Over the weekend I finished my DIY privacy planter trellises for a patio scene I’m creating. The investment property we’re almost ready to sell needed something simple and welcoming on the patio for the next buyer, so this is the solution I came up with.
We had been back and forth for months with the HOA with submissions for a new fence to enclose this patio and none of our submitted plans were satisfactory to them. I got tired of dealing with the cranky homeowners association, and a little impatient too, so I decided on an alternative solution that wasn’t a permanent fence. I created a plant filled sitting area with rectangular planters filled with vertical climbing evergreens secured to a slatted trellis that I built for each planter.
This idea came to me from the pandemic. During 2020 and 2021, restaurants in California were serving mostly outdoors so many of them created parklets where they moved tables and chairs into parking spaces just outside their establishments. They all got creative, some used tents, others used blockades, but a few of them came up with a more elegant solution, pairing tall planters with shrubs to create the surround of their new outdoor dining area.
I was inspired by that idea, so I built a slated planter trellis to fit in each planter to enclose this patio space and create more privacy with greenery.
To create this scene, we purchased four of these 48” wide polystone rectangular planters that are available in multiple colors. I made the slatted privacy trellises myself and added climbing evergreen plants to each planter to create an airy enclosure.
You can build a trellis in any size and shape to fit inside any substantial planter that’s strong enough to support it if it’s freestanding or place it against a wall.
For the posts I bought 6 foot boards at Lowe’s and cut them down to 5 feet with a miter saw.
For the slats I bought 2 ¼” lattice in 8 foot long size and cut it in half to make 48” strips.
I used a piece of the lattice to separate the slats the same width as the wood. Nine slats stapled to the 3” wide boards created this trellis.
When they were all stapled together with my nail gun, I stained them black with this solid color stain.
I’m posting a video in Instagram Reels to show the process from start to finish, look for that today.
Here are a few more glimpses of the lattice privacy trellises in the planters with evergreens attached with wire.
sources: palm leaf outdoor rug / faceted stool / patio chairs / white vases
This rectangular planter + trellis combo is a great solution for creating privacy and adding greenery in an impermanent way to porches or patios!