Inspiration

My elder son is leaving for college soon. We went to visit his new digs and I immediately identified a perfect little coffee shop in his new town. Hallelujah! What could be better, you ask? Not only was this a charming shop with a friendly barista in a cool old building. BUT, they also sold houseplants. It was like some sort of karmic intervention. The universe knew I was stressed and handed me this gem. I enjoyed it so much, it inspired me to write about up-cycling unique containers for plants. Here are four easy steps to turn ordinary objects into unique container gardens. 

Choose Your Planter

Once you start thinking about this, keep an open mind and your creative juices will start flowing. A great jumping-off point is the kitchen. Clean out an old cupboard and you can find any number of unique garden containers. You may find bowls, pitchers, colanders and the like. Chipped tea cups or old kitschy mugs are fun, too. Your Grandmother’s cookie jar that you don’t use but can’t seem to part with? An old pie pan that can become a succulent garden? You get the idea. Find something you love and decide to repurpose it.

Make it Usable

Numero Uno: once you’ve selected an object to start your unique container gardens, check to see if it already has appropriate drainage.  No holes? No worries. Depending on the material your container is made of, you need a corresponding drill bit and a little elbow grease.  Create some drainage holes in your piece so that your plantings will be happy. In the case you’ve selected a container with too many holes, think about lining your container with something like moss to keep your plant from getting too dry. 

Add Planting Medium

Next up is filling your container with healthy soil appropriate to the kind of plant you’re planning to grow.  I love using Osmocote Potting Soil as it feeds plants for a full 6 months. But seriously, consider what you are planting and make an appropriate selection. Trust me, you’ll be much happier feeding your new plant baby the nutrients it needs to make your unique container gardens healthy.

Plant Those Babies!

The last step is adding your seedlings or plants. Get creative. You can choose one variety to make a striking impact or use lots of different textures and colours in one container for contrast and interest.  Once you are happy with the way your arrangement looks, fill in with soil, top with a bit of mulch if you wish and water them in place.  Unique garden containers can be everything from whimsical to dramatic and certainly can add a personal touch to your container gardens. Get creative and surprise yourself.