Monday, May 23, 2011

Outdoor Week: Front Porch Flower Box



I love flowers and wanted to somehow bring them up on my porch. After pondering this for a few days the perfect idea came to me. I wanted the flowers to be elevated and I came up with putting a flower box on a end table or nightstand. I went to my favorite thrift store, Salvation Army, and found exactly what I wanted (that doesn't happen much). The best part, is that this end table was just $2. You can always find great end tables when you go to the thrift store. There is always a handful at any given time.

I had to do some research before I made my front porch flower box and thought I would share with you what I learned.

First I painted my table. Erica has a great tutorial on this.



I had my husband make me some boxes with some left over wood from the playhouse we are building. Any box will do. You don't have to have holes in the bottom (continue reading to find out why).

My husband nailed some small pieces of wood to the bottom of the box so that water won't get trapped between the table and the box.


You will need a water sealer inside your box. I used Flood Wood Sealer I purchased from Home Depot or should I say my little guy did. I had some great helping hands on this project.

For the outside of the box we primed, painted and then topped it off with the water sealer.



If you don't have holes in the bottom of your box you can use a layer of gravel. This helps hold the water so that the dirt doesn't get to wet and is unable to dry out. I ended up putting 2 inches of gravel at the bottom of my box.

Fill the rest of the box with dirt.



Something that my husband learned in one of his botany classes is that you want to break up the roots on your plants when you take them out of your purchased plastic container. They roots are so tight that it helps if you separate them. I used my hand and just loosen them up. My husband likes to scrape a knife across the roots to beak them up.



Plant your flowers and your box is ready to enjoy!


Happy summer to everyone!

7 comments:

Erica said...

This turned out great!! You did an awesome job. So cute!

~Celeste~ said...

Very cute idea!

I've been looking for a way to display some flowers on our porch and something like this would be perfect.

Stephanie Hillberry said...

This seems like a Brilliant way to make good use of old/used furniture. And the photos of your family working on the project are so charming. Great idea!

Warmly,
Stephanie from Deviantly Domesticated

Elder Esplin said...

UGGGH...This is TOO dang cute! I have all these fun ideas for my porch and I LOVE this one. Into my file it goes! Thanks girlie.

Jennie {Cinnaberry Suite}

Sweet Peas and Bumblebees said...

What a cute idea...love it!

I would LOVE if you would link up your project to our {{What I Made Wednesday}} Linky Party! We're also hosting a giveaway, so don't forget to sign up! :)

Briana @ Sweet Peas & Bumblebees

Amanda said...

Love how this turned out, so charming! :) I've featured this post on Craft Gossip here:
http://homeandgarden.craftgossip.com/diy-flower-box/

Thanks for inspiration!

If you would like a "featured by" button, you can grab one here:
http://homeandgarden.craftgossip.com/grab-a-craft-gossip-button/

Stacey - Elle Belle said...

The blue you picked is perfect!