Planter boxes are the perfect way to add a bit of pizazz to a small garden with some flowers and plants. If you have a small pergola in your garden, using handrail planters are the perfect way to enhance aesthetic appeal.

There are a variety of styles and different ways of installing them, so choose one that is most suitable for your pergola and garden as a whole. These three DIY handrail planter projects are a great place to start.

Hanging Pot Planter

This simple planter efficiently converts a wooden planks into a potted plant holder.

  • Find a plank that is roughly 2cm think and 30cm wide. The wood should have been pre-treated.
  • To determine spacing, place your buckets or pots along the plank, at equal distance from each other. Mark the spaces for later referencing and trace around the top of each bucket or pot.
  • When you have removed the pots, draw another smaller circle inside. This will ensure that the hole is smaller than the top of the pot, ensuring a snugger, more secure fit.
  • Cut the holes out. The most efficient way it to start with a drill and create a small hole in the centre which you can go on to jigsaw around. The plank will be installed by using wooden brackets that you can simply drill into the handrail.
  • Finally, screw your planks onto the brackets, and you should have a charming hanging pot handrail planter ready for green goodness.

Planter Boxes

This handrail planter is basically a rectangular box which can hold the plants itself. You need six plants to produce the box, one of which provides a solid reference inside the box, ensuring the planks are tightly nailed together.

  • With a nail gun, build an open box using five planks. Creating a different wooden trim on three of the box’s sides will produce a more stylish aesthetic.
  • Sand all over the surface of he box and paint it a colour of your choice.
  • These boxes require drainage, and all you have to do is drill some holes into the box’s bottom.
  • Nail wooden brackets into the handrail, then nail the box onto the brackets to secure them to the deck or pergola.

Wooden Pallet Handrail Planter Box

This is an incredibly creative way to produce a planter box. Find a heat treated pallet and remove the wooden planks. Watch out for splinters and nails when doing this.

  • Find the straightest planks of wood and nail them together to produce an open box. These planters are narrow because of the width of the box, though this adds to their aesthetic appeal.
  • When nailing the planks together, ensure that the side planks are nailed at a slight angle. This allows for a wider opening of the planter, making it much more simple to install and water your plants. An efficient way to do this is by cutting some small angular pieces to work as guides.
  • Paint your box.
  • Buy or create some metal brackets to hang over the handrail. They can be screwed into the exterior of the box and hung directly over the handrail before being screwed in for solidity.