Unique Planters for Your Flowers!
During a walk through the neighborhood recently we came across a wheelbarrow container painted bright yellow with an explosion of petunias and peonies and immediately fell in love. Since the Habitat for Humanity opened its St. Vrain ReStore in Longmont, (20 minutes from Colliers Hill) there are all sorts of things to snap up – including unusual containers for your flowers, like cast-off wheelbarrows!
On the hunt for more unique ideas for planters, we searched the internet for truly inspired possibilities. We found some wow-that’s-crazy ideas as a few hey-I’ve-got-one-of-those (!) options. For some of these upcycled containers, all you need is a hammer and screws, for others, a little brightly-hued paint. And for still more – rust is all-the-rage and you need only add potting soil and a few (okay, sometimes a dozen) flowers.
No matter which way you go – even if it’s to Lowe’s for a traditional resin or cedar planter — nothing dresses up a yard quite like big, beautiful multi-colored blooms!
Upcycled Wood Drawers and More
Beyond the Picket Fence specializes in a style that embraces distressed, rustic and vintage country chic. It’s not for everyone’s taste, but for Montana blogger Becky, nothing makes her happier than hunting for junk she can repurpose, rebuild or re-paint. She has a local antique booth where she regularly peddles her creations, like this wooden planter made from two mis-matched drawers and painted different colors to complement the rest of her porch décor.
Have you ever noticed that people who possess interior designer DNA seem to couple things together that would never have occurred to anyone who’s design-challenged? That’s why we blog about their genius!
Flea Market Flower Pots
If you’re lucky, you might run across galvanized steel cast-offs at the now-open Mile High Flea Market at I-76 and 88th Avenue in north Denver. Read the safety guidelines (masks are required) but know that you can visit and browse now that Governor Polis has reopened retail outlets. And don’t miss Free Admission Fridays – the first one is June 26 from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Organized Clutter elegantly illustrates how one person’s trash can be transformed into your container garden treasure using all sorts of reclaimed items. From galvanized steel buckets, small pails, watering cans, and tubs to bird houses and funnels to add vertical interest. Blogger Carlene calls her efforts “junk gardening” because like Montana Becky, she trolls flea markets looking for passed-over finds like milk cans, wagon wheels, rusted shovels, weathered wooden ladders and, oh yeah!, antique wheelbarrows.
If you’re feeling your DIY oats and can get your hands on a vintage street sign, put together a one-of-a-kind (all the signs are different!) window box with these step-by-step instructions.
Antique Cans, Cars and Cellos
Rust may seem like something to eliminate rather than embrace, but lots of gardening gurus love a little reddish-brown iron oxide on upcycled planters. Black Gold created a trickle-down succulent tower from rusted tin cans, and The Garden Glove found this rusted vintage antique pedal car – an AMF Fire Chief “truck” complete with a bell on top — that works just fine as a planter for succulents.
And from Recyclart, some clever crafter took an old cello and iron stand and planted variegated impatiens in the body, planting the bow beside it for even more visual interest.
Create your own antique pots from brand new (boring) terra cotta with these tips from Midwest Living, and weather your new Home Depot steel pails with cleaning vinegar for a left-outside-in-the-rain look. Check out this YouTube tutorial for how-to.
If you’re looking for plant combinations to give you height, breadth and spillover, like creeping Jenny affords, check out Southern Living’s gallery of porch planters containing simple-to-follow formulas for creating container-drama. According to the experts, it only takes four plants to arrange an attention-getting combination, whether you use planters you bought at Costco (and they have some great bargains!) or planters you distress yourself.
Flower Frenzy in Colliers Hill
There’s been a bit for frenzied flower planting in the master-planned community of Colliers Hill. Yards are sporting color borders and porches are in the blooming business, adding exponentially to curb appeal! If you’re searching for a new home north of Denver with access to Boulder and even DIA, check out the amenities first, and then the model homes from Richmond American Homes and Century Communities – and coming this fall – K B Home. It’s a great time to buy with rates so low – and lots of options in Colliers Hill – both ranch-style and two-story designs — priced from the high $300s.
