apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

this is a great idea! i love it!

I love the sheer creativity of this. It symbolizes much of what we all love. Unique, personal, stylish, and chic reuse.

I love this idea up and down, however I don't know how you'd attach it. :/

beautiful! we've done this out on our back steps.... we're growing all of our herbs in tomato cans... except they're a brand from whole foods with beautiful labels that we've decided to leave intact!

i had one can that i had painted a high gloss red and was growing a couple of sweet pea's in... but they fell victim to the kitten!

yeah -- how are they attached to the brick?

masonry screws i guess...

i wondered the same thing as everyone else: how they were attached to the brick. however, if you click the link to her flickr page and view the picture full-size, you can see how it's attached - and it (a) makes sense and (b) looks do-able! hooray!

I'd leave 'em unpainted, in the right urban environment.

Just remember that this can only been done as a temporary measure, in cool climates or in shade. The first time you get a hot day or full sun, the cans will heat up and roast the roots within, killing the plant instantly.

There's a reason why most plant pots are made of non-conductive materials like clay or plastic.

i agree with Blandwagon. Two years ago I hung small galvanized buckets that I purchased from Home Depot for about $1.99 each in the paint department. By the end of the summer, the plants weren't doing well and the buckets were rusty. It was a really nice effect -- shiny silver and greens -- for a bit.

First rainstorm hits and you have drainage and all the dirt that comes with it streaming down your walls.

Isn’t it sad that coffee cans are now plastic?


http://www.dcrinteriors.com

What a great look!

I wouldn't do that in a space that gets a western exposure. You can do it in shade...there are a ton of hardy shade perennials that will do well in containers and make that look wonderful in a year or so.

That said, I have some metal planters in the sun. They have a mostly northern exposure. They get daily drip watering from a timer (and plenty of drainage). They are big enough that the soil can absorb the heat - they also don't get a direct western afternoon sun. I prefer the vintage look to anything new and shiny when it comes to outside containers.

http://picasaweb.google.com/kclark56/Condo_garden/photo?authkey=dOXF6_r7ew0#5207679561930094306

Here in the Pacific Northwest I have a lot of experience with containers in rainstorms. A rainstorm will *not* wash your soil out the drainage holes unless they're too large to begin with (I typically drill 1/4" holes for drainage in my home-made containers that I re-purpose antique cans, urns, etc for).


http://picasaweb.google.com/kclark56/Condo_garden/photo?authkey=dOXF6_r7ew0#5207679587699898114


If you're worried about it, just buy a roll of landscape fabric and line the bottom of your containers with it (less than $5) will get enough to do a hundred of those cans. Water will go right through it. Soil won't.