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Container Gardening: How to Plant a Boxwood Planter
When we moved into our first home, I got really into working on our outdoor spaces. And in an effort to keep things timeless and simple, I started with a classic terracotta planter and boxwood plant. Evergreen boxwoods and terra cotta planters provide year-round greenery and a timeless, beautiful aesthetic to any patio or garden. My gardening journey began with a few boxwoods and evolved into topiaries, pachysandra, and these planters. These evergreens are easy enough to maintain and are perfect for adding interest to any outdoor space. Keeping then alive and damage-free is fairly easy unless you live somewhere with extreme weather, like I do. So here’s how to (properly) plant a boxwood planter.
Container Gardening: How to Plant a Boxwood Planter
This was such a fun project that started with preparing our terra cotta planters, planting our boxwoods, and then aging our planters. I am so glad we decided to age them. The process was surprisingly easy and gave our planters a beautiful patina.
I was advised against adding packing peanuts and an upside down pot to add height and to fill the planter. It is best to mimic natural conditions, so filling the pot with soil is a better option. And while you could choose artificial plants, but nothing compares to real boxwood greenery.
How to prepare your boxwood for winter
If you live in an area with harsh winters, it is important to note that these plants are susceptible to winter burn. To prevent winter damage to your boxwood shrubs, add a layer or two of bubble wrap to the inside of the planter – this will protect the plant’s roots. We plan on using a dolly to bring our boxwoods into the garage during winter. Wrapping the greenery with burlap or bringing it indoors or to a covered area will protect it from snow.
My planters and gardening tools are linked here.
Aging your terra cotta planter
This is the quickest, easiest, and cheapest way to give character to your terra cotta planters. All you need is plain yogurt and a foam brush. Just brush the yogurt on with a foam brush, covering the planter completely. Leave the planter outside for a few weeks and watch it age. I’d say it took a few weeks for the pots we “aged” to achieve the desired look we were hoping for.
Where we bought our boxwoods and planters
We opted to age a few of the planters – you can see one of them here. Our planters were picked up at Home Depot and Christy Weber in downtown Chicago.
This post was originally published in 2021.
