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May 16, 2018 by: Ashley Greenwood

How to Install a Trough Planter

Ever wanted to add a big old POW of colorful plants to your front porch? Then let me show you how simple it is to install a trough planter on your front porch railing! 

Add a big POW of colorful plants to your summer front porch! Install a trough planter on your front porch railing. #TroughPlanter #LargePlanter #SummerFrontPorch

During the spring and summer our front porch is a showcase of beautiful flowers and seasonal plants. The large planters on the railing are filled with the Best Plants for Hanging Baskets.

Colorful plants make a perfect screen for me to hide behind while swing on the porch and I catch up on summer reading.

And hide from the children.

MUST PIN post for awesome curb appeal! Best ideas for hanging baskets to turn your front porch planters into instant WOW! DIY flower baskets that you can make this weekend! // 3 Little Greenwoods

Unfortunately, when the cool winds of fall turn into full fledged winter the front porch gets completely ignored. That’s how our once fabulous trough planters turn into these…

How to install a trough planter on your front porch railing

This spring we noticed that not only are the large planters filled with dead plants, they are also falling apart. Just take a look at the picture above. You can see on the bottom how the metal slats are popping apart from rust. The coco fiber liner is totally breaking down.

We decided to bite the bullet and replace all three of the front porch planters. It was such a simple way to get instant curb appeal.

Let me show you how we did it!

How to Install a Trough Planter

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36″ wrought iron trough planter

coco fiber liner

tape measure/pencil

3″ metal boat cleats

cordless drill

heavy duty trash bags

scissors

Step One: Decide on Placement of Planters

Using a tape measure find the middle of your front porch railing. The trough planters should be centered using that mark.

Once the middle was found, three metal boat cleats were spaced out and installed about 2 inches below the bottom on the top hand rail. That left enough room for the top bar of the planter to side onto the top of the cleat.

How to install a trough planter on your front porch railing

How to install a trough planter on your front porch railing

Add a big POW of colorful plants to your summer front porch! Install a trough planter on your front porch railing. #TroughPlanter #LargePlanter #SummerFrontPorch

After the cleats were installed our oldest son slid the large planters into place.

How to install a trough planter on your front porch railing

Step Two: Prep the Trough Planter for Soil

I don’t know if you know this but plants are expensive! It doesn’t matter how much I water the hanging baskets, they will still get dried out super fast.

To give them a fighting chance do this easy DIY front porch planter trick: line the planters with heavy duty trash bags. Simply drape the trash bag over the top and push it into place. Make sure there is plenty of excess hanging over all sides of the flower box.

How to install a trough planter on your front porch railing

Fill the flower planter with good potting soil. Pack the soil down as you go but be mindful of keeping soil inside the liner.

How to install a trough planter on your front porch railing

Use scissors to trim the excess heavy duty trash bag from around the edges.

How to install a trough planter on your front porch railing

DIY Trough Planter Tip: Don’t trim the liner too close to the edge! As the coco liner ages it will shrink causing soil to escape. Leave a generous amount of liner to prevent this from happening in years to come.

Step Three: Fill it with Great Plants

If you are confused about which plants will look great in trough planters then you really need to check out this post about the best plants for hanging baskets. There are really three types of annuals you will need to get that big POP of color for your front porch.

One down… two more flower boxes to go!

How to install a trough planter on your front porch railing

How to install a trough planter on your front porch railing

 


 

Add a big POW of colorful plants to your summer front porch! Install a trough planter on your front porch railing. #TroughPlanter #LargePlanter #SummerFrontPorch

 

Don't Forget It! Pin It Button from 3 Little Greenwoods

Are you searching for front porch planters for your home? Check out these 10 Flower Box Ideas for Instant Curb Appeal!

10 Flower Box Ideas for Fabulous Curb Appeal

10 front porch flower box ideas you can install today for great curb appeal!

Best Plants for Hanging Plants

MUST PIN post for awesome curb appeal! Best flower box ideas into instant WOW! DIY flower baskets that you can make this weekend! // 3 Little Greenwoods

 

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Comments

  1. 1

    Tia says

    February 2, 2020 at 6:29 pm

    Hi! Do you poke holes into the garbage bag to allow the water to drain?

    -Tia

    Reply
    • 2

      Ashley Greenwood says

      February 2, 2020 at 6:40 pm

      Hey Tia! That’s exactly what I did. I used a serrated knife to cut drainage holes. Happy planting!

      Reply
    • 3

      Sunny says

      May 3, 2020 at 10:15 am

      I was wondering the same thing. I’ll be trying this project. Very pretty

      Reply
  2. 4

    Renelle says

    October 2, 2020 at 7:28 am

    Awesome! I was searching for ideas for non-plastic hanging planters for our balcony. I live in a tropical area though so winter won’t be a problem. Totally love this. 🙂

    Reply
  3. 5

    Lori says

    August 10, 2022 at 11:09 am

    Where do you purchase the mounting bars

    Reply
    • 6

      Ashley Greenwood says

      August 10, 2022 at 7:43 pm

      You can find the brackets to mount the rods at most home improvement stores. Good luck!

      Reply

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