I went out shopping at our local nurseries with a friend this week and was immediately excited for spring! I can feel it coming our way and I want to buy ALL THE PLANTS to celebrate. Whether updating a room, decorating for a party, or doing something just to bring a smile – buying a plant is always the right idea.
To celebrate all that is about to start growing I’m excited to share this DIY concrete planters excerpt from our first book, Materially Crafted (which is on sale for under $12 today!) for creating awesome DIY concrete planters of all sizes and shapes + all my favorite spring planting finds below. Time to harness that inner plant lady and get shopping.
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This floral apron from Anthropologie is super cute!
This chair will remind you of the garden every time you walk by it in the house.
For the best amount of light and color in the room, this lamp is perfect.
For the bedroom or the living room, you cannot go wrong with these curtains.
I love these gardening tools from Anthropologie— the design is so fun!
And don’t forget to get a pair of these matching gardening gloves as well.
Spice up your gardening pots with this super colorful one.
Or, for a more modern take, try these hanging planters.
For us ladies with less of a green thumb, we love our cacti– and this cacti pillow is winning my heart!
Succulents are all the craze, so check out these beauties…
Try this super unique vegetable garden planter for your backyard.
And you can use this golden plant mister too.
If your living room utilizes more black and white designs, these garden pillowcases are for you.
You can never go wrong with a lovely plant painting.
For your gardening BFF, gift her this cute cactus guide. :)
Try using this herb garden starter with your kids– it is sure to be tons of daily fun!
For the perfect wall hanging, all you need are these little bottles and your favorite flowers.
Every girl needs a pink pair of rain boots for all of the rainy days! :)
And if you already have a garden, use these plant markers to identify the beauties.
To spice up your living space, set your plants on these holders from Anthropologie.
Purchasing large planters can be costly, but making them out of concrete is wonderfully affordable. While these DIY concrete planters are an easy project to create they do need to be made in a large ventilated space.
Make a handful of DIY concrete planters both in rectangle form like we did in Materially Crafted, or in bowl form like these fun bowl planters shot by Gillian Vann – to place around the deck, give away as gifts or to brighten up a dark corner in the room that needs a little love!
DIY Concrete Planters
To make the DIY concrete planters you will need:
- A large mixing bin
- Chicken wire (for large sized planters)
- Cement
- Water
- 2 similar but not identical sized boxes or bowls
- A couple heavy rocks or bricks
1. Start by prepping the materials. Make sure one of the boxes/bowls fits nicely inside of the other leaving enough room for the concrete to set, about 8-10 inches is ideal
2. Place the chicken wire inside the boxes/bowls and cut down to size – you will need the wire to be about 80% of the height and width of each side of the box or bowl.
3. Mix the concrete according to package directions. Be sure to use gloves and a mask, and make sure the work surface and surrounding areas are covered well.
4. With the outer box or bowl on a stable surface, begin to pour the concrete inside the box – Fill about 3 – 4 inches.
5. Firmly place the inside box/bowl into the mixture and press down. Place a brick or two in place to hold it in position, then pour the rest of the concrete around the sides of the box.
6. Insert the chicken wire and press down firmly so it is completely engulfed in the mixture. The concrete bonds well to the chicken wire and it will give all the sides extra support for standing straight.
7. Let dry completely 5 – 7 day.
8. Carefully remove the box/bowl edges and gently sand down the top sides of the planter before filling with dirt and plant
*Note: For DIY concrete planters requiring drainage, after you have placed the chicken wire in the concrete, use chopsticks to poke a hole through both boxes and the bottom layer of concrete. Remove the chopsticks when the concrete begins to dry, but is not fully set.
(DIY tutorial taken from our first released book Materially Crafted. Photography in this post ©Gillian Vann/Stocksy United).
