TOP ROW
1. Chairs: Old Chairs make amazing raised planters. This one is super cute because they've painted it to contrast with all the garden greenery.
2. Shoes: I've seen shoe gardens before but this repurposed sandal is especially cute because of its size, colour and inbuilt drainage!
3. Buckets: These metal buckets have been raised on concrete parking guides and they look amazing lined up against the wall. Garden herbs ready to go!
4. Furniture: I love this idea! When a piece of furniture has outlived its indoor life it can be moved to the outdoors! Just add dirt, lining and drainage.
5. Guttering: Suzanne lined the sunny side of her house with rain guttering and now has fresh salad produce just outside her window.
MIDDLE ROW
6. Bread pans: Just add holes and dirt and your unused kitchenware lives again as a kitchen planter!
7. Colanders: Another repurposed planter with built in drainage. It's like it's meant to be!
8. Oil tins: These oil tins make fantastic planters when you're done with your oil.
9. Washing buckets: I've seen these old buckets in a lot of op-shops and I've often wondered... but what would I do with it? Plant in it!
10. Pots and pans: More kitchen stuff that makes its way into the yard. Tiny pots full of garden greenery.
BOTTOM ROW
11. Bags: This tiny succulent garden looks so cute in its repurposed home.
12. Yogurt containers: Love yogurt. But I've yet to find a yogurt that doesn't come in a plastic container of some description. So rather then recycle them or store them in the cupboard for 'some day' I'm going to repurpose them into a yogurt planter garden.
13. Tins: Empty tins make fantastic planters. Easy to add drainage, easy to decorate and very durable.
14. Coffee mugs: I love these mugs turned into mini herb gardens... I'm just not sure how to add the drainage... something to try!
15. Boxes/guitars/drawers/tubs: If you have the space and propensity arranging all your repurposed planters together can look amazing! This rooftop garden has me inspired.
(Re-edited from a post originally published on 3.24.2011 - CM)
(Images: 1. The Seattle Times; 2. Our House; 3. CantyShanty; 4. The Micro Gardener; 5. Juneau Empire; 6. Giant Jeans Parlor; 7. The Micro Gardener; 8. My HomeGrown; 9. Make Things Go; 10. The Bowerbird; 11. The Micro Gardener; 12. Eco-Friendly Freckles; 13. Ewa in the Garden; 14. Sow Your Own; 15. Urban Garden Casual)
Originally posted April 6, 2012
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Picture #4 makes me think of Wall-E.
Cute spread. I might have to try the chair idea. And I have the same style dresser from which the drawers in the last picture came.
These are awesome! I really like the coffee mugs. Not nearly as creative but a cool product, nonetheless, is the UrBin Garden. It's a small container garden with a self watering system.
www.theurbanworm.com
These are great ideas; I've been doing many of these for years. For the coffee mugs as well as pretty much anything container in the garden, use masonery drill bits - small bit first - to drill holes for drainage.
gardengirl
Wouldn't the metal planters (I'm eyeing the tin cans) rust after a while?
Otherwise, these ARE adorable.
Fun post. But I'd be concerned with the furniture falling apart and having proper drainage with some of the metal containers. Never thought of using an enamel colander - love it!
I'm sorry, but the Croc makes me cringe.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/o42/2876474923/ I love this one!
Bloody genius - especially the colander. We just bought one that turns out to be useless, so thank you for this idea!
Re-purposing metal cans is great for indoor plants (and a little clear nail polish on the bottom rim takes care of the rust issue) but I've tried it for outdoors on the terrace -- and the heat simply fries the roots. Looks good but not a happy environment for the actual plants. Maybe succulents or very shallow rooted plants would thrive?
@Jainejones thanks for the tip!
For the coffee mugs or anything else that you are unsure about putting drainage holes in, you can put an inch or so of small gravel or other stones at the bottom before filling with soil. That will take care of the drainage.
nice ideas! Just dont use a toilet as a planter in Tenn., according to city officials, it's a violation!
http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/news/offbeat/city-tells-man-his-front-yard-toilet-planter-is-in-violation-032511
What about an old wooden rowboat or a metal laundry tub or ...
http://www.recycle-eh.com/apps/blog/show/6590956-repurposed-containers-for-summer-gardens
you can also put plastic in to line the tin cans or the furniture...
Would love to know a source for the type of metal buckets shown in pic #3 -- anyone? I've never seen anything quite like them.
I've been using blue bunny ice cream containers for my plants in my apartment. (The plastic and oval-shaped ones). I drilled a few holes, sprayed paint it white, and used the lids as saucers. It's been great and big enough for a few herbs or a couple of small veggies.
I also used those takeout soup containers from chinese restaurants. Both quart and pint size work great. Just make sure to cover up the see-through plastic cause you don't want light getting in the soil/roots.
@rustypatina - Ace Hardware has them. Behrens galvanized bushel basket, $17.00.
I agree with MSPFACE, not into the crocs. Tired of seeing plants in shoes. Otherwise, great post!
Photo #1 makes me think of a commode chair.
Very cool. The colander works well for salad too.
This is so cool I can't grow plants but I love the ideals
I have a couple cute vintage colanders I spray painted, and they are darling, except they drain TOO well, and my plants get dried out super quickly. Such a bummer but I use them anyway!
@straw2gold: a thousand thanks!
My landlady lives next door to me, and she's got the really cool retro blue dresser out there that she's planted with some herbs and flowers, similar to #4. It's such a cool idea, and so pretty!
I got some nice blue buckets with cute white handles at Big lots for $1.50 each for herbs, and we're also trying tin cans on the fence, and some brightly colored plastic boxes and garbage cans (also from Big Lots) for different plants. So far so good! And way less than a quarter of the cost of regular planters.
Such a cute post
I used a colander...put it about 1/2 inch in the ground and didnt have any more problems with drying out or too much drainage (I lines it with the coconut liner too). I love the ideas and even if the furniture rots away, it has been repurposed and was given a second chance to show off.
That better have been one craptastic guitar.
Croc = Gross. Sorry.
I picked up six bed elevators for 50c; they look like thick plastic 6" white flower pots; spray painted them primer grey and now am looking to find some low maintenance & low water plants for them. The colander and rain gutter ones look good; ditto the old guitar.
We garderners call it soil, never dirt.
I'm pretty sure AT is where I got the idea to use metal buckets last year.
http://dodiegoldney.com/2013/03/09/creative-thinking-accidental-organizing/
I love the chair! I wish I had the space to do this.
The only issue I have with all of the metals that are re-purposed is this...Here in FL I feel like the plants would get totally friend unless they were only partial sun or shade plants.
On the coffee-cup idea - I've used creamers that the handle broke off of as planters before. I just put about 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch of small pea-gravel in the bottom, used a quick-draining (cactus) soil and planted a few little Aloe Vera plants in it. Drainage was never a problem as I only watered them every other week and they were quite happy in their creamer. I think succulents or other plants that can withstand being 'dried out' between waterings would withstand this just fine.
Happy planting!