DIY Raised Herb Garden Planter Box

Looking to start your own herb garden? Our DIY Raised Herb Garden Planter is an easy project that lets you start growing your own herbs, in your own yard, today!

DIY Raised Herb Garden cedar Planter Box

 

We’ve been ‘wanna be’ gardeners for awhile now. A few years ago we started an herb and vegetable garden, but the area of the yard we chose doesn’t get enough sun so it turned out to be an expensive recipe for failure.

Then a few years later we started growing some herbs in various pots, but a few too many bunnies put an end to that plan. But we still really wanted to grow herbs. As an avid home cook, I cook almost every night and fresh herbs from the market can add up. Not only that, there’s nothing worse than planning a meal only to realize at the last minute that it needs some fresh herb I forgot to buy! How nice would it be to simply walk into the backyard and snip what I need?

So we decided a raised garden planter would be the perfect way to grow herbs! We could move it to any sunny spot in the garden we wanted, and it would keep out the bunnies or any other hungry critters who might be around! 😉

After looking around at what was available, it seemed all of them were well over $100 so my husband agreed to make one instead. I gave him some ideas of what I wanted it to look like, and he planned it out himself. It’s simple, practical, and exactly what I wanted.

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Specs:

Dimensions: 4′ W x 40″H x 18″ D, with legs that are 1″ x 3″

Tongue and groove sides
Cedar box

Supplies You’ll Need

 

•(8) 1”x6”x6’ cedar fence boards for box sides and bottom shelf planks
•(2) 2”x2”x6’ furring strip boards for bottom shelf frame
•(2) 1”x3”x8’ redwood boards (for box trim)
•(1) 1”x2”x6’ pine board for interior bracing
•(4) 2”x2”x8’ furring strip boards for legs
•(3) 1”x6”x6’ cedar fence boards for box bottom (or one wood pallet + scrap spacer boards from lumber yard)
Miter saw
Screw gun
Nail gun
C clamps
Hammer
Pry bar
•1 1/4” deck screws
•2 1/2” deck screws
•1 1/2” brads
•wood glue
•herbs of your choice
Garden soil

 

DIY planter box schematic design plans

making an herb planter box DIY

building an herb garden planter box backyard

We went back and forth about what wood we wanted to use, but ended up using cedar planks for the herb box itself, and wood from a pallet was used for the bottom.

 

homemade cedar plank Raised garden Planter Box

cedar planked DIY raised planter box herb garden

It’s the perfect size for a kitchen herb garden. In fact, we’re thinking of building a second raised herb garden planter  so that we can have a ‘shade’ herb garden box and a ‘sun’ one!

It’s lightweight enough that you could even add wheels if you wanted to be able to move it around.

 

herbs growing in a raised herb garden planter

Right now we’re currently growing thyme, green onions, Italian parsley, chives, sage and basil. But we’ve also already grown mint, and I hope to add tarragon eventually, too.

 

DIY Raised Herb Garden Planter Box great garden project

 

Shop DIY Herb Garden Planter Essentials

 

Happy Gardening!

Sheila
xo

 

DIY Raised Herb garden planter box graphic

 

Now be sure to visit some of my friends who are sharing their garden ideas and inspiration below!

My 100 Year Old Home | How to Grow Tomatoes at Home

Finding Lovely | DIY Aged Terracotta Pots

Twelve on Main | Super Cute DIY Mini Greenhouse

Inspiration for Moms | DIY Planter Trellis

Maison de Cinq | DIY Raised Herb Garden Planter Box

 

Happy Happy Nester | Lady Banks Rose

The DIY Mommy | Tiered Herb Planter with Dollar Store Buckets

Zevy Joy | Gardening Tips and Ideas From Our New Yard

My Sweet Savannah | DIY modern pedestal planter

 

If you enjoyed this post, you might want to check out a few other gardening projects below!

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16 Comments

  1. Paulette & Keith Kennedy says:

    Hi Shiela – looks great – Thanks for sharing this – Did you feel that tongue and groove was needed on the sides to keep the soil and water from escaping?? Just asking as the T&G here in Canada is ~$US 18 per 1″x6″x8′ and the normal 1″x6″x8’cedar is ~ US $7 each. I suppose we could line the sides with a heavy plastic to obviate the leakage. Thanks for the question responses above re drainage. Also – what depth of soil do you end up having – looked like you had the base of the soil bed a couple of inches above the bottom of the 3rd side panel. Thanks Paulette & Keith

    1. Hi there! You definitely don’t need tongue and groove as ours is not and is fine. There is no soil leakage at all, but there is some water. If that bothers you, then you could use the T&W but ours sits on gravel so it isn’t an issue. And in answer to the soil level, yes, it’s at about 3 or 4 inches above the bottom of the top panel. Though you could have it lower if you wanted – I just want to the see the herbs and if it were lower, you wouldn’t.

      Hope that helps! Thanks so much for stopping by!

      Sheila

  2. Fiona Canton says:

    I’m so excited I found your blog! And can’t wait to try this project – thanks for sharing!

  3. Rhonda Stanley says:

    Such a great project! I love this idea and am dying to try it (just have to talk the hubby into it, haha!)

  4. Sarah @ The DIY Mommy says:

    Your planter box looks great, Sheila!

  5. Ashley Stone says:

    Wow! It’s so cute. I’m going to show this to my husband and have us try it! Thanks for the idea!

  6. I love this!

    Did you drill holes in the bottom for drainage? Or maybe you didn’t need to. Or could I just add rocks in the bottom?
    Thank you for your thoughts!

    1. Hi Holly and thank you! We didn’t drill holes because the bottom is made from pallet pieces, not one solid piece of wood. The slight space between them is enough drainage for the plants without adding drainage holes. Hope that helps!

      Sheila

  7. Ashley Stone says:

    What a great DIY idea! Whether you fill them with vegetables, flowers, or herbs, it looks like the perfect way to enjoy gardening (without the bunnies, haha!)

  8. This is beautiful! And it is the perfect this to sell! You could sell it as a kit or an ebook for .99. You could also go to Home Depot or Lowes or wherever you purchased the material and pitch it as a sponsored post!

    1. Haha I love your thinking Elizabeth – thanks for the kind words and encouragement! 😉

      Sheila
      xo

  9. This is such a clever idea! I love it! The design looks great – you and your husband did an excellent job. We also have bunnies and deer, but I think this would work for us. Thank you so much for sharing this awesome idea and the plans for building it!

    1. Thanks so much Jeanne! I know it keeps bunnies out, but not sure about deer! Maybe with some chicken wire around the top? You’d have to brainstorm some ideas on that one!

      Thanks for stopping by!

      Sheila

  10. This is genius! I too love fresh herbs for cooking, and they re pricey to buy. We have bunnies that would indulge if this was at their level, this is worth serious consideration! Did you insert some type of box or liner for the actual plants? Thanks

    1. Thanks so much Deanne! It is perfect for any yard with bunnies – hope you decide to make it! And no, we didn’t line the box. We used cedar and didn’t feel that needed anything further and it’s worked out perfectly! Good luck!

      Sheila