Handmade Metal Garden Trough Planter – 100cm Long

A beautifully simple, handmade metal trough planter – perfect for bringing flowers, herbs and greenery to patios, driveways, balconies and gardens.

Made by hand in my workshop in Grantham, Lincolnshire, this long metal garden planter is created from tough, industrial coated steel with a Leather Grain Effect Plastisol finish.

At 1 metre long but only 20cm wide, it's a particularly useful size. It gives you plenty of planting space without taking over the patio, making it brilliant against walls and fences, alongside paths and driveways, on decking or anywhere you'd like to create a little garden without digging a traditional border.

📏 Planter Size

Length: 100cm / 1000mm
Width: 20cm / 200mm
Height: 20cm / 200mm

These measurements are approximate because every planter is individually handmade rather than machine mass-produced. Tiny variations are all part of its handmade character.

🌿 What Can I Plant In It?

The 20cm depth makes this a wonderfully versatile trough planter.

Fill it with herbs close to the kitchen, create a colourful display of seasonal bedding plants, plant spring bulbs ready for that first burst of colour, or mix grasses and foliage for a more contemporary look.

It works beautifully with plants such as:

• Herbs

• Bedding plants

• Spring bulbs

• Wildflowers

• Heucheras

• Hostas

• Ornamental grasses

• Trailing plants

• Smaller shrubs and seasonal planting

The clean lines of the metal look particularly lovely against softer leaves, flowers and grasses.

And because it's long and slim, it's an easy way to create your own mini garden in places where planting directly into the ground simply isn't possible.

🏡 Where Can I Use It?

These long metal planters are fantastic for adding greenery and colour to:

• Patios and terraces

• Driveways and entrances

• Along walls and fences

• Decking

• Balconies

• Rooftop gardens

• Courtyards

• Caravan and holiday-home decking

• Around hot tubs and seating areas

• Commercial entrances and outdoor spaces

Use one as a feature or place several together to create a longer run of planting.

🔨 Handmade in Lincolnshire

Every planter is hand formed and hand riveted in Grantham, Lincolnshire using the same tough coated-steel materials used within the industrial roofing and cladding industry.

These aren't imported, factory-produced planters and I don't supply them to garden centres.

I make the majority myself to order or in small batches, which means you're getting something with considerably more character than a standard mass-produced garden planter.

The seams are individually hand riveted using matching coloured rivets whenever I have them available. If matching rivets aren't available, plain uncoated rivets may be used.

♻️ Making Good Use of Industrial Steel

Where possible, I love being able to turn perfectly useful pieces of coated steel left over from our roofing and cladding materials into something completely different.

Rather than suitable offcuts heading towards the scrap metal bin, they can become planters and spend the next chapter of their lives filled with flowers!

Because of the nature of these materials and the handmade manufacturing process, you may occasionally find a small scratch, mark or little dent.

Nothing that affects the planter's use – just the occasional reminder that this isn't a piece of mass-produced plastic fresh from a mould.

Where suitable offcuts aren't available, I also make planters from new prime material.

💧 Built-In Natural Drainage

The planter is constructed in sections and hand riveted together.

The base is intentionally left unsealed along three lower edges, allowing excess rain and watering to escape naturally.

This means I don't need to drill drainage holes through the bottom of the planter.

Please note: the planter is water resistant and designed for outdoor planting, but it is not watertight and shouldn't be used as a pond or water trough.

🪴 How I Recommend Planting It

I recommend adding a loose, oversized piece of pond liner inside the planter before filling it.

There's no need to spend ages measuring it perfectly.

Simply sit the liner loosely inside, add your drainage material or pebbles, followed by compost and your plants. As everything fills and settles, the liner will naturally find its shape.

Once you're happy, trim away any excess liner around the top and replace the rubber edging.

The liner doesn't need to turn the planter into a sealed container – you still want excess water to be able to escape.

For a quick alternative, some customers use household foil, and others choose to add bathroom sealant around the internal seams depending on their intended use.

🖤 Removable Black Safety Trim

I include a thin black rubber safety trim for the top rim of the planter.

Because this is folded sheet steel, exposed edges can be sharp. I therefore recommend keeping the trim fitted while handling and planting the trough.

Once everything is safely in position, you can simply leave it on or remove it if you prefer the appearance without it.

It's entirely up to you.

🌦️ Tough Enough For Outdoor Use

The Plastisol-coated steel is a tough industrial material designed to cope with the British weather, making it an excellent choice for an outdoor garden planter.

Unlike lightweight plastic pots, the metal construction also gives the trough a lovely substantial appearance.

Please remember, though, that this is a handmade garden product. Small cosmetic marks, variations and imperfections can occur and form part of its rustic industrial character.

🎨 Need A Bespoke Metal Planter?

If 100cm isn't quite right, please get in touch.

I'm happy to consider bespoke planter sizes and alternative colours, subject to material availability.

Custom orders sometimes require me to use new prime sheets rather than suitable offcuts, so prices can vary depending on the dimensions, colour and material required.

If you have an awkward space you've been struggling to find a planter for, send me the measurements and I'll see what I can make.

🚚 Delivery Information

Because this is a substantial 100cm long metal planter, the standard delivery charge applies to UK Mainland addresses only.

If you're in an offshore UK location, please contact me before ordering.

Courier charges to offshore locations can be considerably higher. Unfortunately I can't absorb all of the additional cost, but I'll always try to find the most sensible delivery option rather than simply overcharging you.

🌱 A Little Garden Almost Anywhere

Whether it's filled with herbs outside the kitchen, overflowing with summer flowers on the patio or planted with grasses along a contemporary driveway, this handmade metal trough is an easy way to bring planting into spaces that might otherwise stay bare.

Handmade in Grantham, Lincolnshire.

Happy planting! 🌱