Garden season is upon us! Besides upcycling I would have to say gardening is my next favorite thing. When I can combined the two, I am truly in my happy place!
I mainly do container gardening and I love to rethink of ways I can use what I already have. Gardening can be expensive, but not if you get a little creative. Plus it gives a little whimsy to your yard. Below are my top 10 favorite ways to upcycle gardening containers.
1. Olive oil tin. We like to buy these in bulk to use. They usually have a pretty design on the outside. To make a planter all you need to do is the cut the top with a can opener. Sometimes the edges can be a little hard to cut, so just to be careful. If any sharp edges are left after it’s best to cover that with some tape. Also be sure to add some drainage holes in the bottom.
2. Gloves. These are actually compostable gloves from if you care. They are made responsibly from natural rubber. Because they are compostable they only lasted me one gardening season after they started to decompose. But still works great for some small things like herbs. Just be sure to poke a few holes in the fingers for drainage. I really like the look of this at Halloween too!
3 Coffee burlap bag. I recently found out my local coffee roaster sells these large bags for only $1! (If you’re in San Antonio be sure to check out what’s brewing.) You can simply just place one on the ground and add your soil.
Or you can add one to a shopping cart like I did. This cart had been sitting in my shed unused for years. We used to use it when living at an apartment for transporting our groceries from the car. I love the idea that this is moveable. Weather permitting you can move it around the yard or even inside.
4. Gutters. This is all credit to my dad who did this project. He used some of his old gutters from the house and attached them to the fence. I like how this can be level with your eye and no bending over is required.
5. Vinegar jug. I buy these large gallon jugs of vinegar for cleaning and laundry. For this one I simply cut off the bottom and then made a hanging upside down planter. (I’m trying the upside down tomato growing technique this year). For the bottom piece that was cut off, that makes a perfect plant saucer.
6. License plate. Have any old license plates hanging around? Being that they are made of aluminum they shape really easy. Bend it with your hands until you get the shape you want. I attached the back of mine with two heavy duty binder clips. If you place in the ground, the roots will have room to grow into the ground. If you’re keeping on a patio then I would suggest adding a bottom to this. Or it could just be wrapped around an old plastic planter for a fun look.
7. Grocery Tote. This is just like a grow bag but for a fraction of the cost! I like to add a few small hole punctures in the bottom for drainage. I love that it even has a handle for easy moving. I did find that this deteriorated quicker than I thought. It lasted for about a year outside.
8. Feed bag. This is another idea similar to a grow bag. They are usually made out of a woven polypropylene and you can cut and sew this very easily. If you’re incline to sewing you could easily make any size you want out of this. If you don’t sew, simply just use the bag as is and fold down the top to get the size you want.
9. Spoon laddle. This is a recent addition to my garden and I just love it! I attached it to a small trellis and added a few succulents. I think it looks really cute in my garden space. Just be sure to add a few drainage holes of course.
10. Oven mitt. This is one of those silicone mitts and it developed a hole in the finger portion from overuse. Since there was already a hole I didn’t even need to add drainage holes! I popped some succulents inside. The mitt easily fits over any garden bed or trellis.
All the above are personally mine (with the exception of #4, which is my dad’s.) There are so many other upcycling ideas to use in the garden too! A quick search on Pinterest will probably find you many more ideas. Hope I’ve inspired you with some ideas here. Wishing you all a happy gardening season and as always – happy upcycling!
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