Coffin Planter BOx

A goth gardener’s fall planting delight

Chris built a wooden coffin circa 2017 for the Vampire Lair party. Since then, it has made its way into the annual home haunt. This year, we are using it as a garden box filled with autumn plants in purple hues and nestled in bones for some beauty in the macabre. Here’s how we did it.

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Materials:

1 wooden coffin (measuring 70 inches long, 12 inches deep, and 22 inches at the widest spot)

12 bricks (optional)

6 feet of landscape fabric (optional)

200 quarts (or 6.6 cubic feet) potting mix

2 purple mums

3 ornamental cabbages with purple veins

12 purple pansies

Plastic skull and bones

Process:

1. Start by selecting a site for the display. Once filled with soil, it will be heavy and challenging to move so we recommend picking its final resting place before beginning.

2. Add bricks to the center and perimeter to support the underside of the coffin ensuring it is stable and level. This step is optional, but we recommend elevating over placing the wooden structure directly on the ground to allow for air circulation with the goal of preventing premature rotting of the boards. This step will also make it easier to weed around the edges of the coffin and minimize the amount of compacted grass when it’s time to move the box if the coffin is going on a front lawn.

3. Line the box with some landscape fabric. This is another optional step, but we added it to prevent soil from falling through cracks in the bottom of our coffin build.

4. Fill the coffin 3/4 of the way full with potting mix. Potting mix is the best choice for a container as it allows for adequate moisture and nutrient retention, good air flow, and enough density to hold the plants in place.

5. Evenly space the mums and cabbages down the center of the coffin box. Line the edges of the planter with pansies. Plants should be planted container deep with the top of the root ball in line with the edge of the container. Add additional soil to cover and water into place. Some notes on the plants:

   • Color - Consider how the palette impacts the look of the design. Here, we opted for a monochromatic purple design and included some greenery with use of the cabbages that also tied back in to the purple scheme.

   • Height - Add taller plants to the center of the arrangement and shorter or vining plants along the perimeter.

   • Spacing - Plants grown too close together may be more susceptible to poor air circulation, competition, and disease. Check the tags on any plants you purchase for recommended spacing, but as a general rule, mums prefer 18-36 inch spacing, pansies prefer 6-10 inch spacing, and cabbages prefer 12-24 inch spacing. That said, this is a short-term display, and we wanted it to look full so we went on the closer side with spacing.

   • Growing conditions - Plan for a mix of plants with similar needs. The three selected for our project will thrive with full sun, consistent watering, and cooler temperatures. We are located in zone 7b so it is on the warm side right now for planting this mix, but we wanted to get this post up for planning purposes. Pansies thrive at temperatures between 45-65F, ornamental cabbages will become more colorful at 50F, and mums will be develop flowers more readily at 65-70F temperatures. Check your USDA zone map and/or local agricultural extension for recommendations on when to plant.

6. Add plastic bones in gaps between the plants. We opted not to use a full skeleton here but instead created the illusion of a skeleton with strategically placed loose bones. Plastic bones will be easy to wash and store for future projects.