A rain gutter makes a perfect flower box and can be planted in different ways. In addition, a terrace or balcony can be greened vertically to save space with the help of rain gutters. Find out below how and with what to plant your rain gutter.
A gutter is great for growing strawberries
Prepare the gutter
In order to be able to plant a rain gutter, it must be prepared accordingly so that rain and irrigation water run off well and the plants and soil cannot slip out on the sides. To do this, proceed as follows:
- First, cut your gutter(s) to the desired length. Depending on the material of the gutter, tin snips, a flex or a saw are suitable for this.
- Then drill one to two centimeter holes in the underside at intervals of about 10cm. This serves as drainage.
- Then close the sides of the rain gutter, e.g. with construction foam, heaps of stones or glue them with plastic foil or the like so that no earth can slide off the sides.
Plant the gutter
Now it's time to fill and plant:
- Cover the drainage holes with potsherds or flat, domed rocks to keep them from clogging.
- Put a layer of gravel a few centimeters high as a drainage layer in the gutter.
- Then fill them up to a good two-thirds full with good garden soil.
- Place your plants in the gutter and fill the gutter with soil to about an inch below the rim.
What to plant the gutter with?
When designing the gutter, you should keep two things in mind: the plants should be small and they should like the location you intend for your planted gutter. Then there are no limits to your imagination.
Rock garden in the rain gutter
Plant rock garden plants in your gutter such as blue cushion, stonecrop, stonecrop or saxifrage and cover the gaps with pebbles. This variant is easy to care for and has a Mediterranean look.
Hanging plants for the gutter
If you would like to create a green, flowering curtain, you can hang several rain gutters on top of each other and plant them with hanging plants such as trailing petunias, Mühlenbeckia, trailing geraniums or mandevilla.
Edibles from the rain gutter
The rain gutter is not only suitable for planting ornamental plants. You can also easily plant small vegetables or fruits. Cress, lettuce, spinach or even strawberries are suitable for this!