Stunning and Affordable Gabion Planters Made in a Morning
Gabion planters have been used for centuries to add interest to gardens and landscapes and they are surprisingly easy to make too. According to wiki they were first used by ancient Egyptians to protect the banks of the Nile and the word gabion is derived from the Latin word gabbione, which means “big cage”. Well that makes sense 😉 They’re usually filled with rocks or other organic stuff and I think they look stunning in the garden. We made these this weekend and I couldn’t be happier with how they turned out.
Right, before we get to the good stuff, be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or Instagram. And don’t forget to subscribe so you’ll never miss a post!
How To Make Affordable Gabion Planters
In total, all three gabion planters took about 4 hours to make. All you need is some sturdy plastic coated wire mesh, cable ties, PVC pipe and a gazillion lots of pebbles. The pebbles need to be quite big so they don’t fall through the mesh.
You can’t make a big splash with a small pebble
Okay, so you might be thinking “What one earth do you need the PVC pipe for”. Once you add the pebbles, gabion planters can be quite heavy. Adding PVC pipe inside the planter makes it lighter and you don’t have to use as many pebbles 😉 The PVC pipe also helps create a stable core for the planter. We wanted the gabion planters to be different lengths to add some visual interest. After drawing a quick sketch to figure out how high we wanted the planters to be we cut the PVC pipe to fit inside the planters.
Hint: Keep those leftover pieces to make this gorgeous cable spool table or maybe this tall skinny little wine rack.
While I did the easy drawing and sawing bits the hubby cleared the space where the planters would go and compacted the soil. If your ground is soft or muddy you’ll need to create a concrete base for the planters to sit on. Fortunately, we didn’t have to do that 😉 We embedded the cut PVC pipes in the prepared area to a depth of about 15cm (6 inches) for extra stability.
Once the pipes were firmly squished into the soil we cut the wire mesh and built a round cage to fit around the pipes. To figure out how tall the cage should be we took the height of the pot that the plants were in and added the PVC pipe height plus a teeny bit for luck. We used cable ties to join the mesh together.
Filling the Gabion Planters
And then we started filling the cages with building rubble and pebbles. Soooooo many pebbles, ugh. I had all these plans of taking the black pebbles and doing some kind of funky design. I had these visions of a heart or wavy lines or something like that. That so didn’t happen. Nope, those pebbles just went in any way the fell. Building rubble can be used instead of pebbles to fill gaps. You just need to make sure that it’s not visible from the outside of the gabion planters and one brick equals about 10 pebbles. Now that’s a bargain!! While we filled the cages we used a half brick to smack the sides of the cage so the pebbles would smoosh and settle together firmly.
When the pebbles were level with the pipe, the pot plant was balanced on top of the pipe before adding more pebbles and rubble. We decided to put Yucca’s inside the gabion planters. Don’t you just love Yuccas? They’re hardy, love the sun, and don’t mind being ignored. If you’ve got a brown thumb, then these little babies are perfect. Just put them in a pot and leave them. The only time they need some love is when their leaves turn brown.
I love the contrast between the pebbles and the wire-coated mesh. So pretty. If you’re going to make extremely tall planters I would suggest you use a double layer of the mesh, so it’s strong enough to hold the pebbles.
Every little pebble in the stream believes itself to be a precious stone
The Yuccas add a touch of spiky gorgeousness. Just a word of warning their leaves are like mini swords.
If you’re not into the spiky look, lavender or rosemary would also work. They both thrive in sunshine and dry soil and they’ll chase all those mosquitoes and pesky flies away too. I love to hear what you think about the gabion planters. Is it something you would do in your garden? What would you plant in them?
And if you like to make your own, don’t forget to pin this DIY tutorial for later.
Sharing is caring 😉
If you enjoyed these gabion planters, then you’re going to love these other planter ideas too:
- Gorgeous succulent mushrooms that are guaranteed to wow
- Mossy pillow planters that will add a little magic to any garden
- A small window planter with faux, rusty window frames
- Unique and “oh, so stylish” broken wine glass planters
- A giant teacup planter, to add something fun to the garden
- And finally, our rustic eco-friendly branch mug planters
And if you’re looking for more stunning garden ideas, why not pop into DIY Idea Center. They’re celebrating National Garden Month and have put together a whole bunch of fun tutorials I’m sure you’ll enjoy. I’ve also added some affiliate links below so you don’t have to go searching for some of the stuff we used to make our gabion planters. Disclosure: If you click on them, we may receive a commission from Amazon. But don’t worry it won’t come out of your pocket, and it helps us come up with more ideas to share with you 😉
As always wishing you a beautiful week filled with love and sunshine.
Hello,
I’m trying to figure out a basic patern for the fence that goes aroung the planter. I’ll be doing about 30 smaller gabions, 2-3 ft. high, about the same across.
I’ve thought of using a larger pot for a pattern but haven’t tried that yet.
Thanks
I would use the average width of the pebbles that go around the planter as a guide. When I made these I placed the planter on the ground and mock wrapped the wire mesh around it and added a few pebbles to check the fit. Hope that helps.
Hi can you tell me how to keep the wire netting upright without supports as they tend to sag at the top , greatr idea but thats my only problem to date
So sorry to hear that Robert and it’s probably something that other people have experienced too, so thank you for asking the question. We used a really sturdy plastic-coated wire mesh and filled it to the top with pebbles. The wire mesh is about 4mm thick. I was worried that the tallest gabion planter in the middle would topple so I may have overcompensated with the wire mesh thickness. I’m not sure how thick your mesh is, but maybe that’s something you can check? You can also try inserting rebars on the sides or make a ring from baling wire (10 – 14 gauge). Depending on how wide your planters are, cut the baling wire and bend into a circle that’s the same diameter as the planter, weave the wire through the mesh. That should stop the sag.
Hi , Yes I have discovered I am using too fine of gauge wire, we live and learn, thank you for your prompt reply, love you work
Regards
Bob
You’re welcome, Bob. Thank you again for reaching out.
The link for Amazon for the chicken wire looks nothing like the planters that were made
Thank you so much for telling me Rose. I’ve changed the Amazon link 😉
Looks great! Wondered if after getting everything in place – what about grouting the rocks while covered with wire? Have grouted several projects in the past. Living in Alabama, (USA) we frequently have heat around 100 degrees. I would appreciate your ideas on this.
I don’t think that would be a problem at all Eliza and it would look really pretty too, almost like a stone pillar ruin. You would probably need to put a few smaller rocks into the bigger gaps between the rocks so the grout or cement can set properly. I would definitely try it and would love to see how yours turns out ?
So pretty! I love the design of this Gabion planters when I saw it at first sight!Thank you for sharing this impressive DIY tutorial!
Thanks so much Wendy ?
Hey Michelle: You solved a problem for me with this post. I want a pot that is big and heavy enough to hold a pole that I can hang baskets from. The purchased ones here were near $100 way beyond what I can pay. This is a wonderful work around. Pinning and will show hubs tomorrow. Thanks a million for the share.
Oh that’s great Leanna, I’m so glad it helped
I’ve seen something similar in Greece, and I fell in love with them! They are not so hard to make, and have an amazing effect on the decor…
And looking closer to that mesh gave me an idea for a new DIY project. I have some mesh, I have some pebbles… I should go to work! Thank you for the inspiration, Michelle! 🙂
I can’t wait to see what you come up with Gabi, it’s going to be amazing <3
This looks absolutely amazing! Love this idea, sharing and pinning!
Thanks so much Alexis, I’m glad you like them
Love how these turned out. Great idea using three different heights for them.
Thank you so much, I’m so glad you like them. We wanted to up the interest factor just a bit so it made sense at the time to make them different hieghts
It looks amazing. It has some kind of exotic touch! Pinning it, it’s a wonderful project!
Thank you Cristina 😀
These are fabulous, Michelle – just love them with the bamboo fence as a backdrop behind them too!
Awww thanks Marie, those bamboo fences hide our workshop area clutter from the garden. They always make me think of the little beach pubs in Mozambique
Wow, what an amazing idea! I never saw or heard of them before. I will have to see if I can do even just one! They look stunning in your garden!
Oh that’s great Carolann, I’m glad you like them and hope you get to make one at least 😉
I love this idea!! What a great way to get some verticalness (is that a word?) outside!!
Jodie
http://www.jtouchofstyle.com
I’ll go with verticalness Jodie, that’s a good word 😉
verticality is the proper word lol! But, I do love new words and verticalness is fun!
? ?
I would totally use these in my garden! I just don’t have one at the moment and moving one of these things from place to place in my apartment sounds very heavy. But, these planters are so gorgeous! Well, done Michelle! I think if I had some I would probably do some cacti. They grow really well in my region and it’s okay if I forget about them for a while. 😉 Maybe I’ll do some of these planters once I have a permanent yard. They really are so gorgeous and eye catching!
One day soon, you’ll have a homestead 😉 and I agree with you the contrast of the hard rocks against the prickly cacti would look so stunning Gina.
These are such a beautiful addition to your garden, Michelle! I love the different colors of the pebbles!
Thank you so much Tara, one day I’ll try doing the whole pebble pattern thing, but for now I’m happy with how they turned out
To make a pattern, hot glue the pattern pebbles to the mesh, then fill. Be careful not to knock the pattern loose! The glue may let go in the heat or cold, but the pattern should stay together, with only a little distortion from natural shifting.
That’s an amazing idea Shirley. Thank you so much you’ve just made my day. Now I need to find some time to redo the planters ❣
They look amazing, of course I’d love them in my garden. I would need Mary’s shore to collect hundreds of pebbles because I already have some chicken wire (would it work too?) I didn’t know about the yuccas, they seem like my kind of plant.
Chicken wire will definitely work Pili, you just need to make sure it’s galvanized so it doesn’t rust and you might need to fold it double depending on how tall you want your gabions. And I’m loving your idea of going to visit Mary to get the pebbles 😉
These planters are so cute, I thought it is too difficult to make but you explained so nicely that a person like me, who has no knowledge of gardening can even understand how to make it. The idea of putting PVC pic in the middle is a great idea, pebbles inside the wire cage look so cute.
They’re the easiest things to make, the most difficult bit was probably adding the pebbles in the cage. I’m glad you like them Sadhna
Michelle I have the same exact plants. Those are the only ones, along with aloe vera that manage to survive on my balcony. What you did here is really clever. The plants have height and an interesting look on the bottom. I love the look of the stones!
Aren’t they just awesome as easy care focus plants? Thank you Mary, I’m glad you like the gabion planters
Michelle, I think these planters are awesome!! Yes I would definitely want some of these in my garden or around the house, maybe next year. 😉 I like the Yuccas too and that sound just perfect for my brown thumb, lavender sounds wonderful too. Another fantastic project and thanks for sharing the tutorial!!
I’m really glad you like the gabion planters Keri 😉 Both the Yucca and Lavendar are so easy to look after too and make beautiful accent plants
What a great idea! I have never heard of gabions, but love them. Growing yuccas in a pot is probably the best way to grow them, never thought of that. I’ve only had them in the ground and they do get out of hand, and a pain to dig up.
Yeah they’s beautiful but do tend to take over a bit. We have a ginormous one in our front garden that’s slowly pushing over a wall. I’m dreading the day that we’ll have to take her out. Thanks for your lovely comment Linda
Ok, I need you in my garden asap! Like asap! This is a fantastic idea to have the plants up high, cause our naughty bunnies just nibble on everything, so that would be a great solution! And I have two of those yukkas, I love them, because they don’t mind me ignoring them and just stay pretty anyways, lol! One was too low and well, the stem is the only thing that is left, because the bunnies even love these leaves, lol! Anyway, I love this idea Michelle, it looks so pretty and really gives the garden a lovely vibe!!
I’m jumping on the plane right now Katrin, I’ve got to meet your bunnies 😀 They make the most amazing pets, when they’re not destroying the garden.
I’ve never heard of gabions but, they’re gorgeous and so substantial looking! We used to have 1 Yucca in our yard we had to pull out for something else and I can attest to the sharpness 😉 Love how they turned out, Michelle. Pinned & sharing
Oops ouch that must have hurt Angie. I love Yuccas but prefer them in pots where they can’ts get too out of hand and their flowers are so beautiful too. I’m so glad you like the gabions 😉
What a fantastic idea! So easy too! These would cost an absolute fortune to buy here in London. I might/will be trying this. Great tip and good instructions. Thank you!
http://www.vanityandmestyle.com
Thank you so much Laurie and you’re right, even in South Africa they’re quite pricey if you buy them