Garden Planter Ideas

Take Some Twigs, Layer In Some Whimsy

There are many different way to use twigs to make into a garden planters. Ideas come from all over, and spill over into the night time hours. You may be the same, getting inspiration from many sources then cogitating when you wake up too early.

This particular idea was something I saw on a reel, which is a short video. I was quite taken with the thought that the twigs could be coiled like this in the bottom of a bucket or tub, like a birds nest. It didn't take much for me to get really inspired - something that hasn't happened for a bit.

I was pretty happy to enroll hubby in the whole endeavor.

Friends of ours gave us carte blanche to go onto their property and help ourselves - in their parlance, fill your boots! We made our rope and twig fence project using just exactly that - lovely slender maple twigs, from over cut clump maples growing in a huge grove.

This garden planter idea didn't consist of maple branches, but the extremely whippy growth of the many willows growing in the ditch.

Every year, the municipality hires a contractor to drive a tractor along the ditches, using a flail mower. This is a contraption that can move around in the air, whipping chains around, which knock the willows and anything else that gets in the way to smithereens.

This is good for me, as no-one cares if I go and help myself to as many twigs that result from this rough treatment as I can possibly use. This gives me the opportunity to get a lot of material, and keep some for later projects. Stay tuned for that!

So back to this project. The longest growth I can find is gathered in a bunch, bent around in a circle, then stuffed into a tub, which I usually grow potatoes in. Until that happens, it's free for me to use for any other purpose, like this one.

Once the twigs are all in place, I gather them in several places and use tie wire to hold them together. Then, I can worm the whole thing out of the tub, and the results look like a super fat wreath.

Three or four sticks shoved through - er, I mean, strategically placed - make a bottom. Line the now basket shaped planter with poly, stab a couple of holes into the bottom of it, and fill with soil.  I can see these with a few spring bulbs, some moss and a violet or a primrose for a kipsy basket.

Another idea for a planter made with twigs is the log cabin basket.

Make it without a handle if it's to be a deck planter. Line it with burlap then black poly inside that, then fill with sterilized soil mix. Plant thickly with bedding plants for a nice full and lush container. Water daily once they're established, and fertilize every couple of weeks.

I've also combined twigs with barnboard or painted facsimiles, with the twigs forming either the ends or the front to make a box.

A similar idea is this tin can planter, with the tins nailed onto a length of dimension lumber, and a twig nailed on for a handle. I look for curved pieces of driftwood or even growing in the bush, and cut them for just this kind of thing.

If you make one of these, share it on the rustic crafts page, I'd love to see it. Scroll to the bottom, and put your pictures there, with a bit of a description so we know what we're looking at.