You May Already Have This Low-Cost Material for Building a Garden—Here's What to Know (2024)

Gardening

Gardening Basics

Container Gardening

• 01 of 15

  Create a Tiered Cinder Block Garden

  

  Hollow cinderblocks can make for the best planters. If you're looking for options outside of a few solo blocks, this tiered project from @hannahjeanauberg is a creative way to incorporate them into your garden.

  Use several different sizes of blocks. stack them into a tier or pyramid formation, and fill them with your favorite selection of ornamental grasses, trailing vines, and flowering plants.

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• 02 of 15

  Build a Wood Succulent Planter on Cinder Blocks

  

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  If you have a cinderblock wall already present in your garden or backyard, and its blasé foundation is starting to bore you, it can quickly be turned into a living wall of sorts that looks like this version from @angelarosehome.

  With a few pieces of wood or plywood and a lick of paint, you can create a shelving unit built for plants and succulents directly onto the wall.

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• 03 of 15

  Piece Together Mosaic Planters

  

  To dress up the standard gray surfaces of cinderblocks, consider using broken tiles to create mosaic patterns, like @lisathescentista did with slate blue pieces.

  There are numerous colors and prints that'll match the color theme of any garden, whether you purchase pieces made for this purpose or gently break your own plates and tiles. Plant flowers in contrasting colors or hues that match the shards.

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• 04 of 15

  Create a Potting Table

  

  Forget fancy potting tables that drain your entire garden budget. You can make your own with a few cinder blocks and wood planks, as shown by @loverenovations. By stacking blocks vertically, they offer a little more height and can be the pillars to hold up a surface that's built for potting, repotting, and propagating your outdoor plants.

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• 05 of 15

  Construct a Bold Bench

  

  Seating is essential for creating a garden that's comfortable enough to lounge in for hours. If you have a bistro set or dining table, consider creating a simple bench like the one from @crazydiymom that consists of wooden planks held up with the help of cinder blocks.

  To give it more personality, paint the cinder blocks in a hue to match the pillows or cushions that'll sit on top. Or paint them a shade that complements the planters in your garden.

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• 06 of 15

  Build an Outdoor Shower

  

  Not many people would link cinder blocks with the unique luxury an outdoor shower provides. With the right breeze blocks, you can create a gorgeous space for rinsing off after a day at the beach or before jumping into the pool as @designbybrookside proves.

  The concrete wall offers a strong base and a great place to add hooks for towels and accessories. You can also decorate the other two or three walls with tiles of your choice that complement the painted cinder blocks.

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• 07 of 15

  Add Geometric Shapes to Planters

  

  The most minimal paint patterns can instantly jazz up a set of various-sized cinder blocks. Take a page out of Kailo Chic's book and tape off sections of cinderblock and paint on triangles of bright hues.

  Choose a wide color palette for the most impactful end result. This turns basic blocks into pretty homes for your favorite kinds of succulents.

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• 08 of 15

  Paint a Blue and White Collection

  

  Blue and white is a classic color combination and always helps elevate a garden. It's reminiscent of antique ceramics and complements the green of plants so well, as seen in @mommastegra12's stacked garden.

  Trace on patterns with a pencil first or use a stencil, then spray paint cinder blocks for a DIY that makes the concrete supplies look unrecognizably chic.

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• 09 of 15

  Sprinkle Cinderblock Planters on a Wall

  

  Cinder block retaining walls or supports in your garden can feel like brutalist eyesores, but they won't if you transform them like @joneslandscapes.la. Blocks in the same gray shade can be installed across the wall randomly or in a pattern and filled with crawling/trailing plants or any leafy picks with ample texture. It turns a structural necessity into a statement piece in your garden.

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• 10 of 15

  Try a Rusty Red Paint

  

  Brick red is one very adaptable shade that stands out but equally contributes to the earthy space of a garden. For a very simple DIY, follow @rdnkchk79's lead and paint a few cinder blocks in rusty red, then once they're dry stack them and fill with succulents or other plants of your choice. They'll dress up any corner of your garden.

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• 11 of 15

  Build a Welcome Gate

  

  Planters aren't the only possibility with cinder blocks. If your front garden needs some love, breeze blocks can be the perfect material for creating an extremely stylish front fence, as this home from @theartofhouses shows. They can be left as is or built into the overall structure of the wall, creating a retro spin on your entrance.

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• 12 of 15

  Construct a Sleek Fire Pit

  

  A cinder block fire pit is the definition of functional and resourceful. Concrete bricks and blocks can be configured, as @zamcogroup did here, to build out the perfect spot to warm your hands and roast s'mores.

  With a few dark gray blocks and white stones in the center, this DIY looks ultra-modern when complete. Add chairs in a matching shade to finish the look.

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• 13 of 15

  Create a Small Fence

  

  To give your garden and outdoor area a perimeter and separate it from neighbors or any surrounding woodland, breeze blocks become the perfect building material.

  Stacked two high and painted in white like @miss_shermette did here, you can add a wall around your property that doesn't feel menacing or like it's completely blocking the view. With the right blocks, it can even match the aesthetic of your space.

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• 14 of 15

  Build a Dividing Wall

  

  Similar to the fence and gate DIYs, cinder blocks and their more open breeze block cousins can serve as the perfect wall or divider. Placed between pillars and painted white, like @jessiandkoombs has done, it can break out zones in your garden area. Use this project to separate grill and eating areas, tool storage spots, or seating areas.

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• 15 of 15

  Curate a Seating Area

  

  By DIYing two cinder block benches, adding a fire pit, and putting down brick and tile for some outdoor "flooring," you can have a lovely space to sit in your garden like in @mincerepublic's backyard.

  All it takes is a few decorative objects to make a handmade project feel like it's part of your space. Add cushions to your benches and a small lantern to cozy it up.