| gardening |
Transformations by Pat Pankey
Are you a gardener ? Do you buy many planters and other garden necessities and accessories ? Many times , you do not need to . I know you have often heard the expression , “ One man ’ s junk is another man ’ s treasure .” Well , often our own “ stuff ” ( I cannot call it junk !) can be our own treasures . It is easy , useful and even fun to repurpose old and / or unused items for various gardening-related uses .
Vases
I am sure that you have used a bowl , glass , pitcher , jar or bottle as a vase . A friend has an old glass milk bottle that she uses for that purpose . I am very fond of my large , old , metal milk jug , with its lid attached by a metal chain . I like to fill it with wild flowers to decorate and cheer up my deck . Many friends use beautiful bowls – antiques and not so old ones – for floral arrangements .
Planters
I have seen so many items repurposed as planters ( and you surely have , also ) that I will mention only a few .
1 . Boots of various kinds , from leather work boots to rubber boots to sneakers to fancy high heels . Children ’ s rain boots with designs on them are darling planters . You can even paint your own designs on old boots .
6 . Paint a rain gutter and hang it on a wall or mount it on a fence or railing .
7 . Metal cans . I like the ones that still have their old , pretty or unique labels attached . Small metal cans are perfect as succulent planters ; large ones are good for individual flower or vegetable plants .
You can paint designs on clean , unadorned cans . Start by spray painting clean cans white . Paint cans look great with paint running down the sides . Spray paint with at least 2 coats of acrylic varnish ,
Photo by Caroline Hernandez on Unsplash
2 . Paint an old bicycle and use its basket as a planter .
3 . Tool boxes , wheel barrows , wagons , washtubs , pots , metal mop buckets , watering cans .
4 . Kitchen pots and pans ; canisters .
5 . Decorative cinder blocks .
16 Summer 2023 | Thomasville Scene