When it comes to wooden planters for your garden one of the best manufacturers is Forest Garden.
With over 50 years’ experience in manufacturing wooden garden products, this British company is proud to use sustainable, British timber for many of their items. The majority of the timber used is grown and felled from managed UK forests across Scotland – simply check the product page on our site to see which Forest Garden products have been produced in the UK.
After felling, the timber is cut and processed in their sawmill and then transported to their manufacturing workshop in rural Worcestershire. Here their skilled workforce produce the widest range of garden buildings, fences and structures available in the UK.
The Benefits Of Using Planters
Whether you use wooden planters, plastic raised beds or ceramic pots all enable you to be in total control of the growing media – which basically means they enable you to grow plants in spots where you might normally not have been able to grow.
So if you have poor soil in your garden, by selecting a nutrient rich compost to fill your container prior to planting, you will be creating a place for healthy growth.
Or you might have alkaline soil but want to grow acid loving plants such as azaleas, blue hydrangeas, camellias, rhododendrons etc. Using a container enables you to create a point within your garden where you can have acidic soil to house these plants without too much effort.
Top Tip
If you are not sure what type of soil you have in your garden, whether it’s naturally acid or alkaline, then purchase either a simple soil testing kit or pH meter to help you identify the soil types in areas around your garden.
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Soil Test Kit Clear instructions explain how to take a soil sample and check the results - this kit includes reagents to test for pH, N, P & K. It gives advise on altering pH and nutrient levels. Or create a haven for an acidic soil loving plant in its own container. Click here to see full details. |
Forest Garden Planters With Built In Trellis
Forest Garden have designed their Trellis Planters so you are able to grow climbing plants anywhere in your garden without having to grow them against a fence or wall.
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Venice Planter In the photograph opposite you can see the planter has been placed against a hedge and used to add a splash of colour against a tall green hedge. |
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For areas where there is only hard standing – such as in a courtyard or on a balcony or patio area – you can add tall green growth and colourful blooms.
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Toulouse Planter This planter is part of Forest Gardens Accessible Gardening range which has been designed in partnership with Thrive. Click here to see full details. |
Accessible Forest Garden Planters
Forest Garden have developed their range of ‘accessible’ planters for those who need to sit, kneel, stand, or use a wheelchair to garden. Including a wide variety of planters such as raised beds, table planters, troughs and plant ladders. Forest have partnered with Thrive with the aim to enable everyone to make the most of their garden.
Although you might think of planters as being places to grow flowers or shrubs, they are also perfect for a wide range of herbs, vegetables, and fruit – so allowing us all to ‘grow our own’ produce for the dinner table!
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Kitchen Garden Planter The compact one metre planter has a relatively small footprint so it could be conveniently positioned near a back door or on a balcony. Whilst its attractive design means it will look great in any garden setting. |
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To decide what type of vegetables or fruit can be successfully grown check out the dimensions of the planter, including the planting depth – this is especially important when you are growing root vegetables such as carrots, onions, radishes etc. Forest Garden created their Deep Root Planters with a generous depth to allow long root plants and vegetables to flourish without being short on space.
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Deep Root Planters Manufactured from robust slow grown European softwood that has been Pressure Treated to protect it against rot and fungal decay for 15 years. Click here to see full details. |
A great range of plants to grow in containers are herbs – not only will they look attractive and smell wonderful in your garden, but they are also an asset to your cooking! To decide which herbs you wish to grow – many are easy to grow from seed or can be bought from a garden centre – consider what you are likely to use in your kitchen and start there. Here are just a few examples:
Rosemary
An evergreen shrub with an attractive flowers of either blue, white, pink or purple depending on the variety, Rosemary grows well in containers in a soil-based, peat-free compost.
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You’ll be able to harvest it all year round, with the leaves being used fresh or dried and used later. If you live in a cold area or if the weather is particularly cold in the winter it’s best to give it some protection. Being in a container it will be easy to cover with fleece, you might even find that one of the Easy Fleece Jackets will fit over. |
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Thyme
Another attractive evergreen, Thyme is a very aromatic herb with small, grey-green leaves.
It can be harvested all year round and used in a wide variety of dishes from soups and stews through to sausages and stuffing.
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This herb grows best in well-drained soil so when growing in a planter add plenty of grit to the soil. This low maintenance herb will thrive well with little water and few nutrients – all you need to ensure is that you trim it back after flowering to encourage new growth. If not trimmed it will eventually become woody and need to be replaced after about three years. |
Parsley
Parsley was one of the first fresh herbs to be sold commercially and remains a popular herb in the kitchen, being used with fish, meats, soups, pestos, sauces, salsas, and salads.
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Aside from being a flavoursome addition to your cooking, it’s also highly nutritious, packed full of vitamins A, C and K. With two varieties, flat-leaf and curly, parsley is easy to grow indoors or outdoors. Perfect for growing in containers, it also makes an attractive addition in your veg plot and garden borders. |
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Basil
Fresh basil is a great addition for your cooking, with it being used in recipes for appetizers, main meals and even desserts! It’s easy to grow and can be sown from seed indoors or outdoors. It comes in a wide range of varieties, with different shapes leaves and in different colours, so will be both a practical addition and an attractive addition to your garden.
For herbs which are aggressive spreaders, like mint, lemon balm or oregano, growing them in there own contained space means they can’t take over your garden and you can still enjoy their fresh flavour.
Top Tip . . .
According to the RHS it’s best to avoid buying the pot-grown herbs for sale in the veg aisle of your supermarket if you want them to grow outside. The supermarket herbs are usually grown under glass and although great for use in your kitchen as fresh herbs, they are usually too lush and stressed to adapt to growing outdoors.
Mint
When we think of Mint we think of traditional mint sauce with a Sunday roast dinner, which originated in the UK. Easy to make using finely chopped mint leaves, vinegar and sugar, Mint is also used in an array of other dishes in the kitchen, from savoury sauces to baked treats, as well as hot and cold drinks.
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This aromatic herb comes in a wide range of varieties, but it’s advised not to grow different varieties close together as they will start to lose their individual taste and aroma. It is a very invasive plant and will spread rapidly throughout your garden if allowed to – this is one of the reasons it’s an ideal container herb as this enables you to control it’s spread with ease. |
Chives
If you’re looking for a herb where you can enjoy eating both the leaves and flowers, then Chives are perfect, as well as being easy to grow. Their leaves have a mild oniony flavour, and you’ll find them forming part of the ingredients in many savoury dishes. Whilst the attractive pink-purple, mini allium flowers make a colourful addition to a summer salad.
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Propagate your seeds indoors and when they are about 4inch tall they will be strong enough to be transplanted outdoors. They will flourish best in a moisture retentive, well drained compost. Chives are a perennial which will die back in the Autumn and re-sprout in the spring. Easy to maintain, every few years simply lift and divide them into smaller clumps to help rejuvenate them. |
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Chives are a great companion plant if you are growing carrots. Any plants from the allium family – so that includes chives, as well as onions, garlic or leeks – can be planted alongside your carrots or as a complete ‘wall’ around your carrots. Their scent will help to deter carrot flies from your crops.
Forest Garden Planters For Potscaping
Did You Know . . .
“Potscape” defined as the artistic arrangement of flowers and shrubs planted in pots and other containers.
This term – a mix of the words ‘pot’ and ‘landscaping’ has been around since the early 1990s. Formerly known as container gardening, potscaping was used by British horticulturist Marjorie Mason Hogue as an attempt to add an artistic dimension to container gardening.
Potscaping has now become something of an artform in horticultural circles, where precise decisions are made about the shape, height and placement of containers in the garden with the resulting arrangement described as a potscape.
3-in-1 Sets Of Forest Garden Planters
You could create a potscape by placing a collection of containers at the end of a walkway to create a sense of destination, to create a landscape of colour on a patio or a welcoming display by your front porch.
By producing sets of three planters in different sizes, Forest Garden have made it easy for you to achieve a beautiful display with minimum thought. The reason for this as:
- Odd numbers tend to look best – when grouping pots or containers groups of 3, 5, 7 etc will work well.
- A triangular display is a safe arrangement – perfect for in corners, whether it’s where two house walls meet, or on the edge of a patio, or at one end of a balcony.
- Contrasting heights create an interesting focal point - use your tallest container as the central piece or in the middle at the back, with smaller containers placed around it or in front of it.
Forest Garden have made it easy for anyone to start potscaping with their planter sets.
With their 3-in-1 Planter Sets you receive three planters of decreasing size whilst all the same style and shape. All are supplied fully assembled ready to use - you just need to decide where and how to arrange them and then fill with compost and plants.
When sizing the planters Forest have even considered storage when not in use – the three planters have been designed to stack neatly inside each other so taking up less space for storage.
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Contemporary Slatted Planter Set For a superior finish, the timber used is smooth-planed and Pressure Treated with a preservative to protect it against rot for 15 years. |
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Perfect for a modern garden or courtyard the set above will enhance the space and would look sophisticated planted with grasses or shrubs.
If you're looking for something more traditional why not consider Forest Garden's York 3-in-1 Planter Set.
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York Hexagonal Planter Set When planted up as a set and positioned they'll bring colour and interest to your garden. Click here to see full details. |
Top Tip . . .
Before using your wooden planter, if it doesn’t include a liner, we recommend lining it with a porous material, such as our weed mulch, prior to adding the compost. This will prevent the compost from coming in direct contact with the wood, whilst at the same time allowing water to drain away so your plants won’t be sat in a puddle of water.
Traditional Forest Garden Planters
To enhance a naturally styled garden then a traditional container made from wood might be the answer. Available in a wide range of sizes, shapes and styles, you’re sure to find one to suit your house and garden.
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Richmond Planter Featuring smooth-planed, Pressure Treated timber for a superior build this sturdy planter comes to you fully assembled ready to use. |
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Agen Planter With a 15 year anti-rot guarantee from the manufacturers, this planter will provide years of use. It's manufactured form Pressure Treated timber and includes floor bearers to keep the planter off the ground to prevent damp. Click here to see full details. |
Contemporary Forest Garden Planters
The arrangement of your planters will also enhance a modern space. Rather than the traditional ‘potscaping’ of placing planters in groups of various heights, use the same size and style of planters and arrange in a regular way. You could create ‘rows’ using the same planters, spacing them at the same distance apart and leaving space around them.
Sometimes the plants you grow within your planters will also increase their contemporary look. Simple grasses, shrubs, bamboos or succulents will all flourish within a planter and at the same time add texture and intertest to a modern garden, balcony or courtyard.
Planters Used To Create A Frame
Frame your front door, making it attractive, inviting and giving it personality by adding a planter either side.
For a touch of elegance use tall planters and if you want a classic, all year-round planter fill it with an evergreen which will look good in every season.
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Slender Planters It also makes them perfect for framing a doorway - simply stand one either side. |
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If you have steps leading to your front door then this might be the perfect place to create a mini ‘potscape’, using the steps to vary the height of your planters. You could have matching plants or shrubs in all your planters or a mixture of shrubs, flowers and herbs to create a more intriguing, layered effect.
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Cambridge Planters Available in two sizes, both are substantial planters that provide space for lots of plants enabling you to make a real feature within your garden. Click here to see full details. |
