Recycled Planters
Finding and picking your pots is fun. Adam Caplin in
Planted Junk: A New Approach to Container Gardening says that before you visit junk shops or comb through local dumpsters, see what's lurking at home: closets, shelves, garage.
Dish it up.
Old dishwashing and laundry basins, especially enamel, make wide and shallow junk planters. They're excellent for floral and bedding displays.
Throw a tea party.
Teapots, coffee pots, and old enamel and copper kettles all work well as planters. Try planting a coffee-colored plant in a coffeepot. Pitchers lined up in various sizes can resemble a line of ducks marching through a garden. Search your kitchen for pans-small poachers to large cauldrons.
Nine to five.
Wooden office drawers or pigeonhole shelves make a lovely showcase for displaying small plants. Leave some compartments empty to offset the design.
Bottom of the barrel.
An old butter churn makes a majestic pot. Just placing it in a garden with no plants can look impressive. Wooden barrels also look good on pavement.
Cardboard fixes.
Cardboard boxes, especially those for food transportation, should be considered as temporary, no matter how colorful. They disintegrate quickly and often become a bed for wood lice.
Toss it up.
Old salad bowls do double duty when you plant them with lettuce.
Make a full circle.
Food-related junk pots allow the viewer to make a connection between the food and the earth it comes from. Try planting grapes in a wine carton.
Leave as is.
Wooden containers such as old wine or fruit boxes look more appealing untreated–sunlight on wood produces a natural bleached appearance that can be attractive.
Article content courtesy of Planted Junk: A New Approach to Container Gardening © Ryland Peters & Small, 2001