Planter boxes add accent, affect, and vitality to any Houston landscaping plan.   Any home architecture can be enhanced by a basic structure that can be built out of any type of material in any size or shape necessary to accent the dwelling.  Planters can contribute affect to gardens, patios, and outdoor buildings too. 

There really is no limitation on what they can be used for, because a box is so simple, yet so variable, it can be shaped into any form you desire.  People grow flowers, herbs, and even vegetables in these containers.  Larger boxes are also used to lift small trees and shrubs off the ground in a way that enhances their vertical impact and with magnified effects of form.

While there are many sizes, shapes, colors, and materials used to build boxes, there are only two categories which any of these can be classified.  The first is a permanent box that is attached to a house, an outdoor building, or an outdoor element like a patio.  The second is a portable box that can be rolled on wheels to different zones of interest at will.

The number of portable versus permanent planter boxes you have in your yard will be determined by the nature of your Houston landscaping plan itself.  More traditional plans, such as Classical, French, or formal, may benefit more from fixed forms built directly into the walls of the house, along the edges of terraces, or integrated into patio design.

In modern landscaping and contemporary landscaping, you may see more portable containers used.  Due to the minimization of vegetation in many contemporary lawns and gardens, a great many Houston landscaping clients who live in contemporary style homes request that we decorate their yards with gravel beds, networks of walkways and patios, and outdoor islands of three dimensional art.

Planter boxes in these areas will add just the right amount of organic life.  To make them compliment their contemporary surroundings, we normally build them out of black fiberglass and galvanized steel.  These boxes can then be positioned in any number of places before guests come over to look at art, sit on patios to enjoy cocktails, or enjoy an outdoor dinner under the stars.

Houston landscaping plans that call for permanent planter boxes typically integrated them into the design of outdoor hardscapes.  We have all seen patios, decks, and terraces that use raised boxes to support vegetation.  One of our specialties is to design these containers to also function as seat walls on either side of the patio boundary.  This allows guests to sit and face the group on the patio, or sit on the other side of the wall and enjoy the wall from an elevated vantage point.

Another Exterior Worlds specialty is to integrate planter boxes into interior space.  It has long been a tradition to use boxes to grow herbs and vegetables indoors.  Taking this same principle into the outdoor world, we can adapt any permanent or portable container to add organic life to the interior of an outdoor kitchen, a swimming pool house, a gazebo, or a garden pavilion.