Galvanized Ribbed Barrel Planters Are Coolest Ever!

While I was on Instagram recently, I saw a photo of some galvanized ribbed barrel planters on the Gardener’s Supply feed and immediately fell head-over-heels in love with them! I mean, the style is right up my alley: they have that country look that goes perfectly with my favorite type of decor.

When I swooned over them, they sent me one to test. It is just as awesome in person as the ones in their photo.

The planters come in three sizes — 10, 12 and 14 inches — and are very sturdy. Each one has a pair of handles which really adds to their charm. They are primarily made to place containers in as there aren’t any drainage holes in the bottom (not that your couldn’t add some).

The first thing that crossed my mind was how I could easily use it for seasonal displays on my front porch. And since it’s fall, you can see that I decided on a fun display. Since it’s late in the season, I didn’t really want to fill the pot with soil so here’s what I did: (remember that you can click on the photos to view larger images)

First, I found an empty cardboard bit that fit inside the barrel planter. I didn’t want the tops of the two pots to show, so I trimmed the box down to the perfect height.

I stopped at a local garden center and picked up two plants: a sedge (Carex ‘Red Rooster’) and a lovely purple fall-blooming aster. The bronze leaf blades on the sedge totally go with the Halloween theme, don’t you think? Each of the plants are perennials so they can go into the garden when I’m ready to switch displays.

Once I put the pots into the planter, I filled in around them with fallen pine needles. I could have used Spanish moss or some other type of filler but hey, we’ve got a ton of pine needles around here so it didn’t cost me a cent!

Then I added the white pumpkin and a turban squash. What fun!

You can find the size specifications for the three galvanized ribbed barrel planters at the above link. I like how they’re rust-resistant and the prices are quite reasonable ($24.95-$34.95). I definitely give these planters two thumbs up!

In the meantime, I’m already mulling over how I’ll change this out for a holiday display next month. Stay tuned…