Hi

I'm thinking of building a failrly large planter, or maybe 2 or more
smaller ones and would appreciate some feedback.

It/they are for a recently tarmacced area on the front of my house,
underneath a window - about 330cm wide. Looks nice and neat, but
begging for a planter.

I also have several logs from a couple of Leylandii that I cut down
back in the autumn, easily long enough to do it in one.

So,

a) would those logs be a suitable material? How fast would they just
rot?
b) if suitable, does anyone know of any build guides?

I picture lining it/them. Presumably it would need to be drainable -
would it need say gravel in the base?

Sorry if these are stupid questions, never done anything like this
before, but have increasing amounts of time, combined with decreasing
amounts of cash!

Many Thanks

JIP


--

One thing to think about the leylandii logs is that they haven't had long to season, are they going to
twist as they dry further? You'd probably want to split them lengthwise otherwise you end up with quite thick walls to your planter.

A different design you could think of is not a planter, but merely something to hide a collection of containers - ie make the planter, don't bother to line it, possibly you don't even need a base. Then stand a selection of whatever containers you can get hold of inside. Three advantages a) no contact between soil and logs - they'll rot less quickly (waterproofing never seem to be 100% successful) b) you can change containers through the year, remove a container whose plants have just finished flowering and replace it with one about to come into flower. c) easier to disassemble should you need to, for example to paint the window frame.

On 12/02/2012 17:48, John Price wrote:
Hi

I'm thinking of building a failrly large planter, or maybe 2 or more
smaller ones and would appreciate some feedback.

It/they are for a recently tarmacced area on the front of my house,
underneath a window - about 330cm wide. Looks nice and neat, but
begging for a planter.

I also have several logs from a couple of Leylandii that I cut down
back in the autumn, easily long enough to do it in one.

So,

a) would those logs be a suitable material? How fast would they just
rot?
b) if suitable, does anyone know of any build guides?

I picture lining it/them. Presumably it would need to be drainable -
would it need say gravel in the base?

Sorry if these are stupid questions, never done anything like this
before, but have increasing amounts of time, combined with decreasing
amounts of cash!

Many Thanks

Not sure about a planter from cut logs.

Many years ago I made a 2 x 2 x 0.3metre raised peat bed for some small
ericaceous plants from 2 metre lengths of rough pine logs. Three 10 cm
diameter logs were put on top of each other for the height. held in
place with a smaller piece of log on the outside. The inside was lined
with polythene to give some protection from the damp soil. I used no
painted preservative and it lasted years, although the bark peeled off
after 3 or 4 years and it started to look a bit tatty. Would that be
considered "shabby chic" now?!

As you have said, line your planter with something waterproof. As long
as the soil level is not above it (or too far below for appearance
sake!), you can get away with a cheap polythene liner. Remember it is
UV light which damages polythene, not damp, so if it it covered it will
last. Providing there are a few holes drilled in the base, I wouldn't
bother with gravel (unless you intend the planter to be for alpine
plants which will need very good drainage).

How rough or otherwise you want the outside appearance to be is up to
you, but if you saw the logs along their length for a smooth finish you
will need some sort of preservative on that cut surface..

--

Jeff

On Feb 12, 5:48*pm, "John Price" wrote:
Hi

I'm thinking of building a failrly large planter, or maybe 2 or more
smaller ones and would appreciate some feedback.

It/they are for a recently tarmacced area on the front of my house,
underneath a window - about 330cm wide. Looks nice and neat, but
begging for a planter.

I also have several logs from a couple of Leylandii that I cut down
back in the autumn, easily long enough to do it in one.

So,

a) would those logs be a suitable material? How fast would they just
rot?
b) if suitable, does anyone know of any build guides?

I picture lining it/them. Presumably it would need to be drainable -
would it need say gravel in the base?

Sorry if these are stupid questions, never done anything like this
before, but have increasing amounts of time, combined with decreasing
amounts of cash!

Many Thanks

JIP

Leylandii is more rot proof than pine. As for more details, you forgot
to tell us what design you were considering.


NT

NT wrote:

On Feb 12, 5:48*pm, "John Price" wrote:
Hi

I'm thinking of building a failrly large planter, or maybe 2 or more
smaller ones and would appreciate some feedback.

It/they are for a recently tarmacced area on the front of my house,
underneath a window - about 330cm wide. Looks nice and neat, but
begging for a planter.

I also have several logs from a couple of Leylandii that I cut down
back in the autumn, easily long enough to do it in one.

So,

a) would those logs be a suitable material? How fast would they just
rot?
b) if suitable, does anyone know of any build guides?

I picture lining it/them. Presumably it would need to be drainable -
would it need say gravel in the base?

Sorry if these are stupid questions, never done anything like this
before, but have increasing amounts of time, combined with
decreasing amounts of cash!

Many Thanks

JIP

Leylandii is more rot proof than pine. As for more details, you forgot
to tell us what design you were considering.


NT

Didn't forget - I haven't got that far yet - just wanted some general
ideas of feasability of the materials and pointers for any known
guides. Since Leylandii seem to be relatively rot proof I'll start to
look for designs in use and try to copy something. But I have been
considering the weight - doing just one planter in the space may be
impossible to move if needed, so I'll probably aim to do 2 or even 3
smaller ones.

Thanks for the replies

--

Jeff Layman wrote:

On 12/02/2012 17:48, John Price wrote:
Hi

I'm thinking of building a failrly large planter, or maybe 2 or more
smaller ones and would appreciate some feedback.

It/they are for a recently tarmacced area on the front of my house,
underneath a window - about 330cm wide. Looks nice and neat, but
begging for a planter.

I also have several logs from a couple of Leylandii that I cut down
back in the autumn, easily long enough to do it in one.

So,

a) would those logs be a suitable material? How fast would they just
rot?
b) if suitable, does anyone know of any build guides?

I picture lining it/them. Presumably it would need to be drainable -
would it need say gravel in the base?

Sorry if these are stupid questions, never done anything like this
before, but have increasing amounts of time, combined with
decreasing amounts of cash!

Many Thanks

Not sure about a planter from cut logs.

Many years ago I made a 2 x 2 x 0.3metre raised peat bed for some
small ericaceous plants from 2 metre lengths of rough pine logs.
Three 10 cm diameter logs were put on top of each other for the
height. held in place with a smaller piece of log on the outside.
The inside was lined with polythene to give some protection from the
damp soil. I used no painted preservative and it lasted years,
although the bark peeled off after 3 or 4 years and it started to
look a bit tatty. Would that be considered "shabby chic" now?!

As you have said, line your planter with something waterproof. As
long as the soil level is not above it (or too far below for
appearance sake!), you can get away with a cheap polythene liner.
Remember it is UV light which damages polythene, not damp, so if it
it covered it will last. Providing there are a few holes drilled in
the base, I wouldn't bother with gravel (unless you intend the
planter to be for alpine plants which will need very good drainage).

How rough or otherwise you want the outside appearance to be is up to
you, but if you saw the logs along their length for a smooth finish
you will need some sort of preservative on that cut surface..

Thanks Jeff

--