Bring a touch of farmhouse charm to your garden by building this cow-themed simple DIY planter box, featuring adorable wooden spoon ears and salad fork hair for a playful, rustic look!
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Did you know I grew up on a 40 acre dairy farm? We’ve always had about 50 cows and of course, throw in a few horses over the years too!
Here’s our cows!
I’ve written a few times about my childhood in various posts. There’s my complete story HERE, that time I entered a design contest while my entry honoured my parent’s farm HERE, that time my brother and I scavenged barnwood from our childhood farm HERE, and that time I biked past the old farmhouse (not that far away from me) and found THIS.
So whenever the topic of cows comes up, my ears perk up. The mere thought of seeing cows grazing in a field has childhood memories rushing back that will be with me forever. My mom was especially so fond of cows, she collected any item with a cow on it.. as long as they were holstein!
So when I was recently challenged to create a diy wooden cow-themed planter boxes from scrap wood, I suddenly was wishing I could ask Mom where she wanted them and how fast! Ha! However, I was immediately intrigued. It would make a nice homage to my history.
Plus, it’s yet another fun addition to my beloved outdoor projects theme!
Thrift store finds for the cow heads
Inspired by a simple design I saw online (I will share it if I can ever find the original owner!), I decided to develop my own twist using wooden spoons and souvenir salad forks of all things, fresh from the local thrift store!
Do you see what I see? If not, you will soon!
Well, not only did the cow-themed simple DIY planter box turn out SO cute, I just had to make two! And even if cows aren’t your deal, you can replace a small part of these planter box designs with just a sketch and a few pieces of wood to make your own animal head of your choosing!
This one’s for you, Mom and Dad… here’s what I did:
Cow-theme simple DIY planter box with easy wooden spoon ears
Supplies I used:
The instructions will be for one planter box. Double the quantities of everything if you wish to make two.
2 wooden spoons and 1 wooden salad hand
Reclaimed wood planks (mine are from an old cedar fence)
2×4
Bosch cordless drill and screws
Bosch miter saw (I LOVE mine like this! Big space saver)
Bosch variable speed orbital sander
Exterior screws
Wood glue is optional (I didn’t use any)
Wood weather protection. I like Olympic Waterguard clear wood sealer
Cutting planter box sides and supports
1. After deciding how large you’d like your planter box, cut either 4 or 8 pieces of wood to that length.
I gauged the size of my own planter boxes by making them larger than hanging fern baskets I just purchased.
Food safe tips:
If you plan to plant food in your planter box, I suggest using untreated cedar, treat the inside of your planter box with Fusion’s food-safe Tung Oil LIKE THIS (get 10% off) or line the box with a food-safe pot.
My wood cut measurements:
- 8 planks – 5.25″ x 18″ long
- 2×4 – 4 pieces cut at 10.5″ h
Overall box measurements once built:
- 18″ long (front)
- 19.5″ long (sides)
- 10.5″ high
Assembling the planks to the supports
2. Place 2 sides worth of planks on a table, then cut a 2×4 piece for each side to the same height.
The 2x4s will become the main side supports which makes this build super easy!
For longevity, I suggest using exterior wood screws, as my black drywall screws can rust over time.
3. Predrill holes into the 4 corners of each plank so the wood doesn’t split when you assemble them with screws.
4. Place the side planks on top of a left and right support, then join them together with screws.
Adding planks to close the box
5. With both assembled sides standing upright with supports inside and facing each other, join them together by placing the other planks across the open ends.
All the screwing is done from the boards into the 2x4s which add strength and structure. This is a very simple box design that can be built to any size desired!
Next up is the fun part… let’s make this look like a cow!
Creating the cow head and nose
6. Cow head – Cut two planks that are smaller than the front of the planter box, but end up looking square when joined.
7. Cow nose – Cut another smaller plank that fits onto the double planks, and turn it horizontally.
8. Use a mason jar rim to mark radius shapes on all four corners of the cow nose plank.
9. Cut the rounded corners by first clamping the plank to a worktable, then cutting the shapes with a jigsaw.
I double-clamped, keeping the clamps as far away from the cutting area as possible.
10. Sand the rounded corners well with an orbital sander.
11. Position the nose on the face a little lower down, then attach with short screws from the back.
The nose also joins the two head planks together.
Adding the cow ears and hair tuft
12. Position the wooden salad fork in the middle-back of the head with the fork tips positioned higher than the head. Predrill holes, then attach with short screws.
13. Cut two wooden spoon handles so they will fit horizontally on both sides of the fork with just the spoons (not handle) showing from the front. Predrill holes, then attach with screws.
Finished cow head with wooden spoon ears and spaghetti fork hair
Then flip the head over and you have yourself a simple yet super cute wooden cow head!
Tell me that is not adorable…
The completed planter box
14. Position the head in the middle of the box front half way up, then attach the head to the box with screws.
And then I simply plunked in some hanging ferns and had the cutest little cow-themed simple DIY planter boxes in the land!
Planter box option: fill in bottom or leave open
I left my planter boxes without a bottom, however you can attach slats along the bottom to close it up to add dirt/soil if desired!
Then I built another and placed both on my little sitting area / inflatable hot tub deck out back.
Cow planters with herbs container garden
And then I added some other potted herbs to fill in the area, turning it into what resembles a container garden!
A few other farm-inspired garden junk came along to chime in with the cows, such as a rusty lantern, cultivator wheel, rusty orbs, etc.
I even decked out the sitting area behind the planters with an old gate and a few other garden tools to chime in. We are down on the farm today, friends!
Old gate backdrop with farm decor
An old gate made the best backdrop since you can attach anything you wish to it! I most recently used the same gate in THIS cable reel potting bench setup. It moves a LOT!
But goodness, all those old relics remind me of my Dad’s very rustic shed filled with rusty tools and such. That must be where my love of rust came from?!
As you can see, I’m going to have some fun with these cow-themed simple DIY planter boxes! They are light enough to lift and move wherever desired. They can even be positioned directly over other growing plants in a flowerbed!
And if I ever tire of the cow theme, I can simply unscrew the heads and use them as art, and have plain planter boxes once again.
This was a very fun challenge, which gave my little sitting area farm style charm, plus lots of memories that make me smile everytime I look at my cows!
I wonder where my mom would have put them…
Think you may give these cute little cow planter designs a go yourself?
Other similarly-built planter box projects:
Raised wood garden bed for tomatoes
Old window turned garden cold frame
Easy window box planters for a garden shed
Visit all my unique garden projects HERE
Cow-theme simple DIY planter box design
Tools:
Supplies:
- Cedar planks
- 2x4
- 2 per box Wooden spoons
- 1 per box Wooden salad claw (fork)
- Olympic Waterguard in clear (optional)
- Tung Oil by Fusion Mineral Paint (food safe - optional) - get 10% off
Instructions:
To build 1 square planter box
- Cut 4 (or 8 if stacked) planks to the desired width of your planter box. Mine are 8 - 5.25" x 18".
- Cut 4 pieces of 2x4 to the height of your box. Mine are 4 - 10.5" high.
- Position a 2x4 vertical support under both sides of the horizontal planks. Predrill plank holes, then attach with screws. Make 2 of these, 1 for the front and 1 for the back.
- Stand the front and back up, with insides facing each other. Close the open sides with the remainder of the planks to create a box.
Cow head
- Cut 2 side-by-side boards that are smaller than the box front, to create a perfect square.
- Cut a smaller board and position horizontally for the nose.
- Round the 4 corners of the nose using a jigsaw and sander.
- Install the nose from the back of the head so the screws don't show.
- With head good side down, attach wooden spoons for ears and a salad fork for hair.
- Attach the head to the front of the box, about half way up so it sits taller than the main box.
Optional tips:
- Line the bottom with planks if you prefer a closed box, or leave it open for lots of flexibility and less rot.
- If planting food, use raw cedar wood, or protect other wood from the inside with food-safe Tung Oil.
Did you ever post pictures of the finished remodel of your original farmhouse? I’d love to see it.
I could so relate to your story of visiting the home you spent your childhood in. I did a similar thing. One can never truly go back except in our memories.
Aww, that cow planter box is so cute!