How to repurpose pallet for fence hanging planter?

KRW

I have a couple of pallets, that aren't  heavy weighted, that I collected a while ago from bunnings that I'd like to use as a kind of hanging planter to hang over my wooden fence. 

Looking for recommendations the best way to do this in terms of what type of flowers would be best and soil. I'm located in SEQ and the fence line gets full sun but can move planters further down along the shadier side if that would be better.

Also looking for suggestions about building materials and such about how to best go about making this project.

This picture is the inspiration behind this project. 

And this is what I'm working with in terms of my fence and backyard side

Any suggestions appreciated, thank you. 

JacobZ

Hi @KRW,

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community, it is fantastic to have you with us.

I'll start by mentioning that pallets are not treated for direct contact with soil. There's no reason you can't use them in this application, but you can't expect them to last for a lifetime, and you should expect the timber to degrade or rot at some point. As long as you are happy with this, let's proceed.

You'd have to start by adding a bottom to each of the planter boxes. If there are spare pallet boards, you could use them, or you could use 90 x 12mm DAR or 64 x 19mm DAR, depending on the thickness of the pallet. You could use a 3mm drill bit to put some pilot holes, every 300mm or so, through the base piece into the bottom of the pallet boards and then use 40mm Galvanised Timber Screws to fix it in place. 

You could then use some galvanised angle brackets with the same screws as above to attach the pallet to the fence. Attach the brackets to the pallet's runners and the fence rails for the most solid connection.

Some great small and colourful flowers to consider include alyssums, marigolds, portulacas, calibrachoas, and dianthuses will be great in full sun, just make sure to keep their watering consistent.

For your soil, this Scotts Osmocote Plus 50L Tomato, Vegetable And Herb Premium Planting Mix would be perfect.

Let me know what you think, and if you have further questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Jacob