13 Planter Ideas for Your Container Garden

Container gardening is one of those wonderfully forgiving garden ideas that works whether you have a sprawling backyard, a tiny patio, a sunny balcony, or just a little corner by the back door that could use some greenery. You don’t need acres of land or a perfectly planned garden bed to grow something lovely. Sometimes all you need is a good container, a bit of soil, and the willingness to get your hands dirty.

Planters are brilliant for growing herbs, vegetables, flowers, succulents, and even small shrubs, and they’re especially handy if you’re working with limited space or tricky soil. They also let you move plants around to chase the sun, protect them from rough weather, or simply rearrange your outdoor space when you get bored with how everything looks. Not that any of us have ever shuffled pots around the patio “just for five minutes” and lost an entire afternoon, of course.

The best part? Planters don’t have to be boring, expensive, or straight from the garden centre. With a little imagination, almost anything can become a creative container garden idea. Old buckets, wooden boxes, baskets, tins, salvaged pieces, and thrifted finds can all be turned into charming DIY planters that add personality to your garden. It’s a lovely way to reuse what you already have, save a little money, and create a garden that feels collected rather than cookie-cutter.

If you’ve been wanting to freshen up your porch, brighten a balcony, start a kitchen herb garden, or add more flowers to your outdoor space without digging up the whole yard, these planter ideas are a great place to start. From rustic recycled planters to clever container garden projects, these ideas are full of inspiration for making your garden feel greener, prettier, and a little more you.

So before you go buying yet another plain plastic pot, have a look at these creative planter ideas for your container garden. You might just find the perfect excuse to raid the shed, visit a thrift store, or finally use that odd container you’ve been saving because “it might be useful one day.” In the garden, it probably will be.

1. Container Grill – Cottage at the Crossroads

2. Primitive Tipsy Pot Planters – The Pink Hammer Blog

3. PVC Pipe Strawberry Planter – Backyard Gardening Fun

4. Wood Shim Window Box Planter – Centsational Girl

5. Hanging Basket Herb Garden – The Telegraph

6. Hanging Basket Garden – A Beautiful Mess

7. Chalkboard Stenciled Herb Box – Sew Country Chick

8. Chalkboard Bird Planters – Tried & True

9. Vertical Succulent Gardening – Second Chance to Dream

10. Sock Planter Cozy – Apartment Therapy

11. Mosaic Clay Pots – Better Homes and Gardens

12. Repurposed Shoe Planter – Home Made Simple

13. Rock Mosaic Bucket Planter – Centsational Girl

Planters and containers can cost a lot of money, especially if you want to make a real display of them but you can use items which you have around the home and yard. With a little imagination, a bit of know-how and some good growing medium you can create cheap, attractive planters and containers which leave money for the plants or look good on their own.

Whatever you use, remember that each plant needs the right amount of growing medium, nutrients, light, warmth and water so make sure you can provide this for your plants first. Make sure each container is large enough for the number of plants you want to grow in it for best results.

Large planters can be made easily using old sinks. Belfast sinks are best – those flat-bottomed, deep ones with a good amount of space. These make great alpine display planters or you can grow vegetables in them if you want to. All you need to do is remove the plug-hole, line the sink with some crocks for drainage and add a layer of gravel, topped off with a deep layer of growing medium suitable for your chosen plants.

Trailing plants can be grown in bottles hung upside down and attached to fences and walls. Remove the bottom from each bottle, hang upside down and plant with trailing varieties of verbena, begonia, fuchsia or any other ornamental plant; they look really good if you use a range of different bottles.

Yogurt pots with holes punched in the bottoms can be painted using outdoor paints and these make wonderful small containers for children’s gardens; they are very portable and you can grow anything from small grasses, pansies, begonias and even tomato plants (dwarf bush types) in them. Quick and easy to make, they provide a movable display for children and adults alike.

Old terracotta pots can be given a make-over using metallic outdoor finishes in different colors. These look good planted up with plants with contrasting foliage colors and also make great displays on their own.

Chimney stacks are sometimes available cheaply from salvage yards and they make unusual and individual containers. Fill the bottom of the stack with stones and rubble so you are not filling the entire stack with soil, add the growing medium and plant with small shrubs or grasses for a quirky and very attractive display.

Use wooden batons nailed together to create your own wooden planters. Far cheaper than buying ready-made ones, you can tailor their size and shape to fit any corner or area where it is difficult to add plants and then plant them up with vegetables, salad crops or flowering plants, or a mix of all of them for a really individual and useful display.

Metal buckets can make an unusual and attractive planter and you can use ones of different sizes for a tower of pots which adds height and will be a talking point. Put a plastic pipe in the center so you can water the container easily, remove the handle and punch holes in the bottom. Add a plastic liner to prevent the bucket rusting and sit different sizes on top of each other. Add soil around the plastic pipe and plant them up.

There are many items which you can use to create innovative and imaginative containers and planters; so long as the plants have what they need, they do not care if thy are grown in a bucket or shop-bought container. Be creative and enjoy the results.