I know there's probably been a thread on this topic before, but I thought I'd just as well start another one.
Show me the odd things y'all use for containers.
I'll start it off...
TC...
Odd Containers...
Cute idea! I'd love to find a bunch of old enamel bowls and pots and use them for planters. I have an old ringer washer that I'd love to plant something in, but DH thinks it would look "tacky". (I think it would look good.)
Howdy skyeblu,
I think if you want to plant something in that old washer, go right ahead. But I don't want your DH to blame me for allowin your tackiness. But what does "tacky" mean anyway? In my "gardening dictionary" it means using stuff in such a fashion as to make folks think you know what you're doin. For example, maybe puttin a coat of paint on that old ringer washer might get yer DH to thinkin that you really do have a great idea.
TC...
OK a lot of people have probably seen this but its my weirdest container yet. I try to walk that razor line between "cool" and tacky too skyeblu! Do you think I made it this time?
Thanks for posting that wonderfully whimsical container here too d-diva! I saw it in your other thread and just loved it.
One thing though, that suitcase looks to be in better shape than any I own. Can I have it when the season's over? ;~)
TC...
tc... I've never imagined an old ricer used as a container, but considering all the perforations, it looks like it works!
darius, is a "ricer" the same thing as a strainer? That's a strainer in my first photo. Used in making tomato juice and other such concoctions.
It didn't work out very well as a planter either. It lost to much water and the bacopa and ivy started dryin out so I moved them to a regular old hangin planter.
I could've lined the strainer with moss or even a thin sheet of plastic and it would've held the moisture but I was to lazy to fix it up.
TC...
Yes, TC, it is often used as a strainer. My grandmother made "riced' potatoes in hers by using the wooden pestle to mash the cooked potatoes through the holes. Makes them rather pretty looking.
I have her ricer and the pestle. The pestle is shaped like the taper of the ricer whereas the newer ones today are just round. I mash and strain blackberries and raspberries in it.
Cool darius, thanks for the lesson in cuisine. ;~)
Oh, here's another neat container...
TC...
You never tire of them, do you?
TC post one of the ones you cut up!
Well, okay...
TC...
Cool! That one looks just like ceramic! Gives me ideas for painting - like maybe a crackly finish or metallic like copper or....Aack!
Anyway, here's some more...
And another - don't know what this was meant to be - looks like a really fancy hamster wheel!
Guess I could call it "Creeping Fig Behind Bars" - the only place I trust the stuff!
This message was edited Jul 12, 2004 4:54 PM
And one more: I call this "not just for gumbo anymore!" The big pot was a crawfish boiling pot out of someone's trash. The small one is a strainer.
Very neat delphiniumdiva! I love your planters and especially your cage looking pot holder on the fence. I don't have the creativity going like you guys.
Just takes a trip to the thrift shop sweezel! I disguise myself so that no one will recognize me - wouldn't want to be seen shopping somewhere besides Neiman Marcus (drowning as rain pours down upturned nose). LOL ;) I have actually caught myself wondering if an old golf club case could be used as a planter...
LOL! I wish the thrift shops around here had good deals. I swear everything interesting is sold on ebay these days. I was rebellious, different teenager and started shopping at the thrift store in my hometown when I was a about 14 or 15. I have tried the one in McKinney, where I live now, and the people that own them are making some pretty good bucks to sell [deleted].
Occasionally there are good garage sales in the historical part of town though. Stuff gets pulled out of garages that has been there for years and years. I will have to keep my eyes open.
Oh and speaking of containers...
What do you do when a family member, name deleted to protect the guilty, comes flying onto the patio, trips, falls, throws out his hand and brings one's precious Wardian Case crashing to the ground in an explosion of very expensive glass? Does one scream? Cry? Take a pair of pruning shears to the ignorant cretin? Yes, all of the above...but then one is left with the skeletal remains of the formerly beloved Wardian case.
Our heroine bravely raises herself from the depths of utter despair, throws back her shoulders and says, "Glass? Who needs glass? Give me a cheapo spider plant from Walmart and I'll take care of this..." And they lived happily ever after.
TC I LOL'd until my husband had to come see what I was laughing at. Your sculptured evergreen in the tires totally took me back 30 some odd years ago. :-D My DH decided to try a little sculpting with some overgrown bushes in our front yard...they looked a little like yours...but back then I *hated* what he did. He went to work one morning and I got bow saw and CUT them ALL down COMPLETELY! (BOY was he mad!) Ahhhhh youth. Hey, we laugh about it now, obviously.
Diva...I love the suitcase, love the gumbo pot...and now I've got to find a "thrift" store (Neiman Marcus? Really, my dear!
They'd throw you out if they thought you had dirt under YOUR nails! ;-) )
Love the thread, TC...I'm putting it on my watch list so I don't forget where I found it!
~julie~
I must admit julie88, the sculpted evergreen photo is not of my making. The photo was sent to me by a friend, and it was taken down at Disney World.
I love all your containers d-diva!! They're just marvelous! And ain't they fun to do?
Show me more! And I'll do the same...
This is the top section of an old grill I had.
TC...
A GRILL!!! That's what I need...and I know where there are SEVERAL!
~julie~
Have any old kids toys laying around? Try this next time...
This one is made from an old roof turbine, stuffed with sphagnum in the cracks but lined with a coir mat.
Note: photo is in late April. It has grown a bunch since then.
This is an old floor lamp that we turned up-side down and put in a basket . Lou
Lou,
I loved that one when I first saw it. It's just charming.
Another odd container. Can you figure out what it is?
An electrical insulator? Lou
Yes, and a perfect size for this little lamium. Oh, that was too easy.
Well, when we moved into our house, it boasted an almost 30-year-old fireplace insert... Being city folks, we had never actually depended on a fireplace to create heat for a house. In S. CA a fireplace is for pretty, not for warmth.
Last summer, the old insert took a nice trip to the dump, and a propane insert was installed instead, complete with a thermostat. No more hauling in wood during torrential rainfall, no more spiders, no more splinters, no more ash pot to fill with last week's ashes... Now it has a much better use...
Y'all are a bunch of creative folks, that's for sure!
I love the kids toy planter smiln, I have plenty of forgotten toys around here that I could use. I was gonna guess the insulator planter too, but didn't get to post before Lou did.
Darius, what a neat lookin turbine planter. And what is a "coir?"
D-1, good way to recycle old furniture. I like that twisted metal spot in the middle.
l-rowan, I have an old ash pot too and use it for a planter now. Looks like hyacinth planted in yours. Purddy!
Would y'all do me a favor and tell me what you have planted in your cute little (or big) planters when you post a photo the next time? Please and thank you.
I'm headin south today with my kids to visit family in Kentucky. My DW will be in Florida for a few days at a convention for a company she works for called Stampin' Up.
After seein my folks and a few other special people, my grandaughter for instance, we'll be trekkin south on Thursday to spend a few days with my good buddy and mentor, Felder Rushing in Mississippi.
I'll probably check in here from time to time so y'all just keep on postin yer photos!
TC...
TC: from our Garden Terms http://davesgarden.com/terms/go/186.html
TC, mine has hyacinth and fresia, which came up a little later. I don't think I took a picture of the fresia blooming in the pot, although I did get some good close-ups of the blooms themselves. I think I'll add some crocus to the top layer this year, for some slightly earlier blooms as well.
LOVE the turbine darius!!! Gotta have one - my, my trips to the flea market are going to get interesting.
TC - Now I wish I'd bought that grill at Family Thrift two weeks ago!
Today, I'm thinking the BEST container for planting would be to use the pressure cooker fill it with quart jars, then plant my BEANS in it! Do ya think they would can themselves and jump on the shelf? ;-)
~julie~
LOL! Good luck with those beans Julie! Haven't been able to manage that yet! Threaten em with power tools...that always makes em behave.
Hey Diva...:-D I got my husband to help with the beans! They got done a LOT faster than if I'd done them...I think HE threatened them with the power tools! :-)
~julie~
(Off to see what kind of trouble I get into now... (now, where's that evil grin when you need one? )
Allright, You're bringing on my creative side, I'm off to garage sales Saturday!! la la la, and off I'll go, what I'll bring home nobody knows, shhhh.
I'm a big fan of using colanders lined with moss. Goodwill usually has a whole mess of 'em for about 50 cents each. The holes are great here in Washington because in the winter, when it does nothing but rain (but cooler season flowers will keep growing) it keeps the plants from getting too waterlogged.
Howdy y'all!
Made it back safe and sound today and have a new container that someone gave me whilst I was visitin Felder in Mississippi.
I'll post a pic of it tomorrow as I've done went and let it get to late to take a picture of this evenin.
TC...
This message was edited Jul 19, 2004 11:06 PM