04/16/2026
Hi all…
It’s the Boys again with a little Trivia and knowledge share!
Well it’s that time of year again for planters, boxes, raised beds, you name the outdoor flower project.
From a quick look on marketplace, we see the majority of makers are using cedar pickets. We also love using cedar pickets and have for many builds past and present! The builds tend to hold up great for a year or two but our weather really gives them a beating, especially if the are not sealed yearly. Trust us, we know from our personal planters 😉. Cedar pickets also only come in one size, meaning we see a lot of the same design concepts. Lastly, cedar can really range in color from red all the way to even a light cream.
So this got us to thinking…what other materials are durable but more dense and an actual hardwood??? What has more consistent color?!?
These considerations led us to think outside the box (no pun intended) for a recent 72”window planter box commission!
We feel like the species we ultimately chose will hold up much better…nearly 4x harder than cedar, very durable to rot/weather and is moderate to insect resistance.
Here are just some shop photos of the planter during the build process. We absolutely love it and feel we hit the project objectives!
TRIVIA: Can anyone name the wood? We will update the post with the answer and other wood recommendations from our research later this evening!
Thanks as always,
The Boys
UPDATE: The material of choice was SAPELE! Our client wanted something that resembled walnut and this was spot on after finishing with teak oil!
Other GREAT options:
Cypress
Redwood
White Oak
Mahogany
IPE
Anything thermally modified - ash is one option
Teak💰💰
