Sometimes you look at your garden and think, “Yeah… it needs something.” Not a gnome. Not another store-bought plastic planter that fades in two summers. No — something bold. Something weatherproof. Something that will survive both a thunderstorm and that one neighbor’s unsupervised toddler.
So I made a planter. From concrete. Shaped like a raspberry.
Why a raspberry? Because nature already nailed the design, and because I clearly have too much faith in my own patience. I started out planning a giant version (like, small dog-sized), but halfway through imagining myself carrying it, I went for a “medium” size. Smart choice. My spine thanked me.
Materials
- A plastic bucket (mine was from sauerkraut, which feels on brand)
- Sand — lots of it, for the mold and for the mix
- Cement
- Water
- 2–3 small wooden dowels (for drainage, not for sword fighting… unless you get bored)
- Primer
- Acrylic paint — white + raspberry/wine/red, maybe a touch of blue
- Glossy outdoor stone sealer (the “wet stone” effect makes it look freshly washed)
- Gloves, mixing tub, trowel, sanding sponge, a questionable sense of optimism
How I made The Planter
Mix 1 part cement : 2 parts sand. Add 0.5–0.6 water to cement ratio — but slowly, like you’re seducing the mix. You want it thick enough to roll balls, but not so dry it crumbles. Test it: roll a ball. If it stays together, great. If it flattens into a sad pancake, add dry mix. If it explodes into dust, add water. You’ll know when it’s right — it feels like the “wet sand” from your childhood mud pie days.
Grab your bucket, fill it with damp sand, and pack it like you’re on a mission to win the beach championship. Flip it, tap the top, and — this is important — whisper, “paska, paska, come out.”.
Remove the bucket. Now you’ve got a dome. Could be a raspberry. Could be a medieval fortress. Time will tell. Note: If the dome collapses instantly, congrats — you’ve made soup.
Gloves on. Your hands deserve better than a cement chemical peel. Roll small balls — meatball size — and start covering your sand dome from the bottom up. Offset each row so they look like actual raspberry druplets.
Push 2–3 dowels into the bottom to make drainage holes, because plants don’t like swimming pools. Now walk away. For 48 hours. Yes, two days. The concrete is curing, and no, poking it to “check” won’t help.
Once dry, pour out the sand, rinse the inside, and flip your masterpiece. Add an extra ring of balls around the top so it doesn’t look like someone took a bite out of it. Make a slightly wetter mix and smear it on the inside to fill gaps and make it sturdier. This is also the moment you’ll realize you’re basically icing a cake that weighs as much as a toddler.
When it’s completely dry, sand down the sharp edges. You want organic curves, not concrete shark teeth. Then prime it so your paint doesn’t look blotchy in three weeks.
First coat: white. This blocks the sad gray concrete and makes your berry color pop.
Second coat: raspberry red. I used a “cherry” paint with a splash of red and white until it looked good enough to eat. If you don’t have raspberry paint, mix red + a tiny bit of blue and lighten with white. Paint in two thin coats — unless you like drips that look like your berry is bleeding.
Seal it with a glossy outdoor stone sealer or a “wet stone” lacquer. Glossy makes it look juicy. Matte makes it look like… well, like concrete pretending to be a berry.
You can drop a potted plant inside (great for seasonal swaps) or go full commitment with soil, drainage, and something like succulents.
Or, if you want zero maintenance, pop in fake greenery. No one will know unless they touch it — and if they’re touching your planter, that’s a different conversation.
Place them anywhere you want. They are weatherproof!.
Things I Learned (So You Don’t Have To)
- Bigger isn’t always better. Medium size is easier to move and still gets attention. Large is heavy enough to break your spirit and your patio tiles.
- Water ratio is sneaky. The perfect mix is just damp enough to hold a shape. One extra splash and you’re chasing runaway cement meatballs.
- Primer is non-negotiable. Skipping it means patchy paint. You’ll repaint anyway. Ask me how I know.
- Glossy sealer = magic. It’s the difference between “Oh, cool” and “Wait, that’s concrete?!”
- Drainage holes are life. Unless you want your plants to drown in their own home.
- Raspberry planters looks great mixed with DIY mushrooms.
Why You’ll Love It
This planter is bright, sturdy, and weatherproof. It looks whimsical without screaming “I bought this at a discount garden center.” And making it? Weirdly therapeutic. Rolling those little cement balls felt like being five again, making sand cakes — except now, I get to keep the results without a tide stealing them.