byronreese
Alternative hanging planters
Hanging planters don’t have to be purchased from a store. You probably have lots of things lying around that you can use.
Photo Credit: Cheryl Meyer
By Emma Salkill
Bowls and dishes of all shapes and sizes can be hanging planters just as long as they’re deep enough to hold the dirt and allow rooting. Drill holes in the sides for placing S hooks and chains or just make your own hanger. Cut two lengths of twine, equal in length. Cris-cross the twine pieces in the middle. Now set a bowl or dish at the spot where they cross and glue it in place. Fill with flowers and hang indoors or outside on a tree branch.
Cardboard boxes, lined with plastic for backyard usage, display flowers nicely. Or hang a set of three or four clay pots from a rope for a unique look. The clay pots on a rope don’t have to hang from a tree. They can hang from a second-story window or over a deck. Use the type of pots that have an extending lip and tie the rope securely around each one. Do the same thing with plastic cups. Poke a couple of holes in the bottoms for draining. Use large plastic cups filled with flowers to hang on a piece of sturdy twine. Glue the twine outside the lip of the cup to keep the containers from falling out. And the flowers don’t have to be real ones if you don’t have much of a green thumb. You can use silk ones which are almost as beautiful.
O you have a fish bowl but no fish? Make a planter. Set the bowl on a large square of strong netting. Pull the netting up over the sides of the bowl and glue. Leave just an edge of the netting showing over the top of the bowl. When it’s dry use S hooks to attach chains for hanging.
Old rusted pots that just haven’t gotten thrown away yet might as well be put to good use. Fill the pot with flowers and attach cording to the handles. Try to plant flowers that will climb and drape over the edge of the pot.
Planning on buying a new bathroom trash can? Don’t throw out the old one. Heat a nail and make holes for a hanger then string it up in a tree. Old buckets work well too. Even if they have a small hole in the bottom it can be lined with thick plastic before putting in the soil and plants. Canisters made from plastic, ceramic or even metal can be turned into a hanging planter. The major thing with almost any planter is fashioning a hanger for it. Make hanging planters from small wooden crates, old shoes, assorted plastic ware and even small drawers. Use shoe strings, rope, twine, strips of fabric or jute to make the hangers. Just keep in mind that if the item that will be a hanger is not usually waterproof, like wood, it needs to be either treated or covered with plastic before placing the plants inside.
If you simply can’t find anything around the house to help you make planters shop for containers but don’t pay a lot. One-dollar stores carry a large variety of containers, for different types of storage that will make unique and beautiful hanging planters.
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