Mike and I look forward to spring for the opportunity to turn our attention to the exterior of our house. This is our third spring/summer season in this house, and we have learned that landscaping is a project that takes time, love, and patience - especially when you are novices like we are! Spring brings an opportunity to create more beauty and enjoy our labor's fruits from previous years.
2020 was a transformative year for the exterior of our house! We painted the house, made a DIY fire pit, cleared out years of overgrowth in five flower beds, rebuilt our front porch columns, painted our front porch, painted our deck, planted new grass, tackled the weeds that were overtaking our lawn, planted rose bushes, planted hydrangea’s, planted hosta, dug out old tree stumps, and finally, made some charming flower boxes to hang on our front porch!
We greatly enjoyed this project both for its simplicity and impact. A lot of the work we did last year was grueling with little visual impact. This project was neither of those. Within one afternoon, and minimal suppiles, we finally got the big impact we were looking for on the front of our house!
We chose cedar wood to create the boxes for a couple of reasons. The rich tone of the wood served to warm up our gray/white/black color scheme, and this type of wood weathers well over time (as long as it is sealed). I chose to add the gold handles to give the boxes a bit of charm but also provide the functionality of easily transporting the boxes for planting.
So, let’s dive in!
Supplies*:
(1) 1x6 Cedar Board
(1) 1x8 Cedar Board
Miter Saw or Handheld Hacksaw
Nail Gun
Drill & Bit
(6) Wood Screws
*supplies listed are for one flower box measuring 31 1/2” x 6 3/4 ” x 6 3/4” Make sure to adjust supplies as needed for your individual project.
Step 1: Cut cedar boards to make the sides and base of the box. For the base, use the 1x8 cedar board cut down to 31 3/4”. For the long sides use the 1x6 cedar board cut down to 31 3/4”. For the short sides, use the 1x6 board cut down to 5 1/2”.
Step 2: Use wood glue and a nail gun to secure the long sides to base of the box.
Step 3: Use wood glue and nail gun to secure short sides to base of box and long sides.
Step 4: While the glue is drying, clamp sides to get a tight seal. Then, drill drainage holes into the bottom of the flower box using a power drill and 1/4” bit.
Step 5: Use screws to reinforce the box from below. We three one on each side.
Step 6: Spray boxes with Thompson’s Water Seal to protect the boxes from water damage and allow them to weather naturally.
Step 7: Attach gold handles to sides of boxes.
Step 8: Use French cleat brackets to secure boxes to desired location.
Step 9: Kick back and enjoy your creation!
Thanks so much for joining us for this DIY Flower Box Tutorial. We hope you have as much fun making this project as we did!
