Make your own…
Wall planter
What you will need: PLANTS
■ A selection of small potted plants that fit in the planter. We recommend building it first so you know exactly how much space you need to fill. Use a mixture of trailing plants, such as silver inch and oxalis mixed in with some succulents.
MATERIALS
■ 1 pallet
■ Nails
■ Reusable bags (optional) ■ 3 wooden boards the same width as the pallet
■ Clay pebbles (optional) ■ Soil (optional)
■ Sandpaper (optional)
■ Paint (optional)
EQUIPMENT Hammer Heavy-duty stapler (optional)
■ ■ If you want to paint the pallet, sand it first. Use an electric sander if you have one. Otherwise, wrap the sandpaper round a block of wood and make sure you wear gloves to protect yourself from splinters. Paint with an outdoor paint such as Ronseal Weatherproof Wood Paint (B&Q
0.75L, £21).
1For safety, hammer flat any nails that are protruding from the pallet and, if necessary, reinforce the joints with some extra nails.
2Now turn the pallet upside-down. A standard pallet has three cross-beams which you’ll be using to form the basis of your three display shelves.
3Position the three boards to sit on top of the crossbeams to form contained shelves, and attach them with a few nails. This completes the basic project, ready for placing your plants. However, if you’re feeling ambitious, you can take things a little further…
4Create flower boxes: line the shelves with reusable bags, staple them in place and pierce them to facilitate drainage.
Place a layer of clay pebbles in the bottom of the boxes, then soil and, lastly, your plants.
6Optional extra steps
Instead of putting loose pots on the shelves, you can fix them more permanently. Here’s how:
5■ This DIY project is taken from a new book by stylist Camille Soulayrol. It shows the many different ways to get creative with plants, bringing the beauty and benefits of nature into the home. As well as foolproof growing tips for houseplants, the book features a wide variety of gorgeous home decoration, craft and DIY health-andbeauty plant projects.
Nothing is wasted. Everything can be transformed. Give wooden pallets a new lease of life as shelving for your plants
Extracted from new book, Plantopia: Cultivate, Create, Soothe, Nourish by Camille Soulayrol, with photographs by Frédéric Baron-morin. (£19.95, HB,
Flammarion).