Landscape: How to Build a Wooden Timber Planter

Cut 2-by-2 inch pieces of treated wood using a table saw or miter saw into eight lengths, each measuring 39 ½ inches long. Cut eight more pieces to measure 23 ½ inches long. These pieces will form the outline of your planter.

Butt one piece of each of the longer and shorter lengths of wood together so that they run perpendicular to each other, forming an L shape. Use a ¼-inch drill bit to drill a small starter hole through the top and bottom of one end of the pieces so that putting a screw into the hole will hold the boards together.

Install a 4-inch wood screw into each of the starter holes so that the screws penetrate through both pieces of wood, bonding them together securely.

Repeat with a second set of long and short pieces, and then screw this L shape to the first one using the wood screws. You now have a rectangle of wooden pieces.

Cut ½-by-6 inch treated wood to a length of 24 inches. Cut six of these boards to form the bottom of your planter.

Line up the six newly cut pieces of treated wood on your frame pieces. Each piece should be spaced ¾ inch to 1 inch apart; shift them around to make the spacing as even as possible.

Screw the treated boards to the frame boards using the same procedure and screws as before. These boards will allow water to drain out between them so that your plants don't sit in water.

Flip your frame over so that the attached treated cross-boards sit against the ground. Repeat Steps 2 to 4 to make three more rectangles, and attach them to the first tier and to each other with the wood screws. This will give you a four-tiered planter box.