Let’s upcycle some old garden hoses! I inherited quite a few of these old leaky hoses when we first moved into our home. I’ve been storing them away in hopes of making an upcycle. In most cases you should not put a used garden hose into your recycling bin. It has multiple layers (including an internal webbing) that is hard to recycle. Not to mention it can be tangled into the recycling center machinery, which can cause safety concerns for the machines and workers. Some hose may contain lead as well, so its best to do your own research before trying this project. Over the years I have found that it is best to invest in a good quality hose. That way you won’t be replacing hoses every season. For the past year I’ve been using the zero-G hose. Up front it is a bit pricey, but after a year of daily use I can confirm it’s held up well, plus it’s lead free.

First off before you upcycle, make sure to see if you can fix the hose. Any hardware store should sell a replacement coupling for a few dollars. You can fix a certain section of the hose by cutting it off and replacing a new coupling. However, if the hose is beyond fixing then I have lots of ideas for you!

I went a little fancy with the design here. If I had to do this again I would probably choose to make a different design (a square would be better). The ends of my half circle turned out a bit weird, as you can see in the below photo. The basic gist of how to make this is to cut sections and line them up. Once everything is lined up, I went in with fishing line and secured a knot at each part of the hose. Securing a knot at each section can be time consuming, but if any part of the line breaks off then you’ll only need to fix a small portion. You’ll see the 5 white lines on my ‘rug’, this is where I secured each individual hose with a continual knot. I tried to make this step look aesthetically nice. I would also recommend filling in the holes at each of the openings when completed. You can use a small wine cork or even a small marble. This will ensure no rain water or bugs would be collected inside the hose. This rug is the perfect place to get all that garden mud off your boots before you head inside. Even better you can hose it off when it gets dirty!

Drill a few small holes directly into the hose. Turn on your water and watch the hose water by itself. I would recommend to place the holes near the dirt. For my picture I wanted to show the water spraying so my idea came across.

Secure a few strands of the hose together in a circle formation. Then add some decorative flowers and display on your door. I did post a full tutorial a few years back, it can be found here. 

I’m using just a single layer here, however you can put up as many as you like. I simply attached with a small screw and secured with a locking nut on the back. A tip here is to pre-cut your hole with some sharp scissors. This is helping keep my flowers upright as a trellis. Plus I added some hooks to add garden tools.

When planting a new tree you need to give the tree some upright supports. You could tie a heavy string around this, but I find the cut piece of hose provides more stability on the trees trunk. This way it can also continue to grow without disturbing the tree.

Slide the hose over your cord to protect from weather outside. If you can’t fit your cord through the hose, then make one long cut to fully open your hose up. Make sure to place the cut side on the hose facing down.

Cut 2-3 pieces of the hose, all with different lengths. Then fold the hoses in half and secure with a reused rubber band (my favorite are the thick ones from grocery store produce). Use the rubber band to hang on a nail or a picture hanger against the wall. It’s very lightweight so no need to worry about falling off. Put either fresh or dried flowers in each of the openings. If using fresh flowers you can easily add water inside each hose holder. Just be aware to fully dry it out after use.

This might be my favorite one! Gather an old strainer, preferably one with an outter lip on the top. Measure your hose to fit around the strainer (on the underside of the lip). I secured mine with using both of the couplings. Then make the handles. Measure a long piece of the hose and attach with a zip tie at each side. I used a zip tie because it is what I had on hand.  If you don’t have zip ties then I would suggest to make two small holes (almost like buttons). Then thread some string through the holes and make a knot. Then place your strainer inside the hose form. Now you have the perfect harvest basket. Plus you can easily wash your garden goodies!

Ever have one of those plastic hanging baskets and the hanger part always breaks? Just use the same above steps as the harvest basket for this step. Now you’ll have a heavy duty support for your hanging basket. 

When planting be sure to add a long piece of hose inside your pot. Making sure you leave a small portion visible at the top. Now you can add your water directly into the hose for deep watering. Especially as plants grow, this will allow water to directly go to the roots.

Great for an outdoor shed or storage area. Cut a small piece of the hose and attach with screws. Now you have an easy door handle that is unique.

Cut two small pieces from the hose and attach in the middle with a screw and locking nut. Now you have 4 pieces, where each end of a stick can go in. This helps form a cone like structure for use in the garden.

Cut a smaller section of the hose. Then make one long cut to fully open your hose up. There will mostly likely be a second layer inside with a lot of webbing. Take only the first layer off the cut hose and lay out flat. You’ll want to make sure you use the opposite side of the hose for this project. The inside of the hose has some traction and is not slippery like the outside. You can either tape it down on the stairs or screw in the edges.

Use the same step as above. Make one long cut to fully open your hose up. Then use that piece to cover up any sharp edges. You can even use the inside of the hose from number 16 for this. 

Use 3 long dowels and start by securing one end of the hose with a zip tie. Gradually wrap the hose around the dowels in an upward motion. You’ll want to go a little bit higher each time you wrap it around. At each wrap secure the hose by wrapping it around the dowel tightly. Once you each the top, secure with another zip tie.

Cut a small portion from your hose and bend in half. Then place that folded half under the door. This will keep your door opened without closing. Depending on how high your door is from the floor this can be customized by the number of folds you add to the hose.

Ever use a heavy bucket that has those wire handles that dig into your hands?! A simple fix is just slipping over a portion of a hose on the wire handle. Now your hands can be more protected when lifting from the handle.

There you go, 20 ideas! I really, really wanted to recover a folding lawn chair with hoses. I have yet to find an old broken folding chair though. I am going to the beach soon, so I’ll be on the lookout for any broken chairs near the garbage bins!  I will update this page if I ever end up making one. Happy upcycling to all and may no hose ever be sent to the landfill!