The way to Make Sturdy DIY Patio Gentle Planters | Thrifty Decor Chick

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The way to set up STURDY cafe patio string lights with out bushes!

Putting in these out of doors string lights was on my checklist for years after we moved into our home! The issue was, we had a brand new yard with no mature bushes to connect the lights to.

I had to determine a technique to dangle these patio lights in a secure means so they might maintain as much as rain, wind and snow.

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We love these out of doors string lights specifically. They’re sturdy, commercial-grade strands that maintain as much as every part. We saved them up in rain, wind and snow and so they nonetheless look/work nice as we speak.

It helped that we had bushes sufficiently big to carry the load of those — they’re heavier than your common out of doors lights, however once more…they final without end.

Understanding we had been going to hold them over the brand new patio, I grabbed a pair bins of the lights final yr. I used to be actually hoping to get them up final fall, nevertheless it did not occur:

As a result of we do not have bushes across the patio but (and it could be years earlier than they’d be sturdy sufficient to carry the sunshine strands), we had to determine a unique possibility.

I have been researching this for a yr as a result of it was so vital for this to a.) be practical, b.) look good and c.) not break the bank. I gathered data from a bunch of tutorials I discovered after which we needed to make some extra modifications on the finish I am going to share with you. (Trace: the tutorials we discovered did not work for the heavier lights!)

Let’s get began! I am going to checklist ALL of the objects you will want on the finish of the put up, however listed below are the step-by-step directions.

Step 1: Collect the planters you would like to make use of.

Among the tutorials I discovered used wooden wine barrel planters — however the ones I discovered both had giant holes already drilled into the underside or they weren’t tremendous sturdy. I used to be fearful the concrete would ooze out between the slats of wooden.

I purchased three plastic planters for this challenge awhile again, however I made a decision they had been too tall and never huge — you need one thing that has a large base. We returned these and received these plastic barrel planters as a substitute:

They nonetheless have that wine barrel look however ought to maintain up a lot better!

I initially had three planters, however we ended up utilizing two once we found out what number of ft of lights we had.

Step 2: Safe the poles within the planters.

Subsequent, we grabbed eight foot 4×4’s for every planter. The short set cement set actually quick — however this subsequent step was useful. I put in “L” brackets onto the underside of every 4×4 after which screwed them into the underside of the planters earlier than including the cement:

This won’t maintain them tremendous safe (no less than with plastic planters), so you’ll be able to’t let go simply but — however they do assist!

I’ve by no means use cement nevertheless it was surprisingly simple! We used two 50 pound baggage of Quikrete for every planter:

We added and blended one bag at a time — you add the cement after which spray water. You do not want a ton of water — simply combine in addition to potential so there is no dry cement left:

For the primary planter it took three of us as a result of I used to be fearful the 4×4 would not maintain at first. However the cement units up so quick, it simply took two of us for the second.

Use a degree to verify the 4×4 throughout this course of. It would not need to be completely straight — keep in mind you’ll be able to alter the mulch or dust beneath the planters to assist make the poles straight.

Inside 15-20 minutes it wasn’t budging:

Cement planters for outdoor string lights

You’ll be able to stain or paint the 4×4’s earlier than setting them within the cement, however I am too impatient for that. I wished to get them up! It was simple to get them stained after the actual fact:

Step three: Safe the planters into the bottom (if wanted).

Soooo this half went rather well and was means simpler than we thought it could be. That’s, till we began pulling on the 4x4s a bit…and we realized there was no means these would not tip over from the load of the lights. (Even with 100 kilos of cement!)

The lights aren’t CRAZY heavy…however we had been draping them throughout the patio, so the gap provides some rigidity. We had our handyman come out to have a look (he was serving to me dangle the lights anyway) and he got here up with an excellent answer.

He discovered lengthy metallic metal flats on the ironmongery shop that he pounded into the bottom after which secured into the cement portion of the pots:

You will want a stone/cement drill bit to get into the set cement. You can even do that whereas the cement is drying with a daily drill bit.

He connected 4 to every planter and it labored like a allure!! Sensible. They do not budge. I am shocked the planters within the tutorials I discovered keep upright — however as I discussed, if you’re putting them nearer collectively or utilizing light-weight mild strands, they may most likely work. (Our lights are strung 20+ ft over the patio.)

As a result of I used to be filling the remaining a part of every planter with soil and crops, I drilled just a few holes into the perimeters of the planters so water would not pool up inside:

I discovered a flat of those succulents at Lowe’s — it was SO simple to plant! You’ll be able to both simply lay them down over the dust or tear them into items like I did:

Hopefully they do nicely on the market! One flat was $21 and I had loads for the 2 planters. Within the spring I am going to add petunias that may spill over the perimeters.

Step 4: Dangle the lights with {hardware}.

Subsequent it was time to get the lights hung! I purchased this light hanging kit final yr and it had every part we wanted:

We had loads of {hardware} and wire leftover. In case you are draping the lights lower than seven ft, you’ll be able to simply dangle them by themselves. The model recommends that you simply use wire for distances longer than that.

The package comes with 150 ft of wire, which was far more than we wanted. The out of doors lights we use are from Feit and are 48 ft every. So you will simply need to map out the design you need based mostly in your house and the way lengthy your lights are. I knew the place we wished to begin (the nook of the patio so we might entry a plug), and I positioned the planters (earlier than we added cement) the place we wished them to drape:

How to hang outdoor lights without trees

It is exhausting to find out precisely how a lot you will use, so we knew the position of the final attachment to the again of the home would depend upon how a lot of the lights had been left, if that is sensible. We thought it could attain to the nook of the home, however as a substitute we needed to transfer it in a bit. This made it so we did not have any extra lights/wire hanging down.

It’s SO stunning and even higher than I imagined!:

DIY string light cement planters tutorial

We hung the wire after which used small zip ties to connect the lights. You’ll be able to string the wire by means of the holes within the lights beforehand, however the zip ties after was simpler. This fashion you’ll be able to safe the wire first after which add the lights after the actual fact.

I all the time lean to a less complicated look so I did not need this to get too busy. We might have added extra planters and lights and had them travel many occasions…however I favor this! If you need extra, go for it!:

Patio with DIY outdoor lights in planters

I shared all about these superior industrial cafe lights right here — within the few years since that put up, they now make them in LED as a substitute. This can save on electrical energy — every bulb is just one watt.

The outdated units got here with a ton of additional bulbs as a result of they had been glass. These are plastic so that they solely present just a few additional (additionally as a result of they will final MUCH longer than the incandescent model). The LED model can also be lighter (weight clever) than those we used years in the past.

I do not all the time love LED lights, particularly outdoors. I favor a hotter mild, however as you’ll be able to see, these aren’t stark in any respect. Very heat and welcoming:

Be sure to tighten the bulbs nicely — if they are not working that is normally the issue.

We had been going to have a change run down the porch column so we might simply flip these on and off, however our handyman jogged my memory {that a} distant change would work simply as nicely. We saved SO a lot cash utilizing that as a substitute of getting electrical work finished.

That is the remote we used — simply plug it into the outlet, then plug the lights into the gadget. You’ll be able to flip the lights on and off from inside or outdoors simply. This is a take a look at the lights when it is utterly darkish: