I am all about reusing and recycling, so I love the ideas people come up with for using repurposed items for planters. As long as the item has a method of draining water from it, the sky’s the limit. If it does not have holes in the bottom, you can either drill some into it or put a layer of small rocks or pebbles in the bottom to create the necessary drainage space.
This idea of using an old BBQ that was designated for the garbage comes from a fellow WP blogger living in sunny California. It makes a perfect planter for his extra tomatoes…
I have a few repurposed items masquerading as planters in my gardens too. An old milk can from my grandparents’ farm is perfect for sprigs or branches, especially in the fall or spring. This milk can does not have drainage and the bottom is too rusty to drill holes into it, so I choose branches that don’t need water or insert a pot (that has drainage holes in it) into the mouth of the milk can. Pussy willows are an example of branches that do not require water. It is now sitting on my front porch with pussy willows still in it, left over from their spring display. I added a pot of soil to which I tucked a few sprigs of blue lyme grass and annual bacopa for a summery look.
Other repurposed items I currently use as planters are two old ash buckets that used to sit beside an indoor fireplace. They both have pebbles in the bottom for drainage. One sits beside the milk can in the picture above, the other is pictured below. Both look great with colourful annuals…
And an old teacup and saucer make a great (fake, so no need for drainage) plant holder in my living room, AKA “the green room” as named by my two-year-old granddaughter.
Use your imagination to come up with repurposed items you have around your home. They make great planters!
