While gardening directly in the earth is the most natural, holistic method for utilizing your green thumb and raising flowers and plants, sometimes you want to grow your garden even closer to home. Enter the patio planter: a container garden designed to flourish right on your patio or deck.
We know that there are a lot of standard options you’ll find in any supply store, holding soil and plants perfectly adequately, but we wanted to find the fresh, fun, and unique ideas out there. We have gathered some of our favorite finds right here in the hopes of inspiring our fellow garden lovers.
You’ll notice both store-bought containers and idiosyncratic homemade solutions, time-tested setups and brand new ideas. In the quest to create fantastic patio and deck-based gardening solutions, a surprising amount of innovation has happened.
We hope you enjoy browsing our selections, and feel as inspired as we do. Each of these projects sets off a dozen other ideas, expanding the scope of what’s possible in our backyards. Let us know if you have any ideas of your own to share!
We begin with a rather simple setup: smaller, more detailed containers that can be placed right on your patio furniture. This pair of white ceramic vessels hold a burst of colorful bulbs that add a perfect accent to this outdoor dining setup.
This utterly original setup uses an A-frame ladder and matching stained hardwood boards to create a homemade shelf for a variety of porcelain planters. The containers themselves are repurposed dishware, with delicate floral patterns and handles adding a flourish of detail.
Adorning the massive white exterior home wall overlooking this brick and stoned wrapped patio is a series of hanging planters, each bursting with flowers against the monolithic white backdrop. The hanging planters also adorn the traditional brickwork at left, adding a unique placement of color and life throughout this large outdoor space.
Overlooking a vast, red tile floored patio space, we see large planters with shrubbery adorning the edges. Round containers are paired with the lattice columns at right, while lengthy rectangular box-style planters hug the edge of this raised patio.
Moving back toward more home brew style projects, we see the sublime recycling of an old wheelbarrow in this image. Flanked by more traditional pot-shaped container gardens, this rusty old wheelbarrow was painted in a beige tone and filled with a gorgeous array of flowering plants.
Abutting a sprawling garden and showcase lawn, this stone tile patio adds a set of bespoke container gardens bursting with a rainbow’s worth of color. Large circular potters flank a rectangular container, defining the edge of the patio and blending the visuals with the garden beyond.
Here we have a brilliant recycling project, turning an old fashioned claw foot tub into a spectacular container garden. With fire engine red paint and white trim, the bright tub is the perfect space to hold rich greenery on this stone and rustic wood patio.
One of the simplest yet most effective projects we found is this sublime reuse of an ancient watering can. With a bit of paint (or none at all) and astute pairing of flowers, you can have the perfect subtly beautiful patio planter. The roses here contrast perfectly with the muted color of the can.
Nestled amid a veritable garden wonderland, this large patio container garden is fashioned from an old crib, filled to the brim with rich soil and an perfectly curated array of flowering plants. The large structure allows it to stand above its surroundings, truly popping out amidst a sea of equally beautiful garden.
Floating on the edge of a lawn, next to a patio, this tropical home features a hammock-styled vessel in bamboo and wicker, holding a bulging pyramid of portable planters filled with flowers. Large aloe plants surround the space, glowing in the warm tropical mist.
This tiny but incredibly effective patio planter is filled to the brim with detail, including polished rare stones and bulging succulents. The interplay of detail in this bowl container is Zen-like in its approach.
With a broad brick patio including a partial kitchen setup, there was abundant space to mount planers here, but the owners went for a subtle and understated approach. Traditional pot shaped containers feature flowers tucked beneath and on top of the countertop, lining the low brick wall, and standing next to the kitchen setup.
Similar to our earlier project featuring wall-mounted planters, this idea involves smaller hanging containers, hooked to a rich wood fence that wraps a patio. This is another great low-cost idea that can be performed at home with a bit of time and patience.
Upon this raised and fenced in modern balcony, we see a couple simple ideas for patio planters: first a fern plant in traditional pot shaped planter, while a slim worktable at left has been repainted white, holding a rectangular planter with garden vegetables inside. Projects like this allow even apartment dwellers to enjoy patio gardening.
Similar to the prior wall-hung planter ideas, this DIY project allows for an expanse of fresh greenery on the vertical spaces surrounding the patio. The planters themselves are repurposed and repainted coffee cans, mounted on a simple wireframe that’s been hung on the home exterior.
