Made With Thought: Super Easy DIY Plant Wall

In the first of her guest posts, Vicky of Owl and the Accordion recently shared with us a creative idea to brighten up small indoor spaces with her DIY plant hanger tutorial. This week Vicky shows us another thoughtful make-it-yourself project with her super easy DIY plant wall tutorial. Over to Vicky…

Vicky's DIY Plant Wall Tutorial

Plant walls are everywhere at the moment, and rightly so; they’re a great way to add a bit of greenery to a small space, and can be used indoors for houseplants or outside on a balcony or patio for herbs and flowers. A ready-made one can set you back quite a bit, but I’ve come up with a beautifully simple tutorial for a DIY plant wall for a fraction of the cost - staple guns at the ready!

For the Plant Wall

Four square wooden batons, each roughly a metre or so in length A sheet of wire mesh (you can find this in the garden department at B&Q for a few pounds) A tester pot of paint in your chosen colour Strong wood glue A staple gun and staples 6 Small steel mini brackets (buy online here or find them in B&Q) 12 short screws 6 longer screws and rawl plugs A screwdriver Pliers A spirit level

For the Plant Pots

Plain white plant pots in a variety of sizes and colours (B&Q and IKEA are both great for these) Ceramic pots Plastikote spray paint in your chosen colours Stencils Frog tape (available from all good DIY stores - it’s like super strength masking tape!) Washi tape Haberdashery trimmings Spray varnish A couple of packets of RIKTIG curtain clips (from IKEA) No More Nails, or a similar brand of extremely strong glue 1. The first thing you need to do is decide what shape and size you want your plant wall to be, and if necessary, cut your wooden batons to the right length. Using your tester pot, paint all sides of every piece your chosen colour. 2. To create the frame, place all four pieces of wood on the floor in a square or rectangle shape - use a magazine or book in each corner to make sure they’re all lined up straight. 3. Using your wood glue, attach each piece to the next and leave to dry thoroughly overnight. to reinforce the join, staple over the joins using your staple gun. 4. To attach the wire mesh, lay it over the frame, and staple it in place along all four edges. If there’s any overlap once you’ve finished, simply snip it off with the pliers. 5. Using your screwdriver, attach your mini brackets to the sides of your plant wall - they should be wider than the wood, so there’s a gap once the whole thing is mounted on the wall (the gap is important, otherwise you won’t be able to hook anything on). 6. Using your spirit level, mark where you want your plant wall to go, and then attach it to the wall using your longer screws and rawl plugs. 7. Time to decorate the pots! We used copper spray paint, a couple of grey tester pots and a stencil - but you can go for whatever look you fancy; add some lace or fabric, trim the pots with ribbons or fringing or just spray them all the same colour. 8. Once the pots are finished, you need to attach the RIKTIG curtain clips - you can simply clip them onto the sides of the pots, but unless your plant is extremely light, there’s always going to be the risk that it will simply slide out. (Unlikely, but possible, and we like to avoid mess as much as we possibly can!) Apply a little glue to the edges of the clips, then clip them onto your pots and leave to dry - I used two per pot, for safety’s sake! 9. Once the glue has thoroughly dried, slot the pots onto the plant wall and then pop the plants inside. Stand back and admire!   Planning to make a DIY plant wall? Or maybe you’re already busy with another project? We’d love to hear what inspires your creative side and see what you’re up to. Let us know in the comments box below or share some pictures with us on Facebook or Twitter using #madewiththought. Want to know more about Vicky? Read our Q & A with her here.