Create this fun and easy DIY planter with Solar fountain. Using a galvanized fire ring and a old tub you can DIY this fun garden center piece. Hummingbirds love it and so will you!
Step by step I share how you can put together this simple DIY planter with a solar fountain in your garden.
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Soon the petunias and alyssum will fill in and the planter will be spilling over with purple and white blossoms.
This is the new centerpiece for my Secret Garden and I will have a pathway leading up to the four sides. That will segment the garden into 4 quadrants like the Paradise gardens. I will be sure to update the photos as the planter fills in.
Supplies: (if you tap on text that is Red it will take you to where you can order items)
36″ Fire Ring
22″ to 25″ Galvanized Tub
3 Concrete Pavers or Cinder Blocks
Potting Soil
Solar Fountain (I have tried several, this one works great if you know how to use it. Watch how I get it started in the video)
We started with finding the center of our oddly shaped back garden by measuring from all angles.
The 36″ galvanized fire ring was purchased from a local feed supply but this one is similar. I should’ve placed wire mesh under it to prevent rodents from burrowing but failed to do so. I would advise you to be sure and include that step.
Supports for galvanized tub
Next step is to decide on a firm support for the galvanized tub. You need something solid so it can hold up the tub filled with water. My husband recommended cinder block but I used the 12″ concrete pavers. I had them on hand already.
Using 3 of the concrete pavers I set them in and made sure they are placed where the bottom rim of the galvanized tub will set.
Then I filled in with pulled weeds, garden debris and some chicken litter from the pen. Water it in to settle it.
It can be tricky to keep the pavers on edge until you have it filled in enough to support them but it can be done.
Fill with whatever you wish but leave about 6″ room for potting soil or aged compost on top. Then go ahead and top it up with the potting soil or compost.
Because mine is filled partially with garden debris it will sink down as that debris composts. I will just add more aged compost or potting soil as it does so.
Now is the time to place the galvanized tub on top of the pavers. Center is as much as possible.
Some part of the pavers may show but they will soon be concealed by the plants we will plant in there.
Next fill the tub with water and add your solar fountains.
As I finish up the pathways and the flowers fill in I know this DIY planter with solar fountain will make a stunning garden centerpiece.
I will be sure to share progress shots as it changes over on my Instagram and Facebook pages!
More garden tips and tricks
Buckets and Tubs garden
DIY rustic box or crate
Hummingbird Fountain
More DIY Water features
Happy Gardening!
Mary C says
I’ve looked at the solar fountains on Amazon and they have so many terrible reviews. So which one did you get and is it still working? I love your fountain!
Pamela says
In the post under supplies I list the one I like the best. It is highlighted in red and you just have to click on it. I have bought 4 myself and friends have bought some too. My friends thought theirs were faulty but in fact they did not know how to utilize it best. In the video of the post I show how I “burp” the fountain and it begins working. They get air locks and you just need to help clear it. I assume from the reviews I have read as well that most don’t know they need to do that and think the fountain does not work. It has been “user” error not a faulty device. The two I am using in this post are from last year and are still working fine. Two got bit on by raccoons puncturing them so they had to be tossed. I am assuming they would still be working if they had not been mauled by those pesky creatures.
I did receive one that was obviously damaged but the return and replacement were free and easy.
I hope this helps.
Debbie says
Your flowering yard is beautiful! And I love the solar fountain. I have one and don’t know where to place it for full sun. Thanks for the info on air locks with the fountain. Think I’ll put it on my sunny patio!
Jayne Cambra says
I bought one of these fountains; but you’ve got to make sure it’s in full sun so that it works properly. They are fun to watch!
Naomi Shelton says
That looks so easy, Pamela! Easier than the terra cotta pot one you made a while ago.
I have a cement pad next to my house where an old AC unit used to sit. Do you think I could dispense with the -ire ring and just sit the galvanized tub on that? I could put down a layer o- mulch to make it look nice and just set pots around the -ountain. Although, I do like the look o- the ring with the soil and plants in it.
Thanks -or this -ountain idea.
Vanessa says
Clever! Do you get hummingbirds at yours? A few years ago I was at a hotel in California and completely charmed by the hummingbirds playing in the fountain there.