Pepper Design Blog

Pinterest Challenge: DIY Succulent Planter Box

I have a fun project to share with you today!

I’ve been on the hunt for a neat centerpiece (to either DIY or buy) for the big outdoor table that Kevin built on our new deck and am so happy with how this oversized planter’s box project has turned out. My favorite might be the pops of color in the form of five added geometric hexagons.

Succulents and I get along really well, and they look so pretty all together in one large container! I’ve been wanting to play with them more in our garden in unique ways, maybe even designing a succulent wall along the back bbq area.

The hexagon pattern wraps over the top edges of the box and along one corner as well, I love the symmetrical pattern and how the painted shapes work together but provide their own little bursts of bright, unexpected color.

I was actually inspired to finally getting around to finishing this project by Katie and Sherry’s Spring Pinterest Challenge:

It provided the inspiration needed to pull my materials together and take a couple of hours to build, stain, paint and plant my new succulent centerpiece. The goal of the challenge is to take a pinned idea and make it happen – here’s my pinned inspiration:

This lovely wooden planter box from The Growing Wall and these neat felt hexagon shapes by Squared Array. I imagined them as potentially very pretty when combined together.

Let’s get into the nitty gritty…

The process for building my initial planter was pretty simple. To keep material costs on the low end, I purchased a single piece of 24×28″ plywood from Lowe’s and asked the technician to cut the board horizontally into three strips  that were 24×6.5″ in size and the remaining 24×6.5″ piece into two 6.5″ square sides. That used up just about every inch of the wood perfectly (I had just one large rectangle left over).

Cutting plywood often causes freying at the edges so if I had needed a more exact cut I might have opted for real (rather than compressed) wood instead. But this worked out perfectly as the cuts were kept to a minimal and the plywood cost just $6! And all of the cuts were made at Lowe’s so I didn’t have to bring the board home, pull out the table saw and add that extra step to the process.

Thanks, Lowe’s man.

To nail the box together I used small tack nails that I had on hand.

As well as my trusty floral hammer! No need to dig through the garage and pull out a massive hammer from the tool chest, I really love having my smaller-than-average tools in my office and waiting for everyday use.

I placed a nail every 3″ or so along all edges of the box that met with another edge. 32 nails and one finger later, and the planter box was assembled.

To hide the silver tops of the nails, I used a stainable wood filer that we had on hand (but I would say that this step is optional).

And to remove any pesky store barcode stickers (why do they make them actual stickers??), a little Goo Gone.

We have a decently sized stain collection from various projects in our garage so I chose from two of the lighter finishes. I ended up using both the “ash” and “oak” (oak first followed by a quick layering of ash) to give the box a slightly birchy, slightly weathered look.

With the glare of the light it’s hard to see the finished stain coat here, but the coloring came out just as I had hoped.

I stained the first few inches of the inside of the box as well, the rest will be filled with soil and will be pretty much unnoticeable.

To make my hexagon painted shapes, I printed out a basic hexagon outline (using the Illustrator shapes feature) on to cardstock. Feel free to download my copy here. Laying out the cut out shapes in various formations helped me to come up with a final pattern.

Using that pattern as my template, I taped out the various paintable hexagons one at a time.

And slowly filled in the taped off areas with various colors. You can see that I left a sliver of wood showing between each shape, I love that little detail.

Press down solidly on those edges to prevent any under tape bleeding! And as soon as you’ve applied the paint to the wood, pull up that tape right away for a flaw free line.

Next up was planting. I found it was cheaper to purchase most of my succulents in one large prearranged plastic round planter from Lowe’s (that I broke apart and replanted), then supplemented with littler containers and cactus from our garden.

Finished!

A new, pretty centerpiece that is just the right size for our 12 person table. This will look great in the summer for outdoor picnics and parties – I’m picturing a pretty table set in whites and navy blues, or even pinks and mint greens to compliment the colors of the planter box.

The hexagon shapes are definitely my favorite part.

I will be linking this project up with the four hosts of this season’s challenge: Katie, Sherry, Emily and Renee. Check out all of the great projects!!

Here’s a link to my previous Pinterest Challenge projects (including the fireplace facade that has an exciting announcement to make soon, an ombre step stool for Liv, faux gold mercury glass, a chevron cloth napkin project, a painter’s tape stenciled hallway and so many more fun ideas…).

Curb Appeal: I Spy Spots of Yellow

We’ve had some spring-awesomeness reveal itself over here and, being my first bulb planting attempt, I had to share it with you.

I took a chance last fall (despite not having a green thumb… yet) and planted two dozen or so daffodil and allium bulbs in our front yard. It was my first go, my first foray into bulb planting, so I kept it small and manageable. Just in case project bulb failed.

I actually remember watching my mom plant daffodil bulbs by the wheelbarrow full while growing up on the slightly more fertile, rain-loving northern coast of California. She would literally trowel out holes the size of graves and fill the ground with hundreds of bulbs at varying depths. Come spring, those bulbs would slowly break through and line all pathways leading up our driveway in a brilliant yellow! It was beautiful. It marked the arrival of the season.

My planting is slightly more diminutive.

I was actually pretty sure that come spring (5 months post-planting), little would show for my efforts. So imagine my surprise when these beautiful little stalks began to poke up through that gravel-rich, ultra-dry soil that is our desert front yard.

Oh hello spring!! (in my best Carrie Bradshaw voice) you have arrived!

The allium has yet to make an appearance… but I’m keeping my fingers crossed that just as planting daffodils at different depths will yield different blooming periods, these guys will suddenly pop through and surprise us! Because… maybe they take longer to germinate? At least the packaging promises ‘late’ spring blooming while my daffodils boast of ‘mid’ spring blooming.

Oh please pop through you pretty little puffs.

As for actually planting these guys, last fall I chose four or five special little spots in the yard and nestled 3 or 4 bulbs in each. I hadn’t started the bulbs in water outside of the ground nor have they received special attention since (except for the occasional watering). I planted them about 5″ or so below the soil, but that includes the decomposed granite and mulch that is the ground covering for most of our desert-friendly front yard.

Your average visitor would have no idea my delight in the garden at the moment. But I spot that little yellow welcome sign every day!

Actually, I’m a little surprised that they are already starting to wilt and shrivel up. So much work and anticipation for just a week’s worth of bloom. Is this odd? Perhaps next year (now that I know that I can do it!) I’ll plant layers of bulbs so that just as my mom did so that as one set begins to die down the next will begin to bloom. Kinda sounds like a pricey solution to a month’s worth of blooms though?

In other spring bloom news, remember when the flower pots on the porch were finally planted and alive with color? Well there was one plant that I was a little nervous about…

This one.

The tag from the original half gallon container mentions that verbena is of the half sun/half shade variety, and sure enough after a few weeks of zero sun (well, no direct sun) she looks a little bit more like this these days:

Can you spot the faux plants above? Love that they still look so pretty and green .

Sometimes it’s the small bright spots in our life that cause us to stop and reflect. Thinking of all of those affected by the Boston and Waco tragedies today and offering up prayers of support for the courageous actions of all of those involved.

PS More curb appeal projects found right here.

PPS Talk about unusual art! This artist recently sent over this neat quack-inspired video.

Curb Appeal: Icing on the Cake

There’s something about flower pots with overflowing plants and color that just makes a deck or patio space sing! It’s the icing on the cake.

My mom has a great eye for plants and color (and even a horticulture background to boot), and so during one of her recent visits (and a super busy weekend) I sent her to Lowe’s with one mission: help me choose plants that look beautiful together and won’t die on me.

It’s funny, because had I planned this all out I would have probably steered us towards a more Mediterranean look (crawling rosemary, tall purple lavender stalks, etc), but the tropical vibe that she ended up settling on definitely looks great in the space! And everything (for the most part) has survived post her trip. I’m so grateful for her help with tackling such a BIG project on the deck (see the size of some of those pots? woah).

The added color in the space makes a huge difference. I love the pops of red and yellow and the bright greens that compliment the existing pepper tree there in that far left corner (above).

We finished the sandbox in the same weekend! It’s such a great addition for Liv out on the deck, and since the kitchen is just through that door there on the right, she can play in the sun (yay day light savings!) while we’re just inside prepping dinner or cleaning up. Bodie is a great playmate and big brother too.

Back to those flowers… look at that beautiful red.

When cleaning out storage in the very back of our yard, we also found two huge bags of river rock that I had used as vase fillers for a friend’s wedding (seriously the most perfect/cheapest vase fillers, straight from the home improvement store). We poured the remnants into the tree openings around the deck and it looks so much cleaner rather than the old pile of dirt and dead leaves.

I still owe you a post on Kevin’s monster project of designing and assembling this table…

Perhaps my favorite deck addition to date! Look how rustic and perty she is…

We’ve revealed this new side yard project in stages (a complete series for the deck, a glimpse at the new sandbox and a still-yet-to-be-complete post on the table is in order) but the flowers are officially the icing on the cake. Here’s the deck pre anything green or colorful, makes a big difference, no?

Still have to tackle plaster and paint on the garden box at the front of the side yard (we’re looking from the back to the front in this photo), but then we can stamp this project as finished!

Remember when the side of our house was nothing but a crazy jungle?

Me neither. I’m grateful that that was ages ago! And there is little that is making me happier these days than sitting out on those new stairs enjoying lunch in the sun (and a break from work in the office) with Liv while she’s playing.

We partnered with Lowe’s and their Curb Appeal campaign to include all of the new flowers and pots for this post. Our newly-green-thumbs are incredibly grateful and we are hoping to not have to take advantage of their awesome year long guarantee on all flowers. Just kidding! I’m watering every week…

PPS You can find all posts (including the building of the deck, flagstone walkway, giant cement wall, DIY sectional cushions and the rest) by sorting posts on this blog by Our Yard, or by clicking right here.