28 DIY Tower Garden Ideas
When the growing season comes around, a lot of us are trying to figure out the right and best way to grow plants. For those of us with small outdoor spaces – think balconies – or limited backyard space we can spare for planting flowers, fruits, and veggies, we need something a little more creative than just a plant bed.
That’s where these tower gardens come in.
You can grow tomatoes, flowers, beans, strawberries, herbs, or practically anything but vine plants in them, all without taking up much space at all. And depending on the type of space you have, you can save even more space by using a wall tower, a potted tower, or even a fence tower.
Read through the ideas and see which ones will work best for your space. They’re all pretty awesome in one way or another.
PVC Pipe Tower Garden
Perhaps one of the easiest supplies to make a tower garden from is the PVC pipe. This particular one is basically a PVC ladder built with multiple rungs created by large pipes and small pipes with some holes drilled into the larger.
This particular tutorial offers a directly worded step-by-step guide through the Youtube video. It’s specifically designed with small spaces in mind, too, which makes it even better. We’d recommend watching it through a couple of times before going out and getting supplies and deciding on what plants to grow.
Via Youtube
DIY Strawberry Tower
For the berry lovers in the house – this DIY strawberry tower is reminiscent of those old “specialty” towers they used to sell for an arm and a leg on the mini infomercials on TV. The reality is, as this tutorial shows, they don’t have to be super expensive or complicated.
This DIY strawberry tower planter is easy to construct and works really well in most environments (or possibly indoors if you’re too far north) – so just gather supplies and go!
To make this vertical garden, you’ll need:
- 5-gallon plastic nursery pots
- A 1-liter plastic water bottle
- A tool that can punch holes into the plastic
- A drill
- A 1.25” hole saw
- Good potting soil
- Compost
- Strawberry seedlings
Wooden Herb Garden Tower
For those who love cooking and baking with fresh everything, this amazing herb tower is a great option, even if you have space. It helps contain everything together in a very manageable space while providing your plants with plenty of soil, water, and sunshine as they grow.
The original creators used the tower for growing strawberries, but this design is absolutely perfect for herbs – giving more than enough depth for roots and space for growing just about all the fresh herbs you could need for your family kitchen.
This design is also especially created for use of cedar wood, which adds some aesthetic qualities that some of the other tower gardens don’t, but technically, you could use any other wood necessary. Scroll to the first video on this page, though, to learn how to find super cheap cedar lumber.
Flowerpot Bird Bath Tower
For those who love a good two-in-one, this beautiful option is going to really make your day. It’s not just a tower of pots for growing your favorite small plants, but it’s a birdbath. Just make sure you’re planting plants that won’t immediately encourage birds to steal them instead of take a bath, though!
You’ll need some terracotta pots of varying sizes, some rebar, spray paint primer, spray paint, and some other odds and ends that you can find at your local hardware, home goods, or similar store. Once you’ve gathered the supplies, get creative and add your own special touches to make this flower tower truly your own.
Herb Garden Spiral
If you have a little more space and can place your herb garden permanently in the yard, you’ll want to check out this adorable and unique herb garden spiral tower. It’s not huge – though you could make it larger than this tutorial provides for – but it’s definitely large enough and very definitely distinct.
This particular design is designed with urban living in mind. It’s visually appealing, low maintenance, easy to build, easy to access, and doesn’t take up much room in your city backyard.
Read through the instructions, gather the supplies, and get to work! You’ll find it won’t take a load of time, the kids can help, and you’ll have an amazing talking point that helps you keep your family in fresh herbs.
Via Home Talk
Aeroponics Veggie Garden Tower
Ever wanted to try your hand at aeroponics, but couldn’t justify the cost? This Youtube DIY is your friend. It will walk you through the construction of this inexpensive plant tower where you can grow your veggies on your roof top, patio, porch, or in landscaping space.
It won’t cost you much to build, which is a huge bonus, and is pretty easy to build and maintain. You’ll have some tasty veggies in no time.
Via Youtube
Vertical Terracotta Planter
This very simple and extremely attractive planter tower is a fantastic option for anyone with tight space. It would be great for a balcony herb garden in particular, whether you’re in the city, out in the suburbs, or just looking to keep the plants close to the kitchen.
To make it, you’ll need a 14-inch terracotta base, then several terracotta pots in progressively smaller sizes leading to your top level. Potting soil, seeds, and a wooden stake, rebar, or wooden dowel complete the set up. Just follow the instructions and in just a matter of hours, you’ll have an entire herb garden planted and ready to grow.
Recycled Bottle Tower Garden
This homemade tower garden is a really clever use for recycled plastic bottles. It’s designed as a sort of container garden that uses the vertical lines of fences and posts to grow upward rather than outward. And though it is used with bottles, you can technically recycle any containers, including buckets, pots, cans, etc.
Go through the tutorial for an easy step-by-step plan for this clever garden. It’s extremely photo-heavy, meaning it’s great for visual learners, and the instructions are incredibly simple.
We’d recommend gathering all supplies ahead of time and then following along, step-at-a-time for the most convenient way to viewing the tutorial.
Miniponics Sustainable Fish and Plant Farm Tower
Another take on the aquaponics and aeroponics growing systems is this microponics grow plan. It’s a hydroponics system in a very small, compact setting, towering upward for the ultimate space-saving design.
Basically, this system is a PET-bottle, some bamboo, and some string. It’s easy to construct – no matter your skill level – and easy to maintain. The plants grow reasonably easily, and it’s small enough it works on balconies, decks, patios, even some indoor spaces like classrooms and bedrooms, if you have enough windows.
Via Medimatic
Tall Wooden Strawberry Tower
Not convinced the other strawberry tower is your thing? Try this uniquely designed wooden tower that your strawberries straight upward. Up, up, up. The original designers created it with scrap wood and other supplies lying around, too, which is pretty awesome.
The instructions are easy to follow along, even for the less-than-expert folks out there. And you just need a few supplies and basic tools you probably already have on hand.
- 4 6-8 ft fence boards (redwood is best)
- 1 old drawer
- Pieces of 4×4 posts
- Wood screws
- Drill
- A 2-inch drill bit
- Potting soil or mushroom compost
- Strawberry plants
Via Zest It Up
Vertical Hydroponic Rain Tower
Want to really amp up your productivity without having to put tons of work into your garden? Then try a vertical hydroponic rain tower. This unique hydroponic tower garden DIY takes your supplies and turns them into a nearly full self-sustaining garden.
It’s super simple to build, easy to maintain, and the plants do amazingly well in this setup. Just watch the Youtube video for all the information you need. Jot down supplies and make other notes. You’ll have this together in no time.
Via Youtube
$10 Stacked Flower Tower
If you love the idea of a vertical flower garden but just don’t have much money (or space), then you’ll love this very simple, easy to build tower for flowers. It won’t cost you much at all – basically the cost of the flowers and a few dollar store planters.
You’ll just need to gather a few simple supplies, including some plastic planters, a mini flag hook, some gardening soil, flowers, and flower fertilizer. It will take you less than a morning to get this all put together.
Via The Kim Six Fix
Wooden Crate Planter Tower Wall
This vertical garden is truly gorgeous and so simple, it’s almost painful to realize we hadn’t thought of it first. It’s a great way to reuse wooden crates, create a visual focal point in your yard, save space, and grow a whole lotta plants of whatever type you need.
This isn’t technically a tutorial – but rather a vision casting post presented by folks into growing your own food. But if you’re at all handy, you should be able to look at the photos and figure out how to use some screws and scrap wood to combine the wooden crates together into this amazing garden planter wall.
Via Little Green Dot
A Welcoming Flower Tower
Another beautiful but simple option for your flower plants is this painted “welcome” potted plant tower. It’s super easy, almost anyone can do it (even kids), and it’s pretty. Win-win-win.
Choose the flowers you want to grow, then gather together three or four pots – however tall you want to go – some potting soil, spray paint in your color of choice, some plastic flower buckets, and vinyl lettering whatever greeting you’d like to display on the planters.
The instructions are super easy and quick, so within just a couple of hours (including drying time), you’ll have a towering welcome awaiting your guests.
Via All Parenting
Wire Frame Flower Column
If you’ve ever wondered how you can have a “sculpted” flower piece in your yard, you’ve found the right tutorial. This beautiful project is elegantly simple but it will look like you’ve done something incredible. And it won’t cost much, take up loads of room, or even take that long to put together.
The potted column of flowers requires some basic supplies:
- Metal fencing
- Zip-ties
- Flowerpots
- Landscaping fabric
- Utility knife
- Metal snips
- Work gloves
- Spade
- Scissors
- Potting soil
- Flowers
- Fertilizer
Easy Pallet Shelf Garden
We love recycling and upcycling here, and a towering pallet shelf garden is a great way to save space while saving materials from the trash heap. And these beautiful shelves for your plants look amazing while providing you with enough space to grow a full herb garden and loads of other smaller plants, even some veggies or flowers.
You’ll just need some basic supplies (the pallets, some wooden beams, screws), and to follow the very simple, straightforward instructions. You’ll have this garden up and growing in no time – seriously, less than a few hours. Anybody can do it, if they can use a drill.
Via Instructables
Cedar Ladder Tower
Cedar wood is a uniquely beautiful material, even apart from the cozy scent of the wood. And the folks who designed this one did so with cedar specifically in mind, because, well, who doesn’t love cedar? And why wouldn’t it be perfect for herb growing?
Follow along on the step-by-step pictorial tutorial and you’ll find it’s actually pretty easy, assuming you have any previous knowledge of woodworking at all. And you’ll be able to do it for not a lot of money, too, all in all, probably under $50, including potting soil, seeds, and planters.
Cage Wall Vertical Garden
If you have someplace you can firmly secure a wood “rack” and happen to be short on space, this is a great option for your climbing or “towering” plants like tomatoes or pole beans. But, even better, this is actually a vertical garden that doesn’t require vine plants – so, either way, you’re covered.
To make this vertical garden, you’ll need some garden rack or fencing, some wood, a sheet of plastic, jute cloth, paint, screws, dowels, cramp-irons, and some small connection strips or corners. The tools are pretty basic, too, like a drill, screwdriver, saw, and hammer.
All-in-all, it’s very easy, even for folks who haven’t done much in the way of construction.
Via Instructables
Wooden Modular Vertical Garden
This plan is perfect for fence gardening for folks who need to change out plants. In fact, it was designed specifically as a modular garden so that planters could be replaced and removed as needed, for the most flexible growing possible, while saving loads of space by going upward on your fence.
The exact design results in a five-foot tall, six-foot wide frame that holds up to nine planter boxes and uses a French cleat mounting system for ease. The supplies are pretty easy to come by, and the tools are fairly basic, if you have any power tools (like a miter saw) on hand.
Via Instructables
Vertical Gardening Pipe
This vertical garden tower is a beautiful, sleek, and simple design that’s perfect for unique touches to very small landscaping spaces – we’re looking at you balcony! – and indoor spots with loads of light.
The vertical planter is made from PVC, which makes it really affordable, and spray paint of your color choice – making it much more attractive. Including everything but the plants, you’ll be able to build the whole thing for about $35, and depending on the plants, possibly under $50 for everything.
The most “unique” tool you’ll need to make this is the hole saw drill bits and spade drill bits for your standard power drill. Everything else is very basic.
Via Instructables
Upcycled Back-of-Door Show Storage Garden
If you need to create a vertical garden but don’t have a power drill and other such tools, you’ll love this inexpensive, super easy project using one of the “back of the door” shoe storage racks. You’ll just need someplace where you can hang the rack or some way of mounting a pole that you can hang the rack from.
From there, you’ll need some utensil hanging hooks, compost, dirt, your seeds or plants, a piece of wood, and a trough planter to catch drippings. It’s quite easy, looks unique, and doesn’t take a lot of maintenance or construction skill.
Via Instructables
Potted Pallet Garden
Here’s another one that reuses old pallets. And it’s pretty easy to put together. You’ll just need to gather together supplies ahead of time and follow the simple instructions. Allow yourself enough drying time to let the outdoor paint dry completely, too.
To make this vertical potted garden, you’ll need:
- 1+ wooden pallet(s)
- Flowerpots
- Seeds
- Potting soil
- 100-pound test metal wire
- Wire cutters
- Wood screws
- Screwdriver
- Outdoor paint in your favorite color
- Paint brush or small roller
To add some special touches, get a variety of different pots in different colors and styles for an eclectic look or go modern with clean, square pots with straight lines and use monochrome colors. Either way, you’ll have a gorgeous garden wall that you can enjoy even in the smallest of spaces.
Via Instructables
Vertical Hanging Garden
This vertical garden is specifically designed for use indoors. It’s particularly great for small spaces where a lot of potted plants might be desired but can’t practically grow due to fewer windows, smaller floor plans, or problematic kitties who’d like to tear into your herbs and flowers.
This particular design will fit really well with any vintage house styles, rustic looks, or cottage or beach house feels. The simple design uses recycled wood, pots of whatever style you love, 17-millimeter rope, a metal ring, and a metal bracket or hook, along with your plants.
For an additional unique touch, you could create a “wall” of these hanging planters across a larger room to give some division of space, like dividing an office space from a bedroom or living room or creating two office spaces within one larger room. Just make sure you have a large enough window nearby.
Via Instructables
Tomato Tower
Of course, one of the most needed options for a vertical garden for small space dwellers is a tomato tower. And this unique design from Ace Hardware is a great option. The instructions give a complete “how-to” build a tower garden that’s specifically meant for these delicious fruits.
Just watch the video all the way through a few times before gathering supplies and getting started.
Via Ace Hardware
Wood-Frame Upcycled Back-of-Door Shoe Hanger Vertical Garden
Here’s another one that upcycles your old back-of-door style shoe hanger into a beautiful, simple vertical garden. This one’s a little more complicated than the previous one mentioned above, but it’s got a portable frame, so it works for folks who don’t have a wall on which they can attach the garden, as long as they have one on which they can lean it.
This is also another low-cost option that provides optimum results in your small footage gardening space. And though it’s designed with an outdoor space in mind, you could easily adapt it for use indoors.
There are some visuals to go along with each step of the project, so they’re pretty easy to follow along for most folks.
Via Instructables
72-Plant Vertical Garden Rack
Anyone looking to grow a ton of plants this year will find this one particularly useful, whether you’re going to build the single garden rack or also construct the greenhouse as well as some additional garden racks.
This is a “Hydroponic, Automated, Networking, Climate Controlled Greenhouse Project” overall, though the vertical garden itself doesn’t have to be contained within a greenhouse. And, either way, it’s an extremely space-saving option for anyone who’s got a lot of plants to grow.
The garden was designed specifically with food plants in mind, including lettuce, spinach, strawberries, herbs, and other small veggie and fruit plants. And, since they’re hydroponics, their planting format is pretty simple and easy to maintain – even for those with less than vibrant green thumbs.
Via Instructables
Recycled Bottle Vertical Window Garden
When you want to grow edible plants but don’t have enough space outdoors, things can get kind of tricky. But this design, using old plastic soda bottles and the like, is a great solution for space-conscious folks who want to grow their own food indoors.
This vertical garden takes advantage of your natural light sources in the form of a window. You’ll need some basic tools – like a drill – and easy-to-come by supplies, and in no time at all, you’ll have a garden fit for strawberries, lettuce, and other small, edible plants.
The nice thing about this, too, is that you can grow food year-round, no matter where you live, as long as you have sunshine coming in through the window. You will need to use an East or West facing window, however, to get sufficient light, and you might need to boost it with some LED light in shorter sunlight months.
To make this amazing garden, you’ll need some clean 2-liter soda bottles, a box cutter, 1/8 drill bit and 1 1/8 drill bit, power drill, fine scissors, mounting brackets, and a piece of cardboard, plus, of course, your soil, fertilizer, and plants or seeds.
All-in-all, it’s a pretty easy and inexpensive project.
Via Instructables
15-Pocket PVC Planter Tower
This final option is another PVC pipe planter that’s uniquely designed for growing edible plants. It’s a little bigger than some of the other options, but it’s perfect for growing veggies in a small, tight space. And you can adjust it to meet the size plants you want to grow, making the pipe bigger around or taller, as needed.
To make this planter, you’ll need a large PVC pipe with an endcap, irrigation pipe with plastic cap (optional), an old t-shirt, steel wire, some small screws, a small strip of cardboard, and some tools like a plumb line, marker, pen, folding ruler, heat gun, gloves, multi-tool, and a drill.
Via Instructables
Gardening In the Vertical Way
Whether you’re working with a tight space or simply want to grow lots of plants in a greenhouse, garden or larger lot of land, vertical is the way to go. It saves space, effort, and time, and ultimately produces more food, flowers, and herbs than standard “laid out” gardening could in the same space.
Just choose the right style for your skill set as well as the types of plants you wish to grow. Most of these don’t take long to construct and nearly all of them are super budget friendly. Many even recycle things that would otherwise end up on a landfill. You’re bettering the planet in many ways when you use these tutorials.