Mailbox Planter

Turn a hanging mailbox into a fun planter for your flowers!

A few week’s ago at the Country Living Fair I saw SO many amazing vintage and antique items. One thing that kept catching my eye in several of the booths were antique mailboxes. You know, the kind that people used to hang on their front porches? Tall and rectangular. In particular, there was a light green one I was just drooling over. Unfortunately the price tag on them all was a bit much. Especially for what I intended to use it for.

I stumbled across this mesh mailbox at Hobby Lobby and knew I could use it instead! It may not have the same character as a vintage mailbox, but would look just as good!

Supplies:
Mailbox
Spanish moss
Preserved sheet moss
Diaper
Dirt
Flowers
Wire
Twine

I decided to paint my new mailbox to brighten it up. I used Indigo Streamer from Valspar. It’s a pretty close match to the color of my front door.

Line the inside of the mailbox with the preserved sheet moss. Make sure there are no gaps. It will help keep everything inside as well as make for a pretty liner.

Stuff the Spanish moss in the bottom half of the planter. This will help fill out the preserved moss as well as take up space inside the planter. We don’t want the entire inside filled with dirt so our plants do not get too large.

Open the diaper and place it absorbent side up on top of the Spanish moss. It will help keep the dirt moist, and help you water less frequently.

Top off the diaper with a layer of dirt. Add flowers and more dirt as necessary. Make sure that you can’t see the diaper through the moss or the dirt.

Use wire to keep the mailbox flap open and from sitting on the flowers.

Rather than attempt to hang the mailbox directly from the brick on my front porch, I chose to hang it with twine from the front porch lamp. One day I may dare to drill into the brick.

I think this is a fun way to greet guests at the front door! The level of dirt is shallow enough that the plants should not grow overly large. And since my front porch is nicknamed “the cave” for a reason, I chose some pretty shade loving plants that should thrive right here. Now I just have to remember to water it periodically!

This $10 find at Hobby Lobby doesn’t quite tell the same story as those beautiful vintage mailboxes from the Country Living Fair, but it certainly does the job!

 

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