Vertical Garden Containers: How to Use Mailboxes as Planters

An Easy DIY Vertical Garden Project…

mailbox vertical garden
Photo courtesy of https://www.larklabel.com/articles/small-gardens.php

If you want to make a one-of-a-kind vertical style garden planter without a lot of work, wall mailboxes may give you just what you’re looking for!

They are fairly inexpensive, yet they are durable and designed to withstand the outdoor elements – so you can create a long-lasting garden with requires very little structural maintenance.

Plus, you can easily paint them any color you like. You can even give them a hammered metal or galvanized steel finish using special spray paint at your local hardware store.

Advantages:

A nice feature about mailboxes is that you can easily paint them to make them even more unique. Whether you choose bright colors, artistic designs, metallic paint, a rustic look or faux paint applications, your options are virtually endless.

Many basic wall mailboxes run between $12 and $20 a piece, and you can find them at your local home improvement store or even stores like Walmart or Amazon. Of course, you may also discover some really cheap boxes at salvage shops or thrift stores that have lots of character and style. They don’t have to be the same style or the same size.

Potential Negatives:

Keep  in mind that these containers may not be water tight. Therefore, if you don’t want water to leak out, insert plastic bags into the boxes to hold your soil and be sure to use varieties like spider plants that don’t mind the lack of drainage.

On the other hand, if your plants require drainage, this can be an ideal container option. You can also drill holes in the base of the mailbox if you need additional drainage. Positioning mailboxes one above the other will also enable the upper boxes to drain into the lower ones, therefore wasting less water.

Other Ideas…

Mailboxes used as vertical garden “pots” can grow a convenient herb garden, strawberries, succulents, shade varieties and even look cool with artificial plants if you want to create a mailbox garden indoors. Get creative – you could even use one of them to hold your mail. Imagine that!