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This is the trick that makes a pile of cheap fence pickets look like a store-bought designer planter: the corners are mitered at 45° so the grain wraps around the box with no end grain showing. The structure underneath doesn't care about looks — it's a set of plain 2x4 ladder frames, one at each end and one about every 24" — and the cedar skin does all the visual work.
Build the frames square and everything else is cladding. The bevels on the picket ends are the only fussy cuts, and they're all the same setting: 45°, long point to long point, ends NOT parallel — the board wraps a corner, so both bevels lean the same way. Cut one, check it against a frame corner, then run the rest.
The cut list here is the 72" x 36" three-board-tall garden bed. The same construction scales to six other published sizes (72x24, 72x18 in two heights, 48x24 in two heights, 24x24, 18x18) — only the frame rail lengths, picket lengths, and frame count change; the notes on each cut carry the pattern. Pickets top out at 72", which is what caps the planter length.
Cedar pickets are the cheapest cedar you can buy, but they're wet and rough off the rack. Buy straight ones, let them dry a few days, and expect to sand. The top trim is a picket ripped in half to ~2-1/2" — if you don't have a way to rip, a 1x3 does the same job for a little more money.
| Item | Qty |
|---|---|
| 2x4, 8 ftInner frames. Hidden inside the box — plain lumber is fine, treated lasts longer against soil. | 5 each |
| Cedar fence picket, 5-1/2" x 72", not dog-earedCladding, floor, and top trim for the 72x36 size. Buy straight ones — sight down every board. | 16 each |
| Exterior deck screws, 2-3/4"Frame assembly, two per joint. | 50 each |
| Exterior deck screws, 1-5/8"Attaching cedar to the frames. 6D galvanized framing nails also work. | 150 each |
| Exterior wood glueOn the miters and cladding — recommended for durability. | 8 oz |
| Exterior wood stainA penetrating stain rated for fences. Or leave the cedar to silver. | 1 qt |
| Landscape fabricLiner if planting directly instead of dropping in containers. | 1 each |
Overall cost: $$. Lumber prices vary by region, species, and season, so we give a band rather than a figure we would only be pretending to know.
| Part | Qty | T × W × L |
|---|---|---|
| Frame legs2x4Two per frame, four frames for the 72" length. 22-1/2" for the four-board-tall versions. | 8 | 1 1/2" × 3 1/2" × 17" |
| Frame rails2x4Rail length sets the planter width: 32" for the 36" bed, 20" for 24", 14" for 18". | 8 | 1 1/2" × 3 1/2" × 32" |
| Side picketsCedar fence picketBoth ends beveled 45°, long point to long point, ends NOT parallel — the grain wraps the corner. | 6 | 5/8" × 5 1/2" × 72" |
| End picketsCedar fence picketSame bevels. Cut to fit against the assembled sides. | 6 | 5/8" × 5 1/2" × 36" |
| Floor picketsCedar fence picket | 5 | 5/8" × 5 1/2" × 70" |
| Top trim, longRipped fence picketMitered 45° both ends, long point to long point. 1x3 substitutes. | 2 | 5/8" × 2 1/2" × 72" |
| Top trim, shortRipped fence picketMitered 45° both ends — cut to fit the assembled rim. | 2 | 5/8" × 2 1/2" × 36" |
Buy 22 boards at 8 ft.
5 boards
14 boards
3 boards
Assumes 8 ft stock, a 1/8" saw kerf, and buying each part at its own width. Change the board size or kerf on the full board plan →
Screw each frame together — two legs, two rails, two 2-3/4" screws per joint. You need a frame at each end and one about every 24" of planter length, so the 72" bed takes four.
Build them identical and square. The cedar skin will faithfully reproduce whatever shape these frames are, so a racked frame here is a twisted planter later. Check each one against the first.
Bevel the long side pickets first — 45°, long point to long point, both bevels leaning the same direction. Stand the frames on a flat surface, space them evenly, and attach the pickets with glue and 1-5/8" screws, keeping the bevel points exactly at the frame corners.
You can pin the boards with galvanized brads to hold layout, but follow up with screws — brads alone won't survive years of wet soil pushing outward.
Measure between the long sides' bevel points and cut the end pickets to fit — measure your actual box, not the cut list, because picket thickness varies and the miters have to close. Attach the same way.
If a miter won't quite close, a few passes with a sanding block on the back of the joint sneaks it tight without changing the show face.
Rip pickets in half to about 2-1/2" wide (or use 1x3), miter the corners at 45°, and cap the rim. Cut to fit against the real box, sneaking up on each miter.
The trim covers the top edges of the cladding and the frame legs, and it's what your eye reads first — take your time on these four joints. Tack with nails, then screw.
Lay the floor pickets across the bottom rails and tack them down. Leave small gaps between boards — water has to drain or the floor rots first.
Planting directly? Line the box with landscape fabric and cut drainage holes. Using nursery containers, skip the liner entirely. Stain with a penetrating fence-grade stain, and move the planter to its final spot BEFORE filling — soil is heavier than you think.
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