Make It: Pocket Wall Garden
- Words by Peppermint
Brighten up your home this winter with a lovely splash of green, courtesy of this cute framed wall garden how-to from The Little Veggie Patch Co DIY Garden Projects, as featured in Issue 27 of Peppermint. This clever addition to your pad, porch or garden can also be made from salvaged or recycled timber. Roll up your sleeves and think inside the square!
You’ll need
Felt pocket wall garden unit (available at most nurseries).
Wooden dowel
Drill set
2 x 50mm (2in) bulge head
Screws
Measuring tape
4 x cyprus timber lengths: 3m x 70mm/19mm (9ft 10in x 2¾in/¾in)
Circular saw
25 x 40mm (1½in) timber screws
4 x 90° flat joining brackets
12 x 15mm (½in) timber screws
2 x large l-brackets
Organic potting mix
Favourite small-space plants
Instructions
Remove your pocket wall garden unit from the packaging and read the instructions. Units should come with all of the hardware needed to mount to a wall. If this is not the case, buy some additional screws and washers for mounting.
Fit your wooden dowel through the top. Drill a leader hole at each end of the dowel, as you don’t want to split the wood when you mount it to the wall.
Position your pocket garden where it will get plenty of sun. Use a couple of 50mm (2in) bulge head screws to mount the felt planter to the wall.
Measure the dimensions of the wall garden, bearing in mind that you want the frame to cover the edges. In this case, our felt pocket planter is 1.2m by 800mm (3ft 11in by 2ft 7 ½in). Then measure and cut the timber into two lengths of 1.2m (3ft 11in) and two widths of 800mm (2ft 7 ½in). This will make up the frame that sits behind the capping. Drill leader holes and join the frame together at the ends using 40mm (1 ½in) timber screws.
Double check the length of the frame. Depending on how it is joined it will be slightly larger than the felt planter – our frame is 1.2m (3ft 11in). Cut two 1.2m (3ft 11in) lengths and place them on the top and bottom of the frame as capping. Then measure the gap and cut your remaining two timber widths to size accordingly.
Attach four 90-degree brackets to connect each corner of the capping, using 15mm (½ in) timber screws. It will be a bit wobbly, but once mounted to the frame that won’t matter.
Place the capping over the frame (don’t fret if it overhangs a little bit), and secure it with 40mm (1½in) timber screws on each corner. Again, leader holes will prevent splitting here. Attach L-brackets at the top back corners of the frame. These will be used to hang it from the wall.
Fill the pocket wall garden with a high-quality organic potting mix, then plant it with your favourite small space varieties!
Mount the frame over the pocket garden using some 40mm (1½in) timber screws. As with all wall mounting systems, you need to make sure that you know what’s on the other side, ensuring you aren’t creating sharp hazards for your beloved neighbour.
This is an edited extract from The Little Veggie Patch Co DIY Projects by Mat Pember and Dillon Seitchik-Reaerdon, published by Hardie Grant Books, RRP$45.
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Look, I don’t want to make anyone panic but IT’S DECEMBER!!! If you’re planning to give homemade gifts, you’re going to have to act fast. …
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🌻 The Paddington 🌻
This is a much-loved staple, created for Issue 50 in 2021. We love seeing the #PeppermintPaddingtonTop continually popping up in our feeds!
How stunning is our model Elon MelaninGoddessEfon – she told us it was one of the first times she had been asked to come to a shoot with her natural hair. 🌻
We worked with South African patternmaker Sarah Steenkamp of @FrenchNavyNow_ to create this wardrobe essential – the perfect puff-sleeve blouse. Raglan sleeves make it the ultimate beginner sew, plus the gorgeous back buttons let you add your own personal twist.
Pattern via the link in bio! 🪡
Photos: @KelleySheenan
Fabric: @Spoonflower
Model: MelaninGoddessEfon
“In the 1940’s, Norwegians made and wore red pointed hats with a tassel as a form of visual protest against Nazi occupation of their country. Within two years, the Nazis made these protest hats illegal and punishable by law to wear, make, or distribute. As purveyors of traditional craft, we felt it appropriate to revisit this design.”
Crafters have often been at the heart of many protest movements, often serving as a powerful means of political expression. @NeedleAndSkein, a yarn store in Minnesota, are helping to mobilise the craftivists of the world with a ‘Melt The Ice’ knitting pattern created by @Yarn_Cult (with a crochet pattern too), as a way of peaceful protest.
The proceeds from the $5 pattern will go to local immigrant aid organisations – or you can donate without buying the pattern.
Raise those needles, folks – art and craft can change the world. 🧶
Link in bio for the pattern.
Images: @Gather_Fiber @NeedleAndSkein @a2ina2 @KyraGiggles Sandi.204 @WhatTracyMakes AllieKnitsAway Auntabwi2
#MeltTheIce #Craftivism #Knitting #CraftForChange
TWO WEEKS TO GO! 🤩
"The most important shift is moving from volume-led buying to value-led curation – choosing fewer, better products with strong ethics, considered production and meaningful stories. Retailers have real influence here: what you buy signals what you stand for. At Life Instyle, this means using the event to discover and invest in small-scale, planet-considerate brands that align with your values and your customer’s conscience. Consumers don’t need more things; they need better things, and retailers play a key role in selecting, contextualising, and championing why those products matter."
Only two more weeks until @Life_Instyle – Australia`s leading boutique retail trade show. If you own a store, don`t miss this event! Connect with designers, source exquisite – and mindful – products, and see firsthand why this is Australia’s go-to trade show for creatives and retailers alike. And it`s free! ✨️
Life Instyle – Sydney/Eora Country
14-17 February 2026
ICC, Darling Harbour
Photos: @Samsette
#LifeInstyle #SustainableShopping #SustainableShop #RetailTradeEvent
Calling all sewists! 📞
Have you made the Peppermint Waratah Wrap Dress yet? Call *1800 I NEED THIS NOW to get making!
This gorgeous green number was modelled (and made) by the fabulous Lisa of @Tricky.Pockets 🙌🏼
If you need a nudge, @ePrintOnline are offering Peppermint sewists a huge 🌟 30% off ALL A0 printing 🌟 when you purchase the Special Release Waratah Wrap Dress pattern – how generous is that?!
Head to the link in bio now 📞
*Not a real number in case that wasn`t clear 😂
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8 Things to Know About January 26 - from @ClothingTheGaps:
Before you celebrate, take the time to learn the truth. January 26 is not a day of unity it’s a Day of Mourning and Survival for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
It marks the beginning of invasion, dispossession, and ongoing colonial violence. It’s time for truth-telling, not whitewashed history.
Stand in solidarity. Learn. Reflect. Act.
✊🏽 Blog written by Yorta Yorta woman Taneshia Atkinson.
🔗 Link in bio of @ClothingTheGaps to read the full blog
#ChangeTheDate #InvasionDay #SurvivalDay #AlwaysWasAlwaysWillBe #ClothingTheGaps
As the world careens towards AI seeping into our feeds, finds and even friend-zones, it`s becoming increasingly hard to ignore.
We just wanted to say that here at Peppermint, we are choosing to not print or publish AI-generated art, photos, words, videos or content.
Merriam-Webster’s human editors chose `slop` as the 2025 Word of the Year – they define it as “digital content of low quality that is produced usually in quantity by means of artificial intelligence.” The problem is, as AI increases in quality, it`s becoming more and more difficult to ascertain what`s real and what`s not.
Let`s be clear here, AI absolutely has its place in science, in climate modelling, in medical breakthroughs, in many places... but not in replacing the work of artists, writers and creatives.
Can we guarantee that everything we publish is AI-free? Honestly, not really. We know we are not using it to create content, but we are also relying on the artists, makers and contributors we work with, as well as our advertisers, to supply imagery, artwork or words created by humans. AI features are also creeping into programs and apps too, making it difficult to navigate. But we will do our best to avoid it and make a stand for the artists and creatives who have had their work stolen and used to train AI machines, and those who are now losing work as they are replaced by this energy-sapping, environment-destroying magic wand.
Could using it help our productivity and bottom line? Sure. And as a small business in a difficult landscape, that`s a hard one to turn down. We know other publishers who use AI to write stories, create recipes, produce photo shoots... but this one is important to us.
`Touch grass` was also a Merriam-Webster Word of the Year. We`ll happily stick with that as a theme, thanks very much. 🌿
