Corten steel has the kind of aesthetic that can be used in a wide range of ways across a wide range of outdoor spaces. The rust-coloured patina that it develops once it has completed its weathering process lends itself to versatility in garden design. In this article, we’ll take a look at how corten steel planters can be used in a variety of outdoor spaces.

Small gardens

• Statement piece(s)

A corten steel planter is a high-end product that will last a long time but does come with a higher upfront cost. Therefore, it makes sense to give them the prime spot in your garden. A planter could be used as a focal point at the end of your garden and used to grow a particularly beloved plant. Alternatively, a pair of matching corten steel planters on either side of a doorway can provide a spectacular entranceway to your home.

• Space division and privacy

Corten steel can be used to tie a garden design together and/or to divide the space into separate areas. Corten steel edging could be used to line all the pathways in your small garden to help lend a cohesive quality to the design, while a corten retaining wall could be useful to terrace a sloping garden.

Another option is to have corten steel planters at key points in the garden to partially obscure the view of the back fence or what is beyond. This can help to add interest and intrigue to your garden and to make the garden appear larger and more inviting by preventing the viewer’s eye from taking in the garden all at once. Corten trough planters filled with bamboo or other tall plants could also be used to create privacy, either within the garden or at the boundaries.

Large gardens

• Borders and edging

If you have a large garden with quite a lot of lawn you’ve probably noticed how the grass slowly creeps into the flower’s borders over time. Corten steel edging could help with this: by edging the lawn it will help to keep it within its allotted boundaries and help to stop the roots of the grass from creeping into the border. It is wise to have the edging just below the height of the grass to make mowing easier. Used on all the lawns within a large garden, or within a part of it, corten steel edging can also help to tie a design together.

• Mass plantings

Extra large corten steel planters can be used to house multiple plants and create great drifts of either one type or several types of plants. A group of these large planters, perhaps containing the same plants to each other, spread over a relatively large area could create quite an effect, as well as bringing the design together by lending it some continuity. Additionally, these larger containers will still need watering but won’t need attention as frequently as smaller ones.

• Ornamental trees

You may have a particularly favoured tree or shrub that you want to set off in a particularly eye-catching manner. A corten steel planter can help you to achieve this and you may wish to use a round corten steel planter or opt for a bespoke design. Larger trees will be best in a bottomless corten planter as this will allow them to root into the ground as they grow, so helping to anchor them, water them, and feed them.

• Integrated lighting

Perhaps you have a corner of your garden that you use for outdoor entertaining in the evening? Have you considered using corten steel containers to raise your plants up to seating height and decorating the edges of the planters with lights? Alternatively, you may have corten steel planters throughout the garden that you wish to light in order to emphasise certain plants.

• Layered planting

Corten steel planters come in a huge array of heights. This can be used to your advantage by choosing different heights of planters to create levels in a part of your garden. This use of tall corten steel planters is applicable to pretty much any of the garden types we are looking at in this article – from a multi-layered herb garden to something on a grander scale.

Kitchen gardens

• Herb pots

A series of small or medium-sized corten steel pots could be just the thing for your herb collection. The beauty of growing herbs in pots is that you can customize the type of soil or compost they are growing in. The look of corten steel will also contrast nicely with the colours of some herbs – the purple flowers of chives and rosemary will really sing against the orange-brown colour of the corten steel. You could even consider a bespoke corten steel planter to grow your herbs in!

• Vegetable raised beds

Many gardeners and allotmenteers like to grow their edibles in raised beds and corten steel provides both a classy and practical material. Corten steel garden beds will last much longer than their wooden counterparts and will also add a more unusual look to your veg patch.

• Mobile planters

Small corten planters can be placed on wheels and moved around the garden or veg plot to change up a display or put plants in their prime location. This can be a useful method for moving tender crops, such as potatoes, out of the greenhouse or polytunnel when the weather warms up as they can otherwise be quite heavy to lift.

• Climbing plants

Corten steel planters can easily have trellis or other supports added to make attractive containers for summer edibles. The idea of cucumbers scrambling up a trellis in a corten steel trough is surely mouth-watering.

Commercial gardens

• Bold entrances

As mentioned in the small gardens section, corten steel planters can make an impressive entrance to a building, so why not use this to give a welcome to the customers visiting your commercial premises? A pair of large planters, one either side of an entrance, could be quite a statement. It can either be filled with a changeable seasonal display, clipped topiary, or lower maintenance plants such as evergreen shrubs or grasses.

• Public seating areas

Public spaces can often be uninspiring places that collect litter and municipal or commercial planters are often full of weeds. Instead, go for a set of good-sized corten steel planters, filled with low upkeep plants or seasonal bedding displays. The planters themselves are long-lasting so should be a good investment requiring minimal maintenance.

• Branding

The sides of corten steel planters can easily be branded to help your business stand out. When planted with a gorgeous display it surely has to be better to look at than an ordinary billboard!

Rooftop gardens

• Windbreaks

Corten planters can be positioned on rooftop gardens to provide protection from weather or prevailing winds. They are durable and long-lasting so should stand up well to the elements, not cracking in frosts like terracotta pots, rotting in wet weather like wood, or cracking in strong sunlight, like some plastics.

• Aesthetic consistency

As mentioned before, the use of a distinctive material like corten steel can really help to knit a design together. You may have different areas to your rooftop space – maybe a sun terrace, outdoor kitchen, or eating area but by using corten steel throughout this can help to bring the whole rooftop garden together without compromising the individuality of each different space.