Brick Accents 9 - Planter

Intro - Patio - Barbecue - Retaining Wall - Mortarless Paving - Screen - Sandbox - Lawn Edging and Stepping Stones - Planter - Pedestal - Steps

Tools:

• Bricklayer's Trowel
• 4 foot Hand Level
• Bottomless Wooden Box
• Framing Square
• Hammer
• Pointing Tool
• Broad-bladed Brick Chisel

 

Materials:

• About 15 Solid Brick Units (have a few more handy) for each planter
• Small Amount Premixed Mortar (one 60 pound bag will do 3 planters, including allowance for waste)
• Nylon Rope or Plastic Tubing

 

Have Handy:

• Shovel
• Wheelbarrow
• Garden Hose
• Hand Brush

 

Outdoor brick planters can add a touch of charm to the most modest of gardens, and will provide hours of enjoyment for the family "green thumb."

Material estimates above are for the brick planter pictured and described here. The ambitious gardener may wish to change the size and shape of a planter and, of course, adjustments in material needs must then be considered.

This planter works best when laid on a concrete base. Lay brick in place with mortar shown, adding "weep holes" - nylon rope or plastic tubes - in the vertical joints in the first course of brick. After the mortar has hardened - about a week - spread layer of gravel in the planter to allow for good drainage.

Courtesy of the Brick Institute of America

Intro - Patio - Barbecue - Retaining Wall - Mortarless Paving - Screen - Sandbox - Lawn Edging and Stepping Stones - Planter - Pedestal - Steps