DIY Jam Jar Pallet Planter

When we did our garden makeover last year, I started to pin ideas for the white wall. I wanted to create a wall hanging full of succulents or a pallet with jam jars to hold tea lights and plants.

We had a pallet left over from building Sophie’s mud kitchen and lots of jam jars leftover from our wedding so I decided to try to create a planter that I had seen on Pinterest. It was part of a photo shoot so there were no details about how they made it so I decided to just go for it. I described the metal parts to the man at B&Q who eventually worked out that I needed hose clips! Then we headed to the garden centre to buy some plants. I chose some ivy, thyme and heather.

I started by trying out a few arrangements while Craig drilled some holes in the hose pipes. I decided to use three jars for tea lights and tried to arrange these in an irregular triangle to space them out.

Then we screwed the hose clips to the pallet.

We tightened the hose clips so that the jars were held in place but they were still loose enough to remove.

Craig drilled some holes into the wall and added some wall plugs.

Then we used some small metal corner brackets to hang the pallet onto the wall. We are going to drop that black pipe, which provides the shed with electricity, so that it runs along the ground rather than across the wall.

While Craig was fixing the pallet to the wall I started to prepare the jars. I washed some gravel to put at the bottom of the jars to help with drainage.

Then I put the plants into each jar and a little compost if needed.

I washed the jars and watered the plants before placing them into the hose clips. Then we tightened each of the hose clips to make sure the jars were held securely. If you have a go at making one of these, make sure you don’t over tighten the hose clips as we managed to split a jar in half doing so!

I am really pleased with the finished pallet. It didn’t take too long so we managed to get it completed during Sophie’s nap time. I love the pop of colour from the heather and hope that the ivy will trail around the wooden planks as it grows. I am not sure how well the heather with last but the jars are really easy to take out if I need to replant anything.

I have saved the lids for the jars with the tea lights so that we can put them on when we are not using them to stop the jars filling with water if it rains.

I can’t wait to sit out in the garden with the festoon lights on, the tea lights lit and the fire pit going. Here’s to the lighter summer evenings that are on their way!