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You want (and love) the look of string lights for your outdoor patio; however, you are stuck on how to hang them. Sure, you could attach them to your house, install a few hooks and hang them from a post, or even wrap them around nearby furniture. Yet you’ll quickly grow defeated after that first thunderstorm results in a tangled mess of lights and the need to start from scratch. Instead, what you need are heavy duty planters utilizing conduit posts, cement, wire, and more. You need a full tutorial for DIY string light planters, and I’m here to help!

Customizable

Below is a step-by-step tutorial that includes materials, tools, and directions to replicate our exact outdoor lighting display (as shown below). It is important to note, that the number of string light planters and in-ground posts will vary dependent upon your outdoor patio square footage and personal taste.

Planter Selection

Additionally, when selecting planter pots for this DIY process, I’d recommend not choosing plastic. Not only do these not provide the additional weight necessary to withstand strong wind storms, but they also risk cracking in colder temperatures. Pictured below I utilized faux ferns to decorate mine (as I have the furthest thing from a green thumb). That said, if following the exact tutorial shown below and including a drainage hole, you should be free to add soil and plant live flowers.

From the Inside, to the Outside

With our patio area located straight off of our sunroom location, we wanted to make sure that the lights would be aesthetically pleasing from the inside of our home as well as the outside.

A special thank you to my dad for not only designing and building our string light planters, but for also helping me write out this entire tutorial :). Happy DIYing!

How to DIY String Light Planters

Yield: 2 string light planters & 1 in-ground post

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Active Time: 1 hour

Additional Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Total Time: 3 hours

Patio pots are the perfect way to hang outdoor lights securely. Number of pots necessary will depend upon size of your project/outdoor space. This guide/material list is based upon securing first to the house, next to the 3 poles (2 via pots, 1 in-ground), and back again to the house. Full DIY String Light Planters Tutorial below!

Materials

Tools

Instructions

POLES

Start with 1-1/4 in. EMT Conduit and cut into 3 pieces, each 16 inches long. Cut remaining 6 ft. piece down to 52 inches long (this piece will be utilized in a later step/in-ground pole).
Cut 1 in. x 10 ft. Electric Metallic Tube (EMT) Conduit to a length of 9 feet.
Using a 3/16 in. drill bit, create a 3/16 in. diameter hole approximately 3 inches from the end of the 1 in. x 10 ft. Electric Metallic Tube (EMT) Conduit pipe. Drill all the way throughout pipe evenly so that eye bolt can be inserted.
Insert Everbilt 1/4 in- 20 x 2 in. Eye Bolt into the 3/16 in. hole all the way through, then fasten with nut on the opposite side of the pipe.
Spray paint the newly cut 9 ft. pipes to desired color.
Insert Formufit 1 in. Furniture Grade PVC Internal Dome Cap in Black into the end of the pipe closest to the eye bolt.

POTS

Spray paint one of the 16 inch long pipes (previously cut from 'Poles- Step') to desired color.
Center painted 16 in. pole into the pot directly over the drainage hole at the bottom.
Using a glue gun, fasten pipe to bottom of the pot (over drainage hole). (NOTE: Make certain pot is on level ground so that the pipe is perpendicular to bottom of pot at 90 degree angle/straight up.)
After super glue is hardened, pour concrete into pot using 1/3 of 60 lb. Concrete Mix (i.e. 20 lb. worth of concrete). Allow to dry 24 hours.
Once cement is hardened, drill 3 holes at equal distance around pot (at the top of concrete where it meets the pot). These are drainage holes.

IN-GROUND POLE

*We installed an additional pole (in-ground) between the two pots in order to better secure lights over a large span of lighting.

Use pre-cut 52 inch piece pole (cut in step 1 of "poles"), spray paint it to desired color.
Using a 3/16 in. drill bit, create a 3/16 in. diameter hole 16 inches from either end of 52 in. pipe. Drill hole all the way through.
Insert Everbilt 1/4 in- 20 x 2 in. Eye Bolt (or bolt) into the 3/16 in. hole all the way through, then fasten with nut on the opposite side of the pipe. (This will create a stop for pole when placing in the ground.)
Dig a hole 3 feet deep (below soil line) to be centered between 2 pot locations. Diameter of hole should be approximately 6 in. diameter.
Insert pipe into hole allowing 16 in. pipe exposure to be above soil line. Eye bolt to be directly at soil line. Eye bolt will act as a stop for 9 ft. pole. (Note: Do not install upside down.)
Making sure pipe is level (90 degrees to the soil line), pour 50 lb. Fast-Setting Concrete Mix (don't need to mix with water prior) into ground hole surrounding pipe (note: careful not get inside pipe) within 2 in. of the soil line.
Double checking that pipe is level in cement mix, now add water directly on top of cement mix until saturated. Water will settle, dry, and set cement mix. This should now sit (exposed) for 24 hours.

INSTALLATION

Note: Recommend laying out placement of lights/pots prior to drilling.
Place pots in desired locations.
Insert long pole into potted poles and in-ground pole. Due to 1 in. pole going into 1 1/4 in. pole, there is slight wobble. To create a snug fit, place black tape around 1 in. pole about 15 in. from the bottom.
Using a 1/4 in. drill bit, create a 1/4 in. diameter hole into location of house closest to outlet (height should be level with Eye bolt of pole).
Insert Everbilt 5/16 in. x 4 in. Zinc-Plated Lag Thread Screw Eye into the house.
Take Everbilt 1/8 in. x 50 ft. Galvanized Uncoated Steel Wire Rope and thread through eye bolt on house and attach with Everbilt 1/8 inc. Zinc-Plated Wire Rope Clip.
Using loops on string lights, feed wire rope through each hole until reaching first potted pole position.
Run wire through eye bolt inserted in potted pole.
Continue looping through string lights until reaching in-ground pole.
Run wire through eye bolt inserted into in-ground pole.
Continue looping through string lights until reaching in-ground pole. (Note: When reaching the end of string lights, simply attach new 50 ft. Galvanized Uncoated Steel Wire Rope to previous 50 ft. wire rope using 2 Everbilt 1/8 in. Zinc-Plated Wire Rope Clips to connect.)
Run wire through eye bolt inserted in potted pole.
Connect the house repeating step 4 and 5 inserting another Everbilt 5/16 in. x 4 in. Zinc-Plated Lag Thread Screw Eye.
Note: If excess lighting, you can determine additional placement.
Turn on lights and ENJOY!