Who says a garden planter has to be a terra cotta pot or a ceramic planter? While traditional garden planters can be beautiful, if you like to use your imagination, are creative and enjoy hunting for unique items at garage sales, antique shops, flea markets and thrift stores you can come up with some unusual garden planters that will add character to your yard while still looking beautiful. Here are some unique ideas for items that you can use for garden planters to get you started.
An Old Wooden or Metal Wagon
Toy wagons look lovely when filled with blooming flowers and can be a beautiful accent to your yard or garden. If you prefer a rustic look that blends with the surroundings try to find a wooden wagon. Left outdoors it will weather and take on a rustic look in no time to add charm to your garden. For a more casual, fun look, try looking for metal wagon – painted or unpainted. You will need to make sure that there is adequate drainage in the bottom of your wagon before planting. Most wooden wagons are slatted and have enough drainage. You may need to use a hammer and nail to punch holes in the bottom of a metal wagon to create drain holes.
An Old Bucket
Again, either wooden or metal buckets make charming planters and you can choose a bucket that fits well with your garden them. Like with a wagon, you need to ensure that there is proper drainage. Since buckets are made to carry water and don’t typically come with holes you should use a nail to poke holes in the bottom before planting.
An Old Tub
Sure, a huge old bathtub on your lawn may not be very cute, but the small, round antique tubs (usually around 2-3 feet in diameter) make beautiful planters. These tubs are perfect for growing a small water garden in! Try filling them with water and planting water lilies for a beautiful, serene water garden.
Old Metal Colanders
Some antique or vintage colanders are beautifully designed and can work perfectly for planting small arrangements of flowers to decorate your porch, deck or patio. The best part about colanders is that they already have hundreds of drainage holes built in! Keep in mind, though, that because there are so many drainage holes you may need to adjust the types of plants that you plant in them to be sure they will do well with that much drainage.
Teacups
Teacups are tiny, but they can look beautiful if arranged in a small grouping or even individually tucked away into a nook or cranny in your yard or garden. Choose small plants that don’t require a lot of room for their roots if you plant in teacups since there isn’t much soil available for them to expand. Also look for plants that don’t require much drainage since it can be difficult to poke a hole in a teacup. If you do need to add a drainage hole you can do it using a rotary tool like a Dremel with a bit designed for grinding through ceramic.
Old Boots
Yep, old boots can make beautiful planters with a ton of character and charm! Boots look particularly great when planted with plants like chicks and hens that don’t get too bushy and still allow you to see the boot.
Use your imagination! With a little creativity just about anything can be turned into a fun, unique garden planter.
