why it's used as house siding and shingles. It's also fine if there will be food stuff in close proximity.
stones are another idea. Could the corners be made from stones and motar and then the wood for the longer sides? susan |
| I said it was Rot Resistent...I was watching Holmes on Homes on HGTV here in Canada, he said it was.
I would love to make some simple plantar boxes for some annuals, and have them on the deck. I was going to buy cedar planks and make some simple boxes... Quote: a rectangular raised planter. The rectangle will be roughly 4' wide by about 7' long and 2' tall. In the middle will be our (sorta) figure 8 shaped pond, surrounded by dirt for the planter.
Tell us what you are putting in the plantar...sheepie boss is so smart to have picked up on the height, from what we learned about our patio, for the height above you need to have some below the ground level as well...but I don't know the ratio. Trees, shrubs will behave differently than flowers or veggies? Is the yard flat, or sloping where you are doing this? Is the pond going to be secured on it's own, and the plantar just to be a decorative frame? |
| A 24 inch planter could get by with just 6-10 inches below. Once you approach 36 inches, then the foundation is critical. A lot of cheapo contractors will try to get by with 6-10 inches, but really after 3 feet, 1/3 cown below would be better.........so 3 feet up and 1 foot down.
If you put trees within a planter, it darn well better be made of concrete! Tree roots spread out, not down as in the prevailing belief. Also the belief the roots magically stop at the end of the tree's branches is a myth. Tree roots are very far reaching. That said, I remember a concrete planter here in town, 12 inches thick all around that held a cottonwood tree for many years. Eventually the tree died because it ran out of root area. I was amazed the tree didn't win the battle with the concrete. The planter was 20 feet across. I think this idea of a little planter around the pool is really nifty and can't wait to see what comes of it! |
| I'll be sure to post pics! Right now the whole area is a gigantic square of dirt... Mike is gonna start digging in the pond soon- it will be partially buried, and then the wall or planter will go around the partially buried shell. Once that is up, we're gonna put patio stones around the whole enchilada, creating a patio/pond area!!! Now, we're not going to put anything under the planter, so it will drain into the surrounding soil, but I am gonna make sure we put in some drainage stones, and I have PLENTY of old landscape fabric for a barrier!!! |
| Cedar is rot resistant, but any wood you use will eventually start to
decompose, even pressure treated wood. Cedar shakes and what is used inside a sauna is not in contact with dampness in a constant way like it would be around a planter. If you were to make a form out of something like brick or cinderblock and face it with cedar it would last longer if it could breathe. Lots of plans at the DIY website, maybe you can get some ideas there? Sounds like a lot of fun! Your yard will be beautiful. Shellie |
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