Vertical garden

Jacob Leaf shows you how to maximise your growing space and elevate your gardening to new heights with this clever suspended pot stack.

How to make a vertical garden

You will need

Materials

1 x 10mm x 1m threaded rod
3 x 17cm round terracotta pots
1 x 10mm eye nut
6 x 10mm flat washers
4 x 10mm spring washers
7 x 10mm flange nuts
Resene Quick Dry Waterborne Primer Undercoat

Tools

Adjustable wrench
Paintbrushes
Masking tape

Paint colours

Cost: $75 excluding Resene products.

Instructions

The pots’ drainage holes need to be large enough to fit the 10mm threaded rod, or drill a hole to size. Decorate or paint them before assembly.

Step one — Middle pot

Thread a nut, a spring washer and a flat washer onto the threaded rod. Screw the nut along about 35cm from the bottom end of the rod. Slide on a spring washer and then a flat washer. Next, slide on the middle pot up to the flat washer. To secure, slide on a flat washer under the pot and screw it up tight with another flange nut. Don’t over-tighten and crack the pot.

Step two — Bottom pot

Add a flange nut, a spring washer and a flat washer to the bottom of the rod. Screw these along about 4-5cm, then slide on the bottom pot. Secure with another flat washer, then another flange nut tightened up underneath the pot.

Step 1
Step 1

Step 2-a
Step 2a

Step 2-b
Step 2b

Step three — Top pot

From the top of the threaded rod, screw a flange nut down to where the bottom of the top pot will sit (I put mine down about 30-33cm). Add a flat washer, then the top pot. To secure, slide down another flat washer, then a spring washer, then a flange nut.

Step four — Eye bolt

From the top of the threaded rod, screw a flange nut down about 4cm, then a spring washer, then the eye nut. Tighten the eye nut and the flange nut against one another to lock it in place.

To hang, install a screw-hook in a beam, pergola, eave, ceiling or under a balcony.

Step 3-a
Step 3a