Rebuilding the Front Porch Planters

We have three large planters on the front porch.  Linda got these years ago and has been trying to keep plants growing in them.  But they get limited sunlight -- on the North side of the house -- and limited water -- under the front porch, so no rain, they have to be hand watered.  And then in the winter, the North wind blows and everything freezes.

So Linda has decided to rebuild these.

First we took out all the existing (mostly dead) plants, and then dug out the soil to get an empty planter.

We made sure that the two drainage holes were open.  Then covered the bottom with a weed barrier, to keep the soil from leaking out, or clogging, the drainage holes.

Next, Linda made up a mixture of Perlite and Coir coconut fiber and filled the bottom half of the planter with that.

This is to provide a base that is good, permeable, soil.  The coconut coir fiber comes in these compressed blocks and has to be soaked to allow it to expand and be worked.

On top of this base, Linda put pots with the plants she wants and then put a decorative layer of moss around them.

The hope is that this will allow the plants to be easily replaced if need be, and to be brought into the garage if it gets too cold.

Repeat for all three of the planters.