Tiered Patio Planter

If you have ever stared enviously at the stunning displays of flowers exhibited at professional flower shows and wondered how the designers manage to achieve such beautiful cascading tiers of blooms, this project tells you how. To create a similar effect, you need to display flowers on a specially built tiered planter.

A HIGH-RISE DISPLAY
This planter is designed to be pushed against a wall, with the flowers being viewed from the front. However, the height of the stand and the fact that it is based on a hexagon also mean that the display will be cone-like in form - so if you were to arrange 50 potted plants on it, you would see a towering hill of blooms.

The tiered shelves enable you to design a display where the focus is directed towards the plants rather than their pots. We have painted the wood a rich red color, so that when there are gaps in the display and the supporting skeleton peeks through, it looks attractive. The structure stands well over 3 feet (I meter) high, but even so, the splay of the legs allows it to be fully loaded without any danger of it tipping forward.

Because you are likely to be watering the plants daily, we have given the wood extra protection by sealing the paint with a coat of clear preservative. You may prefer to go for a brown color rather than the red we have used, but do not use a preservative that the plants will not like.

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Outdoor Woodwork

There's more to a cultivated country spread or city terrace garden than the plants. People increasingly see their gardens as outdoor rooms, and they want to furnish and decorate them as attractively and comfortably as any other part of the home. Outdoor Woodwork offers 16 functional and attractive projects for the garden, including fences and gates, benches and chairs, decking, sheds, arbors, pergolas, trellises, planters, picnic tables, and a child's playhouse and treehouse. Each project has clear, step-by-step instructions and diagrams accompanied by full-color photographs showing the finished piece in its garden setting. Expert advice on staining and varnishing ensures that wooden garden features will stand up to the outdoor elements.