Made in Kent · wooden planters
The planter we built for the spot where nothing else fits
For years people kept asking us for the same thing: something long and low for the path, the wall, the strip by the back door, the awkward bit a round pot just rattles around in. So we made it. Here’s the Sussex.
It started with a question we kept getting
I run a small workshop in Kent. We’ve been building wooden housing here for a long time, and a few years back we started making garden planters. Almost straight away, the same request kept landing in my inbox.
It was never “I want a big square planter.” People have plenty of those. It was always about a specific spot. The narrow strip along the path. The bare run beneath a window. The dead bit of wall by the front door. The edge of a balcony with about thirty centimetres to play with. “What do I put there?”
And the honest answer, for most of what’s sold, is: nothing that looks right. A round pot leaves gaps and looks lost. A big square planter won’t physically fit. So the spot just stays bare, year after year, and you stop noticing it’s even there.
That’s the gap we built the Sussex for.
A long, low trough, in three lengths to match the gap
The Sussex is a long, low trough. That shape is the whole point: it tucks along a path, sits flat against a wall, runs under a window or down the edge of a balcony, and fills the line instead of fighting it. It comes in 2ft, 3ft and 4ft, so you pick the length that matches your spot rather than forcing the spot to swallow something round and bulky.
Three lengths to match your gap, and just 21cm front-to-back, so it slots in where a round or square pot can’t.
| 2ft | 61cm long | a balcony rail, the tight strip by a door |
|---|---|---|
| 3ft | 91.5cm long | under a window, along a short path |
| 4ft | 122cm long | the run of a path, the edge of a patio |
Every length is 21cm deep and 24cm tall. Lined inside, ready for herbs, salads, bedding and seasonal colour.
Fill it with whatever suits you, trailing flowers for colour, a row of herbs by the kitchen door, a low run of lavender along the path. A bare strip becomes the bit visitors comment on.
The Sussex Planter
✓ Free UK delivery on every order
Same-day dispatch before noon · 2-3 working days · 2-year guarantee
Built to still look good in three years, not three months
Here’s the part most people have been burned on, so I’ll be plain about it. Maybe you’ve had a wooden planter warp in the first windy week, or rot through at the base by the second winter, or turn up flat-packed in a bag of fiddly screws. We build the Sussex to dodge all three.
Solid timber
Solid Northern European softwood, not thin cladding, it holds its shape and the weight of wet soil without sagging or blowing over.
A floor that drains
The floor is two boards with a gap down the middle, set raised inside the frame, so water drains away beneath the soil — the timber never sits in a puddle.
Timbac finish
Our own non-toxic, water-and-wax treatment, not pressure-treated, no harsh chemicals. Safe around herbs, pets and children.
Fully assembled
Lift it out of the box, carry it to the spot, fill and plant. No flat-pack, no instructions, no specialist screws.
A solid floor traps water under the soil, and the floor is exactly where wooden planters rot first. A raised floor with a gap down the middle lets the water drain away beneath the soil, so the timber stays dry.
The Sussex vs a typical big-box planter
The Sussex
- Long & low, fits narrow strips
- Raised inner floor, drains down the middle, stays dry
- Solid softwood, not thin cladding
- Timbac, safe around edibles
- Arrives fully assembled
- Made in our Kent workshop
- 2-year guarantee, 90-day returns
A typical planter
- Round or square, gaps, or won’t fit
- Flat base, sits in trapped water
- Often thin decorative cladding
- Treatment often unstated
- Flat-packed, build it yourself
- Imported, no traceability
- Short or no guarantee
Made in our Kent workshop
Every Sussex is built here in Manston, Kent. We’re a family workshop. We’ve been working with timber in this part of the country since 1982, and we’re a member of the Made in Britain campaign. There’s a real name and a real address behind it, not a marketplace seller you’ll never trace.
We dispatch same-day if you order before noon, it’s with you in two to three working days, and UK delivery is free on every order.
72 gardens in, and the same things keep coming up
★★★★★ 4.88 out of 5 · 72 reviews
“I bought 3 to edge the patio off, perfect sizing and they arrived fully assembled. They look good and feel solid, really happy with them.” — verified buyer
“Great quality, pretty sturdy, and assembled is a big bonus. Arrived sooner than expected, would definitely recommend.” — Lynn J.
“Fabulous quality, it brightens up a dark corner.” — Joan
Sturdy, and assembled. Those aren’t accidents, they’re the two things people get burned on elsewhere, and the two things we set out to get right.
If it’s not right for your spot, send it back
You’re not gambling £30 on a photo. Every Sussex comes with a 2-year full guarantee, no exclusions: manufacturing and rot, no small print. And there’s 90-day free returns, including large items, so if it’s not right, we’ll collect it.
See if it fits your spot
If there’s a strip, a wall, a doorway or a balcony edge that’s been bare for too long, the Sussex was built for exactly that. Pick the length that matches the gap, most people take two or three to run a path or frame a patio, and have it planted by the weekend. Delivery’s free, whatever the size.
The Sussex Planter
✓ Free UK delivery on every order
Same-day dispatch before noon · 2-3 working days · 2-year guarantee
- Free UK delivery on every order
- Long, low trough, fits where square pots won’t
- Raised inner floor, drains and stays dry
- Solid timber, fully assembled, made in Kent
- Timbac, safe around herbs, pets and children
- 2-year guarantee, no exclusions
- 90-day free returns, including large items