Gather your supplies
Ceramic pot (here it’s about 60cm tall)
Copper pipe off-cut (here 15mm-dia.)
Pebbles or polystyrene
Plant (here a standard fig, Ficus benjamina)
Tabletop timber
Dowel
Timber finish
You’ll also need
Drill; masonry drill bits, one smallish, the other same size as copper pipe; hacksaw; hammer; roof and gutter silicone sealant; waterproofing builder’s bog; paintbrushes; pond sealer paint; potting mix; jigsaw; wood glue
For you to note
For the tabletop, we used old floorboards glued to laminated plywood. You can use other materials, such as an old benchtop.
Here’s how
STEP 1 Drill hole through side of pot with small masonry bit, then enlarge hole with larger bit.
STEP 2 Cut the copper pipe and hammer it through the hole.
STEP 3 Fix pipe inside pot with roof and gutter silicone sealant.
STEP 4 Plug original pot drainage hole with builder’s bog.
STEP 5 Paint inside of pot to about 3cm above pipe with waterproofing pond sealer paint. Allow to dry.
STEP 6 Fill pot to paint level with pebbles or broken up polystyrene. Fill rest of pot with potting mix, add plant and water in.
STEP 7 Cut timber with circular saw about 3cm wider than top of pot, cut hole at centre wider than the trunk of the plant with jigsaw, cut timber in half.
STEP 8 Drill 2 holes through both diameter sides, large enough to accommodate dowel and making sure holes match on each side.
STEP 9 Coat timber top with finish of choice.
STEP 10 Insert wood glue in holes, insert dowel in holes of one side of timber top, then push 2 sides together.
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