Green Garden Design No Pun Intended Recycled Materials for Gardens

One of the latest trends in landscape and garden design is using recycled materials to create unique and creative garden planters. The advantages of using recycled materials are that they offer an artistic and aesthetic appeal to your garden, they are unique and customizable, they save you money by not having to purchase new planters, and chances are, your neighbors wont have the same creativity in their gardens. So while doing research on creative landscape design, I came across this article from GreenDiary.com which offers up some innovative garden planter ideas.

The Bathtub Planter

Ironically, my good friend Nick has an old crows foot bathtub in his backyard and has turned it into a planter. You can line the planter with plastic, lay down a few varieties of soil and plant flowers, plants, ferns or a small tree. Old bathtubs make for a nice display bed for a variety of flowers and plants.

Old Shoes or Boots

Have a small space you want to add an accent to? How about a pair of old shoes or boots? The article recommends that you line the insides with plastic and poke a few holes in the shoes for sufficient water drainage, but my thoughts would be that if you have an old pair of shoes that the soles have worn out, or they are canvas, etc, that water would drain out just fine, so line them with plastic and just poke a few holes in the plastic vs. through the whole shoe. Also, because the space you will have is much smaller than a normal planter, be sure NOT to water your plants too much.

Old Paint Cans

A very simple and great idea here! Ironically, you will need paint to paint the outside of the cans in a vibrant color, or colors, of your choice. Then poke a few holes in the bottom for drainage and there you have it. You can even hang them on walls, from decks, balconies, pergolas and more.

The Washbasin, Sink or Drinking Fountain Planter

Another irony here, is that I, personally, have a drinking fountain planter in my home. A buddy of mine who is an artist was having a garage sale a few years ago and had a random drinking fountain sitting in his garden. Nothing was in it except dust and dead leaves, but it was sitting in his garden and I thought to myself, that looks out of place but would be cool if it had plants in it. So I bought it, brought it home, lined it with plastic and have had a successful planter ever since. The catch about washbasins, sinks or drinking fountains as planters is that because they are so shallow, you will have to plant something that does not require a deep root system. Green Diary recommends "seedlings of tarragon, basil, parsley or nasturtiums to add color to your surroundings."

Cinder Block or Brick Planters

This is another idea that I am going to use on my home patio, cinder blocks! Contemporary and inexpensive, what a great way to utilize old cider blocks or bricks that are lying around. They are already hollowed out and sturdy, therefore perfect for holding up to inclement weather.

The Green Diary also has a few other options for planters including old tires and lamp shades, but I selected the ones I thought were most aesthetically pleasing. Check out the article for details regarding those concepts.

After youve checked them out, check us out online for all your custom outdoor fire pit needs. Also, check out our partners at www.patiooutfitters.net for all of your patio furnishing and landscape design needs. Until next time, stay warm and BRING ON THE SPRING!!!

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