Concrete outdoor flowerpots: how to make, install and maintain
A beautiful garden plot should be fragrant with flower beds and delight the eye with intricate plant compositions. In this regard, concrete outdoor flowerpots are a necessary piece of garden design. Unlike concrete, plastic containers are not as resistant to temperature changes, frost and the scorching sun. In addition, large massive pots will add solidity and prestige to any flower arrangement.
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Concrete outdoor flowerpots: main material
Concrete plant pots perfectly retain moisture and do not dry out on hot days. At the same time, concrete does not heat up as much as metal or ceramics, it keeps the roots of flowers at a temperature that is comfortable for them. If you wish, you can make outdoor flowerpots with your own hands.
In order for the flowerpot to last long enough, you need to select high-quality concrete for its manufacture. The main requirements for the material:
- water resistance, a vase for the street must withstand natural moisture for more than one season;
- strength, in such a container, you will need to transplant plants, loosen the ground, if necessary, move the mini-flower bed to a new place.
For the manufacture of concrete flower bed you can use two ways:
- Option one. For work, you need to prepare: peat or expanded clay - 2 parts, coarse sand - 1 part, cement - 1 part, water. Water is gradually added to the solution until a viscous mass is formed. The resulting mixture is poured into a mold and allowed to harden.
- Option two. The composition of the mixture: cement - 1 part, sand with medium grain - three to five parts, water. The solution is poured into a prefabricated structure from plywood, which is disassembled after the composition has solidified.
When working on the manufacture of concrete outdoor flowerpots, you should adhere to several recommendations:
- work not in the scorching sun;
- do not rush to remove the product from the mold;
- use durable decor elements.
The composition hardens in the form for at least twenty four hours. If you hurry and remove the product from the mold before the deadline, cracks and chips may form. After the pot is removed from the mold, it is advisable to lower it into a container of water and keep it in it for five to seven days.
Forms for large concrete flowerpots
It is not difficult to buy molds for making flowerpots from concrete or to make it yourself from used containers: cans, buckets, cans.
In every private household, you can find many objects suitable for forms. You can find such things at sales and flea markets. The more unusual the shape, the more interesting the flower garden will be. If the mold does not allow the finished product to be removed, it is simply cut or broken.
For garden pots, you can even use cardboard boxes of different sizes, which can be nested inside one another. To prevent the boxes from falling apart, they are additionally reinforced with tape, and the bottom and walls are laid with polyethylene.
Helpful information! Concrete outdoor flowerpots made with large wicker baskets look especially and elegant. A weaving pattern is imprinted on the surface of the concrete, and the pot looks like a basket.
Algorithm for making concrete flowerpots
- The inner walls of the mold are treated with vegetable oil.
- For drainage, it is necessary to prepare 4 pipe sections, five centimeters each.
- The solution is mixed according to one of the above recipes. You can add dye to the solution during the mixing process.
- The solution is poured onto the bottom of the mold in a layer two to three centimeters thick. Pipe scraps are installed in the bottom - these will be drainage holes.
- After the first layer has set, the inner part of the mold is set and the walls are poured.
- After a day, the inner part of the mold is removed, and the larger part remains for another week. During this entire period, the form must be periodically moistened with water.
- After seven days, the pot can be removed from the outside of the mold and filled with plant soil.
Video: how to make a pot of concrete with your own hands
Decorating outdoor flowerpots
The easiest way to decorate a concrete container is with paint. The surface should be treated with a deep penetrating primer, such as concrete contact. For painting outdoor products, water-resistant acrylic-based dyes are used. You can give the desired color to the flowerpot even during the filling process by adding the desired pigment to the solution.
For outdoor pots, it is better to choose not too bright colors, otherwise they will distract attention from the plants. The vase should only act as a frame for the flower garden. You can paint flower beds with a pattern or ornament.
Vases with carved ornaments look unusual and airy. It is applied with a knife while the cement mixture hardens. For this purpose, you can also use a power tool, such as a drill.
Another din decoration option is a bas-relief. The simplest pattern can be made using large burdock leaves or other plants. They are fixed on the inside of the casting mold. After the mixture hardens, a trace will remain on it.The remnants of leaves are removed with water, and the print is highlighted with a light tint.
Helpful information! Directional garden lighting will help to focus on the street flowerpot. In the dark, flashlights on solar powered will highlight the mini-flower bed and create an original composition.
Concrete outdoor flowerpots can be exquisitely decorated with colored glass, ceramic or pebble mosaics. The decoration of concrete containers with shell rock or jute rope looks original.
In principle, you can buy flowerpots for flowers made of concrete of a standard, square or round shape quite cheaply and turn them into real masterpieces using imagination and materials at hand.
A few tips
- To drill the drainage holes in the concrete pot, use a stone drill.
- Before painting the concrete surface, it is necessary to level and plaster all defects. To paint the flowerpot in light colors, you will need to apply white primer beforehand.
- To make the concrete solution harden faster, lime or gypsum is added to it.
- In street pots, you can change flowers every season. Bulbous plants are planted in them in spring, viola or cineraria in summer, asters and petunia in autumn.
- Concrete flower beds are usually installed along garden paths, by the porch or stairs... In an open space, such a flowerpot can become the center of a flower garden.
Concrete flowerpot as a garden decoration
You can make your garden plot beautiful and original with the help of a variety of garden pots with bright flower arrangements. These concrete containers can be bought in specialized stores or made by hand using simple technology and materials at hand.
A concrete flowerpot can be turned into a real art object and make it an expressive center of a plant composition.