So, I was looking at my balcony the other day, and man, it was dull. Especially after the sun went down. I’ve got a few pots out there, some with plants that are actually surviving, surprisingly. But it just needed… something. And I’m not about to splash cash on those fancy outdoor lighting systems. Most of them look flimsy anyway, or cost an arm and a leg.
Getting Started – The Idea Sparks
I remembered I had a bunch of leftover LED strip lights. You know, the kind you stick under cabinets? Yeah, I bought a huge roll for a project that never really took off. Typical. So, I thought, why not stick ’em in a flowerpot? Light it up from the inside. Could be cool, could be a disaster. Only one way to find out, right?
Didn’t really have a plan. Just sort of winged it, which is how I do most things, if I’m honest. Sometimes it works, sometimes it’s a spectacular mess.
Gathering the Bits and Pieces
Okay, so what did I need?
- An old flowerpot: I had this terracotta one, pretty standard. It was just sitting empty, collecting spiders. Perfect.
- LED strip: The leftover reel I mentioned. It’s the 12V kind, luckily I also had a power adapter for it.
- Some wire: Always got scraps of wire lying around. Never know when you’ll need ’em.
- Soldering iron & solder: My trusty old iron. It’s probably older than some folks reading this.
- Hot glue gun: For sticking things. And for burning fingers, inevitably.
- Drill: To make a hole for the wire.
That was about it. Keep it simple, stupid. That’s my motto. Or one of them, anyway.
The “Build” Process – If You Can Call It That
First up, prepping the pot. I gave it a quick clean, brushed out the cobwebs. Then I grabbed my drill. Needed a hole near the bottom for the power cable to sneak out. Didn’t want it just draped over the side, looking messy. Drilled that, easy peasy. Made sure it was big enough for the wire to pass through without getting squished.
Next, the LEDs. I unrolled a length of the strip, trying to guess how much I’d need to go around the inside of the pot. Cut it at one of those designated cut points. Then I had to solder some wires to the little copper pads on the end of the strip. This is always the fiddly bit. My hands aren’t as steady as they used to be, and those pads are tiny. Got it done, eventually. A bit of heat shrink tubing over the connections to make it look semi-professional, or at least to stop it shorting out immediately.
Then, sticking it in. The LED strip had an adhesive backing, but I don’t trust that stuff, especially not in a pot that might get damp. So, I peeled the backing off and then ran a bead of hot glue along the inside of the pot, pressing the LED strip into it as I went. Worked my way around. Got a bit of hot glue on my fingers, of course. Standard procedure.
Wiring it up was next. Poked the wires I soldered to the LED strip out through the hole I drilled. Then I connected those to a longer piece of wire that had a DC barrel jack on the end, so I could just plug in the 12V power adapter I had. More soldering. More chances to mess up. Checked my connections twice. Positive to positive, negative to negative. You’d be surprised how often I get that wrong when I’m not paying attention.
The Moment of Truth (and a bit of fiddling)
Alright, time to see if this thing actually worked. Plugged in the adapter. And… nothing. Typical. My first thought: “Great, another failed project for the scrap heap.”
So, I unplugged it and started troubleshooting. Checked the connections at the LED strip. Looked okay. Checked the connections to the barrel jack. Seemed fine. Then I got out my multimeter. Ah-ha! The power adapter itself. I’d grabbed an old one from my box-o-adapters, and turns out, it was dead. Swapped it for another one I had, one I actually tested beforehand this time. Should’ve done that first.
Plugged it in again. And success! The inside of the pot lit up with a nice, even glow. Not too bright, not too dim. Pretty good, actually.
The Final Result
I put some of those fake plants in it. Let’s be real, I’m not a gardener. Real plants and I have a complicated relationship, mostly ending in their demise. The fake ones look decent enough in the glow. It actually looks pretty neat on the balcony at night. Adds a bit of ambiance, you know?
It’s not exactly a high-tech marvel, but it does the job. Cost me basically nothing since I used leftover parts. And it was a decent way to kill an afternoon. Plus, it’s unique. You can’t just buy this exact thing in a store, not like this. And if it breaks, I know exactly how to fix it. Or make another one, even better next time. Maybe with color-changing LEDs? Nah, probably too much effort.
So yeah, that’s my flowerpot LED story. Simple, a bit messy, but it works. Sometimes that’s all you need.
