corten pedestal planter

I ordered 2 of these pedestal planters for the front of my house. I appreciate the efficient packaging and the fact that you are meant to reuse the styrofoam from the packaging to help insulate the plant in the planter. Distressing the metal was an easy enough process. Be advised that you need to apply the mixture several times (as instructed), but that means you will need enough hydrogen peroxide and vinegar for several batches. And you need to keep a rag or paper towel handy to wipe your gloved hands off - I made the mistake of going back into the house to refill the bottle with some residue still on my hands and it removed some of the finish off of my door handle.

The reason I knocked off a star is that the planter doesn't come with a plastic liner. The plant is meant to sit on a shelf, which creates a square-shaped cavity. But there's a lot of open space around the shelf, so dirt won't stay just in the top. The instructions didn't give any suggestions on how to fill it. But I think the best way to do it would be to use landscaping fabric to line the cavity before filling it with dirt. I ended up using reusable grocery bags with holes cut in the bottom instead, but they really didn't fill the space properly. It still looks fine, but it was a bit of a pain to work out.