Creating a stunning water butt planter with height and depth
Rainwater Terrace water butts come with a top planter tray which is suitable for a range of plants however if you are wanting to plant larger plants on the top of your water butt this blog may be useful.
We start by fitting the capillary mats into the top planter then find a large black plant pot we went for one that was approx 20cm diameter, dont worry about the height as this can be trimmed down to suit the height of your plant. You may be able to reuse the plant pot that the plant you are wishing to use came in.
We then carefully trimmed the base off the plant pot using a small saw, scissors can then used to trim it down in height.
The pot is then placed towards the back edge of the Rainwater Terrace top planter tray.
The pot is then back filled with compost, its important that the cut edge of the pot is at the top as shown.
We added a large ornamental grass, we love the colour and texture of the grass as it overhangs the planter. We then filled around the planter with a layer of soil before adding more plants. We try to keep the largest plants at the back and smaller plants at the front of the planter. Ivy is always a good choice as it trails over the water butt.
As we add plants we try build the compost up around the upturned plant pot in the middle. As the plants grow the roots hold the compost in place.
For our Spring themed planter we have chosen to plant ready to plant bulbs purchased at the garden centre along with moss which has been used to fill around the bulbs. The moss will also double up as an excellent nesting material should birds choose to come and take some as nesting season begins.
The bulbs we planted are Scilla Siberica Blauw, Crocus Biflorus Miss Vain, Ipheon Alberto Castilo, Narcissi Thalia, Muscari Blue Magic, Cinodoxa Rosea and Crocus Tricolor,
Two weeks after planting we are seeing some colour as the buds open. This is a really easy way to create a dramatic looking floral display that will look great throughout the sunny but cooler Spring months.
