Yesterday we had a post on things you can plant in pots. As I was writing it I could just hear people saying to themselves (or maybe that was me talking to myself) "but pots are so expensive." This can be true, especially if you are using a large pot.
Today I wanted to post a few ideas for inexpensive pots or pot-like vessels.
1. Cheap plastic pots redecorated. Buy them when they're on sale (or acquire them from freecycle or your neighbor's garbage) and then decorate them. We've done this with several of our ugly plastic pots. I usually just let the kids paint them because color, kid art, and abstract looking things rock my little world right now.
The kids did this one all on their lonesome. It was a good time.
(This one's a little dirty, but you get the idea--it's got our whole little stick family on it; how awesome is that?)
Cost: Cost of your cheap or free pots and then about $1.00 for each color of paint you buy. I bought four colors of paint and we painted 4 large pots and still had paint to spare.
2. Use the plastic tubs that are meant to store cold drinks. Drill some holes into the bottom and you've got yourself a pot.These are nice because they tend to be large. Pots that large would cost much more.
I got three of these in different colors last year--one for each of my kids--so they could have their own little "garden." This year I stole Mark's and put lettuce seed in it. Not sure how Mark will feel about such heresy, but I figured it was okay since I bought him an apple tree last year (whatever, I totally bought it for me, but he had wanted one, so I figured the new one could be "his").
Cost: $5 each--these are about 2 feet long and 9 inches wide.
This big boy is for my potatoes this year (does it look big in this picture; it's huge).
Cost: This cost me $6 at Walmart last year. If I'd bought a plastic pot of the same size or smaller, it would have cost me at least $25-30.
Cost: free
4. Old watering cans. Apparently I don't take good enough care of my watering cans. They're always getting holes or cracks in them. This one got all bent up on the bottom and then wouldn't hold water anymore. No problem. I can hardly wait to see it with the red strawberries poking out.
Cost: free if you would have thrown this away.
5. Boots or old shoes. I cannot wait until we have some of these that get outgrown or worn out so I can try this out. They don't have to be cute and colorful rain boots, though. Have a look at these or these or these. (The rain boots are my favorite though.)
Cost: free if you would have thrown them out. But I bet you could find some cute things at yard sales too that don't fit, but would work wonderfully as pots.
Use your imagination and you can find or pretty up plenty of non-traditional items to use as pots. I keep thinking how beguiling an old tea pot would be--maybe with a couple of chipped tea cup baby flower pots thereby. Oh my. It's enough to make me want to start garage-saling right now.
Have your own ideas or pictures for non-traditional pots? I'd love to hear about them in the comments. Happy dreaming.
That watering can one is darling. I smell a pin coming up.
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