12 Ways to Make Your Own Garden Planters

Instead of letting an old, unused fountain collect dust or turn into a mosquito-breeding pond, transform it into a tiered planter to bring back its beauty and usefulness. Cover the pump or ports that provide water flow with landscaping cloth -- in case you want to use the fountain for its original purpose again someday -- then add soil and assorted short-rooted plants. You could even add tiny furniture and a few accouterments to turn it into a deluxe fairy garden.

If your idea of the perfect planter is one that requires no water or maintenance of any kind, this is the project for you. Strip the fleshy stem material off of a few fake succulent plants, leaving each as a thin wire with a small plant on top. Wrap each wire around the base of a pen with floral wire, arrange the pens in your favorite vase or vessel, then surround them with river rocks. Tada -- eternal succulents.

Build a set of airy planters out of scrap chicken wire and unused paint stirrers for a new take on repurposing. Unroll chicken wire and bend it into a basic box shape with each side the same length as a paint stirrer. Staple stirrers around the top and bottom of the structure, fit it with a coconut-fiber basket liner, then add potting soil and your favorite flowers.

Offer party guests favors they'll actually enjoy -- tiny custom-painted plant pots filled with living plants. Decorate each pot with stripes or designs created by painting between strips of painter's tape. Once the paint dries, fill each pot with soil and a succulent. Top the soil off with colorful aquarium gravel for a festive look.

Build your own cedar planter box, complete with trellis, for an elegant addition to your yard or patio. Build a basic box structure from cedar planks, then cut a scalloped base to elevate your creation. Embellish the top with wood trim, paint the piece, then fit it with a trellis made from inch-wide boards. Place the planter anywhere you'd like, then fill it with soil and roses or your favorite climbing vines.

Perfect for Earth Day or any day, these adorable kid-friendly planters are made from repurposed plastic jugs and bottles. Cut openings in the jugs to allow space for planting, then poke a few holes in the bottom for drainage. Decorate the plastics with paints, googly eyes or added adornments to create planters that resemble animals, mythical creatures or even animated minions. What's not to love?

Create these oh-so-adorable planters out of concrete and an assortment of milk cartons and jugs. Cut the containers so they're half their usual heights, then pour in a quick-setting concrete. A smaller container, like a plastic cup, creates the form for the soil -- coat it in vegetable oil so it doesn't stick in the concrete. Peel the outer container away once the concrete hardens, then add soil and plants.

For another take on concrete planters, craft these creations by using salad bowls, kitchenware or shaped plastic pots as the molds or forms. Coat the inside of the larger, outer vessel with cooking spray so you can remove the hardened concrete with ease. Use a smaller bowl or vessel, its outside coated with cooking spray, to form the cavity for soil and plants.

Polymer clay pebbles take center stage for this nature-inspired planter. Select your favorite colors of polymer clay and mix them together a bit to create faux polished pebbles or stones. Press the clay stones together inside an oven-safe glass bowl to take on the bowl's shape, then bake it and cool it in the oven. Pop the planter out of the bowl and add your favorite succulents and soil.

For a completely different take on planter, hollow out a pumpkin and use it as a festive fall display. Remove the pumpkin innards, like you would if carving the pumpkin, then add soil and your favorite autumn plants. Since these are made from actual pumpkins, cut them a day or two before a holiday party or special day. For a more durable option, use a foam pumpkin designed for carving.