How to Make a Garden Box With a Trellis Out of Pallet Wood

The other day, I was out on my deck when I saw that one of my Mom's planter boxes was just plain metal wire, and the trellis was zip-tied leaning back. It doesn't look good.

Since my mother's birthday is coming up (and she loves plants like, seriously she loves plants. Like I think it's got to the point where it's too many), I thought I would make her a new garden box! That actually looks nice. This box is one hundred percent made out of pallet wood. I just grabbed the nicest-looking pallets I could find.

This box was a little inspired by a previous box my dad made and I helped with a some years ago. The nice thing is it will match it a bit. :)

So, I hope all goes well.

For this project, you will need a:

1. Hammer
2. Crowbar
3. Pallets
4. Stain
5. Measuring tape
6. Screws (I used deck screws, and others)

For the power tools, you will need:

1. Table saw
2. Chop saw
3. Power drill
4. An angle grinder

And last but not least, a plant.

To start any project, I always love to give a little sketch of my project. This helps me visualize it more and see what it would look like, making building it so much easier.

Like always, safety is the most important. As a lifeguard, I don't want anyone to hurt themselves with such machinery or tools. Make sure you have proper equipment when making projects like these.

I first started by taking apart one of the pallets I had. I took my crowbar and hammer, hammering it underneath the wood and then pulling out the nail. You might need to add a little bit of leverage to the hammer if you're struggling to pull out a nail, and the same with the board.

Now that I have all my boards, I have started to measure the side panels. I measured 20 inches across. I wanted my boards to go vertical, but I later found that that would've been hard to do, but also, it wouldn't match the other planters.

I ordered the boards from top to bottom based on looks. The boards that were the nicest looking, I put on the top, while the uglier ones went on the bottom of the box. I also made the sides with the most dirt, face on the inside, having the cleaner side be seen.

I took my chop saw to cut the boards to length. Some of the boards were a bit cracked and therefore bent. So I took some clear Gorilla glue and clamped it. And for some of the others this wasn't much of a worry because once I screwed them in they should flatten.

In order for my panels to stay up and hold everything together, I made some corner supports that go on the inside corners of my box to hold all the panels. I first measured the length that I wanted to cut off, which is the same height as my box (just including the height of the panels, not the trim), 21 1/2 inches.

I was stuck with using the jigsaw because the table saw's blade was dull. We did have a new blade for it, we just lost where the fancy tool to tighten it was. Thankfully, though, we found it, so I was able to finish the rest with the table saw.

I laid down 4 panels, adding the supports on their edges to ensure it was the same size and aligned. Afterwards, I started screwing in the panels to the supports. It's best to make the sides first and then have them stand up and screw on the panels for the other side.

Pro tip: When screwing, make sure that you drill a hole first, and then add a screw because this makes sure that the wood doesn't creak.

I wanted to add a little trim to the top using a cut called a miter cut. It's a pretty cool name. Well, for this step, I grabbed another pallet and took it apart, and afterwards I measured 16 inches on one side. Because I wanted it to be an inch off the edge, I made it 18 inches. Same for the other side, although it was about 17 1/2 inches originally, so I made it 19 1/2 inches.

After I had all my measurements and the 2 pallets taken off, it was time to give it a miter cut. My dad likes to say, "Measure twice, and cut once," because you can only cut once. I cut the board on a 45-degree angle, and after cutting it all, I put it on the top of the box, and it looked beautiful!!!

I first took my angle cutter to cut a little spot out on my trim so the pole of my trellis would hold. Now obviously, I would need a little block behind it in the box that would hold it in place.

Funny thing, while I was using the angle grinder on this, the screws actually came out! I guess that makes sense. I think due to the vibration caused it to twist or move around in the hole. It most likely happened too because the screw did not have a great grip on the second piece of wood.

I measured 2.5 cms on a little support thing to hold my pole in my box. It was a bit of a struggle and a pain to have it stay still while I tried to screw it. The wood creaked because I forgot to screw a hole first, and my pole snaped in half later then.

Because the screws weren't long enough, I decided to glue it in place. I had the little support screwed to the pole so it would fit evenly, and I glued it to the box clamping it. Afterwards, I repaired the pole that broke in half with some wood glue.

For the first one, I measured about 2 inches off the poles for each side. I thought it would be nice that the bottom one was shorter, and then as it went up gradually, the top ones increased in length. The trellis allows the plant's vines to grow upward and latch onto bars and do its thing.

I added some little support on the inside's of my box so it can hold my Mom's plant. I screwed in two screws on each side of the support to hold the planter box.

Finally, sanding the box. I was very happy after sanding it too, it made the wood so much cleaner, taking away most of the dirt. When sanding, remember to wear some glasses cause it hurts quite a bit to get sawdust in your eyes and, if you have one, a mask. You've got to protect those lungs.

I used a wood stain to give my box a nice finish. To add coats properly, you need to add a second layer after the first layer while it is still wet.

P.S.: Sorry about the dark photo, I was staining it in the dark.

I'm very happy with how this came out. When my mom opened my gift and saw it, she was thrilled and loved it. She said she was going to use it for her sweet pea plant that grows on a trellis. And guess what there are already flowers and sweet peas on it! Yay!

Either way, I'm very proud of this project, and I plan to try more projects like this in the future.