I realize this is a little late in the season. I've really been procrastinating in the blog department. Better late than never!
Inspired by this pinterest post, I made my own flower tower for our deck. This is not the cheapest DIY project, but the beauty it adds all season long (more than one season if you plant pansies) is worth it. You could do it cheaper by collecting mis-matched pots from thrift stores, but it's hard to find large ones. That could take a while.
First, gather your supplies. You'll need:
- 14 in. pot
- 12 in. pot
- 10 in. pot
- 8 in. pot
- 6 in. pot
- 12.5 in. saucer
- 36 in. half inch dowel rod
- bag of potting soil
- 20-30 annual plants
We found out the hard way that you don't really need the saucer. Terre cotta absorbs so much of the water that there isn't really any run-off. And if you plan on moving it, it's nearly impossible to move with the saucer. Ours broke...twice...when Matt was picking the entire tower up to move to another location. Try not to need to move it once it's assembled. It was unavoidable for us. We finally created a seating arrangement and the tower needed to move. Then twice more when I stained the deck.
Start with the biggest pot on the bottom. Then insert the half inch dowel. You'll want to put some filler in the bottom half of the pot so you don't have to waste a bunch of potting soil down there. I used rocks from the yard. We have an unlimited supply.
Create a nice flat bed of soil, then feed the next pot onto the dowel, making sure it's centered and level. Fill in with more potting soil. Repeat for next layer. Rocks, soil, pot, more soil.
Now it's time to plant your flowers! I chose impatiens and sweet potato vines. The back half of our deck is in full shade, so I knew the impatiens would do well, and they have.
Fast forward 3 months and this is what they looked like in August. I love how you can't even see the pots anymore. It's truly a tower of flowers.
It's been so long I don't remember the exact cost, but the pots were around $50 total. And the flower maybe $5 total? Of course I can reuse the pots year after year and vary the type of flowers used. Can't wait til next year!
