Display your plants to their best advantage
Around this time of year, when the catalogues are flowing through the letterbox thick and fast, I’ll often flick through and inevitably end up looking through the pots, tools and other garden paraphernalia at the back. Something that always catches my eye is the page dedicated to ‘plant theatres’; wooden or metal structures that are either a stepped effect or something that resembles a small bookshelf.
In the past, these have also been known as Auricula theatres, aimed at showing off your prized collection, but I’m not using mine for Auriculas… For this project I’ve used a simple electric jigsaw and powered screwdriver, but a handsaw and regular screwdriver would do the job just as well with some elbow grease!
Step 1: I’ve used old off cuts of wood for this, but you could use pallets (my favourite) or any other wood you can find. For this design you’ll need the following lengths: 1x70cm (27.5in) for the roof, 2 x 100cm (3ft) for the sides, 3 x 50cm (20in) for your shelves (and bottom) and then 6 x 100cm (3ft) for the back panel. To do this as cheaply as possible, look at popular online social media marketplaces for free wood.
Step 2: Lay out your shape using my photo as an illustration to make sure your pieces fit together as planned. You should have a rectangular shape with long sides and the roof should be wider than the shelves.
Step 3: Once you’re happy that you’ve got it laid out properly then you can fix it together using outdoor wood screws or nails suitable for the outdoors. One nail or screw at each connecting point should be enough.
Step 4: When your overall shape is there, you can add the back panels should you wish. These theatres can be fixed to a wall or fence, in which case the back isn’t always necessary, but as mine is freestanding I have added a back.
Step 5: At this point you could also paint the structure. One of my favourite colours for woodwork in the garden is called ‘Sage Green’, which is colourful without being over the top – but why not go over the top?! Bold colours work well too!
Step 6: And the most fun part? Adding your choice of plants. As I said at the start, auriculas work particularly well in a theatre as it’s an ideal way of showing off their bright flowers, but the choice is yours. I ended up using mine for a selection of herbs, empty terracotta pots and ornaments and a couple of my seedlings too. You’ve got endless options with how you can use yours.
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