BUMPER BUDGET DIY PROJECTS

- Wētā house, bird feeder, hanging tool rack and herb garden, all from upcycled pallets.

Giving your garden a glow up doesn’t have to break the bank. Pallets are readily available for free, so Jacob Leaf shares ideas for using them to update outdoor space: first up, a hanging herb planter.

You will need

• 1 pallet

• 12 x 70mm screws to attach the planter baseboards to the three levels

• 4 x 50mm screws to attach the planter to the wall • Quick Dry Waterborne Primer Undercoat Resene Eighth Black White, Enamacryl Gloss Waterborne Enamel Resene Green, blackboard paint

Cost: $7 excluding Resene products.

Step 1

For a small vertical herb garden, cut your pallet in half following the outer edge of the middle stringer (stringers are the supports) as a guide.

Step 2

If you want a larger planter, leave it as is.

Step 3

Trim three boards from the offcuts to fit as bases for the three levels of the planter box.

Step 4

Paint, attach to your wall or fence, then plant up with your favourite herbs.

JACOB LEAF

(Ngāpuhi) is NZ Gardener’s DIY expert. When not constructing clever DIY projects for the magazine in his west Auckland garden, he works as a visual effects artist for film and TV.