Trash to garden treasure
Think outside the container to turn everyday trash to garden-worthy treasures.
By Karen Deer, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
June 1, 2010 at 8:56PM
1. Cut center out of chair seat so pot can rest on the frame.
2. Spray paint chair and pot.
3. Plant a large pot with yellow sweet potato vine, red verbena, Tango Neon purple geranium, Dreamsickle calibrachoa, Royal Velvet Supertunia and premium potting soil.
Price: $55 for spray paint, flowers and soil.
METAL STRAINERS
1. Line both large and small strainers with plastic grocery bags so the soil doesn't wash out of the holes.
2. Fill both strainers with potting soil.
3. Place an upside-down 5-inch clay pot in the back of the large container. Push it down until it's level with the rim of the strainer.
4. Place the small strainer on the upside-down pot and the back rim of the large strainer.
5. Plant the smaller strainer with Strawberry Parfait dianthus and Snow Crystals alyssum.
6. Plant the larger strainer with strawberry plants.
Price: $25.
WATERING CAN
1. Fill the bottom one-third of the can with crumpled plastic containers to improve drainage.
2. Fill the rest of the can with potting soil.
3. For height, plant a white caladium. For fullness, plant a dragon wing begonia and Blue Wave torenia.
4. To soften the look, plant asparagus fern to drape over the edge.
5. Cover the soil with sphagnum moss for a finished look.
Price: $25.
OLD BOOT
1. Remove the shoe tongue.
2. Drill holes through the leather sole near the ball of the foot and at the arch.
3. Plant the toe hole with spicy mix micro-greens such as Red Ace cabbage, Sawtooth mustard and China Rose radish. (Wrap the tops of the greens in a rolled newspaper to keep from damaging them while threading them through the boot.)
4. Line the back of the shoe and the tongue with a piece of coir liner used for hanging baskets. Fill with potting soil.
5. Plant the boot with Blueberry Ruffles lavender, Fizzy Lemonberry pansy and Violet Ice nemesia.
Price: $10 to $15.
CHILD'S WAGON
1. Drill holes in the wagon for drainage. Line wagon with pebbles for additional drainage.
2. Fill wagon half full with potting soil.
3. Plant dwarf Alberta spruce, common Juniper, dwarf mugo pine, Goldcrest digitalis, English daisy, sedum, sweet alyssum, Scotch moss, Chocolate Chip ajuga and Sea Foam herniaria.
4. Add miniature accessories, such as tiny buildings, then use pebbles to create garden paths and colored glass to create a stream.
Price: $75 to $100.
