Everything's a planter!

Certain things always surprise me with how expensive they are.  Almost anything made for the outdoors seems to fall in that category: patio furniture, patio furniture cushions, planters, etc.  Aside from the fact that they're expensive to begin with, all of these things wear out quickly and need replacement often.  So I always get excited when I can find a great deal on something that goes outside.

For example: I bought two new ceramic planters a couple of years ago at Lowe's.  The two medium-size planters were originally $35 each; on sale they were each five dollars off.  (The sales are never much of a discount for outdoor stuff either.)

But my plant collection had grown.  I needed more planters.  So I bought them.  And they were really pretty.

Fast forward two weeks.  I was sitting in my backyard reading, when my dogs started playing, and chasing each other really fast around the yard.  One of my dogs decided to take a shortcut to the patio and ran between the planters.  My other dog, who was chasing behind, grazed the planter with his body as he ran by, knocking it over.

My beautiful new planter had a gigantic crack in it.  Just two weeks old.  And this is why I hate buying expensive ceramic planters.  (Or even regular flower pots.)  I've had so many break, either by getting knocked over (sometimes even by the wind) or cracked by frost, etc.

I just hate paying a lot for something with such a potentially short life.

So I started getting creative with planters.

It slowly dawned on me that almost any container can be turned into a planter.  Obviously, some hold up to the elements better than others.  Plastic is tough, but it often quickly discolors in a sunny location.  Wood is great, but it won't last forever.  Galvanized containers, while not super pretty (at least in my opinion), work really well because they are both tough (if knocked over), frost proof and rust proof.

I find all kinds of potential plant pots at thrift stores.  The most important element?  The price.  They have to be inexpensive since their lifespan will have a limit.  Here are a few of the ones I'm using now:

This is one of my favorite tricks, the garbage can-as-planter.

This stainless steel (?) can was $5 at Goodwill.  I just had my husband drill a few drainage holes in the bottom and voila, a pretty planter for my begonias!

I even love the form of some of these trashcan/planters.

Go ahead dogs, knock this one over!  You can't hurt it!

I'm not sure what the original purpose of this smaller stainless steel container (filled with Caramel Huechera) was.

(Was it meant to be a planter?  It has velvet on the bottom, so whatever it was it was meant to sit on a table.)

Again, it was a few dollars at Goodwill.

I didn't drill holes in the bottom of this one, because I keep it under the porch roof so I can control the amount of water I put in.

This big, shallow, pretty stone bowl was $5 at a flea market store.

I had four small herb plants (in plastic pot)s that I wanted to contain together in something prettier.

This was perfect, it fit them all.

This planter (and the one below) with my Calla Lilies was obviously meant to be a planter.

Each one was $2 or less at an estate sale.

I just have to throw in a couple of close-ups of my purple Callas.

The colors are just so beautiful!

When I saw this beautiful porcelain basket at a thrift store for $7, I knew I didn't need it...I also knew I had to have it!

I just knew it would be SO pretty with some pink flowers inside, like these double impatiens from Wal-Mart.  This elegant basket really elevates the beautiful flowers.

I love this!

And finally, I found these cute little unicorn planters for $1 each at a thrift store.

I put succulents from Wal-mart in them...so cute!

The unicorns also feel kind of groovy and vintage to me; perfect for my 1970's house!

Goodwill always has a great supply of small planters and containers of all kinds.  Just add your own holes!

Since I'm ALWAYS doing something with plants, and adding to my collection, I pick up planters all the time when I find something great and cheap.  I've got a shed full.

And finally, the last thing I've learned about planting in planters?  With a few exceptions, I almost always put plants in plastic pots, then put the plastic pots in the planters.  (As opposed to filling the planters with dirt and planting in them directly.)  If the pot is a little taller than the planter, and it bothers me, I'll just trim the top of the plastic planter an inch or two so it's shorter than the pretty outside container.

I do this because it makes taking the plants out when they're done blooming really easy.  With perennials, after they've bloomed, I can pull the plastic pot out, move it behind my shed (till next year), and put something else in the pretty planter.  

For the planters I don't drill holes in the bottom of, I can simply pull the plant in the plastic pot out of them and check to see if I've overwatered.  If there's an inch of water in the bottom, I can just pour it out and let the plant dry out.  If you plant directly in a planter with no drainage holes, it's really easy to overwater the plant and kill it.  But if you've put the plant in a plastic pot that sits inside another planter, it's simple to avoid an overwatering situation.

Messing around with plants, moving them from place to place, making arrangements in pots with perennials and annuals, this is just fun!  And it's even more fun with creative container-ing. 🙂🌹