Spectacular Recycled Wood Pallet Garden Ideas

Using an upcycled wooden pallet to create a garden is the ultimate eco-friendly way to reuse, reuse and recycle. Retailers use and discard millions of wooden pallets each year as they transport goods from place to place. Pallets ultimately take up a lot of space in landfills. This is unfortunate, because pallet wood is an excellent raw material that you can reuse in countless imaginative ways. DIY enthusiasts have long enjoyed using pallet wood to create innovative pallet garden ideas.

Old pallet wood is an excellent material that can be repurposed into a planter box, vertical planter, raised bed, or even a pallet swing. Not only are pallets a good source of upcycled wood, but this material is also inexpensive – often completely free. Browse the following pallet garden ideas and find out how you can create your own impressive pallet garden today.

1. Herb Pallet Garden Ideas

Recycled pallet wood may contain chemical treatment. Therefore, before using it to grow herbs, make sure it is the right variety. Manufacturers treat pallet boards by either heat treating or fumigation to avoid invasive species. Heat-treated pallets bear the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) logo and an “HT”. Fumigated pallet wood bears an “MB,” which stands for methyl bromide, the chemical used for fumigation.

Always wash any pallet with hot, soapy water before using it for edible plants. Seal it with linseed oil or paint it with a water-based latex paint. Most herbs grow well in pallet gardens, including mint, basil, thyme and oregano. Lavender also grows well in a pallet herb garden and you can use it as an herb or fragrant cut flower.

2. Freestanding pallet planting gardens

You can build a freestanding pallet garden bed by nailing a pallet to the front of an A-frame structure. This movable garden is ideal if you want to move your flower or herb garden to a sunnier spot in the garden. Attach castors to the bottom of the freestanding pallet garden bed to make moving it easier.

Anyone can build a DIY multi-shelf pallet planter using wood recycled from two pallets. Use chalkboard paint to make erasable markers in front of each section of a freestanding vertical garden. This is particularly helpful in an herb garden, where the plants in each section of the palette may change frequently.

3. Innovative Pallet Garden Designs

Pallet garden ideas can be extremely creative for what is essentially just a garden in a wooden box. A vertical pallet garden hangs on a wall, making it one of the best ways to garden in a small space. Paint your pallet planter in any number of colors or add wood cutouts, stencil designs, metal flowers, or other decorative embellishments.

You can break down a pallet into several small wooden pallet planting units to hang on a wall or fence. You can fill them like small flower boxes with succulents, flowering plants or decorative herbs. You can use the pallet as a sort of frame and hang metal buckets that contain your actual plants.

4. Pallet flower boxes for your garden

The ideas for a flower box pallet garden are almost limitless. With a whole palette you can create a vertical garden full of your favorite flowers. You can also divide a pallet into several smaller vertical pallet units that act as individual flower boxes. You can also use a pallet as a flower pot shelf. This idea works especially well if you prefer to house your flowering plants in pots rather than planting them directly in the pallet.

Flowers can enhance almost any pallet garden idea. A vertical pallet garden can serve as a backdrop for larger plants in ceramic pots or planters placed directly on the ground. Instead of hanging a simple rectangular planter under your window, nail an entire vertical pallet to the wall. It becomes a stacked planter so you have three or more rows of flowers under your windowsills instead of just one.

5. Raised beds and planter boxes

Pallet wood is ideal for building a simple garden bed in your garden. Large or small, this is one of the best pallet garden ideas if you want to use reclaimed wood but want a more sophisticated end product. Stain or paint the wood to match other wooden features in your home or garden.

Raised pallet beds make gardening easier for people with arthritis or those who otherwise have difficulty getting up and down from the ground. If moisture is a problem in your garden, build raised beds on pallets with feet. Note that these wooden containers must be lined before use – landscape fabric works best – and filled with potting soil.

6. Sustainable garden pallet creations

There are many ways to recycle pallets for the garden. Because they are so economical, you may even find that they help you make creative use of areas of your garden where nothing previously existed. You can use the wood to build a compost bin or a stacked planter box with multiple levels. Pallet garden ideas may include dismantling an extra pallet and using the wood to build a planting bench.

Attach a vertical trellis to a flat pallet garden and you can grow beans and other plants that require a trellis to climb. Make two matching pallet planters and place a metal trellis between the two. Place it anywhere in your garden where you want to define two separate areas. As vines grow up the trellis, it creates a living privacy screen that is beautiful and functional.

Upcycling pallets in the garden is not just limited to making shelves, planters and fences. Cut pallet slats into arbitrary lengths and place them on gravel to create an attractive wooden garden path. Use pallet wood to build a bench under a window that matches your other pallet pieces. Reinforce two pallets with 2×4 lumber, place a covered mattress on top, and hang this new swing with sturdy rope.

7. Vertical wall garden

Wall pallet gardening is a creative way to convert pallets into useful features. Vertical pallet garden ideas may include creating an herb garden, a flower garden, a vegetable garden, or a succulent display. Just make sure you place your vertical pallet garden in a location that receives full sunlight.

Vertical gardening is a perfect planter idea for people in apartments, condos, or other small dwellings who want to start gardening but don’t have the space. All you need is a small outdoor area, such as a balcony or terrace. You can create a DIY pallet garden in less than an hour.

Note that a wall-mounted pallet planter is quite heavy when filled with moist soil. So make sure you fasten it securely with large wood screws, metal brackets or cleats. You can also place the vertical pallet garden on the ground for additional support.

8. Shelf and pot hanger gardens

Using a pallet to make a shelf or pot hanger is one of the more unique garden pallet projects you can do. Although pallet shelves are naturally narrow, they are large enough to accommodate small flower or herb pots. For a rustic look, plant herbs in mason jars and place them on pallet shelves. Smaller wooden or metal boxes also fit on pallet shelves and can hold a variety of small plants.

Pallet racks can be placed free-standing on the floor. If you prefer, you can hang your pallet racks on a patio wall or attach them to a fence. Depending on how you design your pallet garden, you can use the slats as shelves or as flat boards from which to hang pots and baskets. Continue the recycling theme by cutting plastic soda or water bottles in half and nailing them to the pallet slats to serve as plant pots.

For a truly dramatic garden effect, use vertically stacked pallet panels to create a tall fence. Randomly hang galvanized buckets of herbs or ivy vines along the rustic fence you created. Add hooks to attach your garden tools, watering can, secateurs and other useful items. Finally, decorate your pallet fence with a metal letter monogram or hang old metal advertising signs to create a rustic, country atmosphere.

9. Garden fence with pallets

Hang a whole pallet or cut it into several pallet planter boxes and hang them along your wooden fence. Hanging plants look particularly beautiful cascading down from high-mounted pallet garden boxes, adding color and life to a normally drab garden area. When gardening on pallets, alternate bright flowers or herbs with ivy to create a variety of textures and colors.

Broken wooden pallets can also become the fence itself. This is possibly one of the most economical ways to build a wooden fence and a really creative recycling idea. Hang fairy lights on your pallet planter box or fence to add magical charm to the area at night.

Pallet Garden Frequently Asked Questions