What is the most unusual thing you've used as a container?

I saw the pumpkin thread in this forum and started wondering what different items people have used as planters beyond the usual store bought pots?

This is an old coal scuttle.

Here's a few.

Al

Good ones! What is planted in the acorn cap (I believe it is)?

Portulacaria afra (mini jade/ elephant bush). It's daddy:

I like that. I've had P. afra variegated but not that large. That's a nice specimen.

A few more ... last one is a cell phone holder:

Very clever and attractive. Whaat did you do about drainage in lovely sugar bowl and what is the fourth container? Thanks for sharing these good ideas.

I put succulents in the sugar bowl so I didn't have to worry much about drainage. So far, so good.

#1 - top half of an old fairy lamp
#2 - lidless antique sugar bowl
#3 - old enamel sink strainer
#4 - broken watering can (plastic with holes poked in the bottom)
#5 - cell phone holder

THanks - I'm getting ideas.

Al, that bonsai is sublime.

Mine aren't all that unusual but I like the look of them.
Haworthia in a snail shell
Sempervivums in the top of small shell shaped bird bath
Sedums in a dog themed bird feeder pictured in front of my dog

Thanks for posting those. I like the look of them too. The Haworthia in the snail shell is particularly interesting. Well, they all are. Nice idea for the sedums as well.

Some sedums in part of an old lamp.

I will use anything that will hold soil and take a drainage hole. We keep the drill ready. When it comes to large, deep containers, we add a false bottom (my favorite is a thick sheet of styrofoam from the craft store). It makes them much lighter weight and keeps them moveable. I love the freedom of movement and the ability to put out the showiest where everyone can seen them.
Marcia

On a real budget - some old shopping bags sealed with mod podge (enough to last them the summer), duct-taped a plastic bag inside with a few holes through the bottom of both bags. All my plants were small, intended for containers anyway, but you can see from the photos they did work. This was my first summer (2010) trying veggies so I was pleased.

Last year I grew some 'Lil Sweet' Cantaloupe in the patio-ice-bucket containers from the dollar store. Have also used plastic wastepaper bins from Ikea with holes drilled in the bottom.

Not as pretty as all the photos above, but they have worked for growing some veggie plants :-)

Nice. I have lined vinyl or canvas bags from the Dollar Store as well. Poke holes in the bottom for drainage. They can be hung up, if desired, and the handles make them easy to move around too. I use Dollar Store styrofoam ice buckets to grow some of my mints.

Gmun, I like your attitude!

Marcia

Bags now a days are so colorful and creative, gives you a chance to easily and cheaply change your look. Wouldn't even need to repot - use a bag similar size - line up the drainage holes and a whole new look is born.
Gmun, Share a picture of what you plant in the Abercrombie bag - you can't go wrong with that one ; )

I enjoyed this post. My kids accuse me of thinking of everything as a potential flower pot. I love the cantaloupe planters. I am going to try that on my dark brown deck this summer. They will get the extra heat they demand and that my hibiscus enjoy.
I have drilled holes in terra cotta and some ceramic planters using a masonry bit and water. and if the ceramic planter is glazed, put a frame of masking tape around the drill site on both sides to prevent cracking. A hole here will shorten the life of your ceramic as water will infiltrate the clay and eventually break it down.
I have planted in Boo Buckets from McDonalds. They gave out a really nifty purple one one year. and the plastic jack o'lanterns you get for halloween bags. Plant a couple up with small chrysanthemums and you have a nifty halloween decoration that won't rot.
Martha

Very interesting (and thrifty) ideas. I usually lose a couple of my clay pots over the winter from freezing and thawing. Or just the fact that they absorb so much rainwater and then crack and break. So I save the pieces and use them elsewhere. I'm really fond of styrofoam ice buckets, plastic wastebaskets or carry-alls as well.

This is a kiddie swimming pool I bought for $10 on clearance at the end of the season a few years ago. Makes a great raised garden bed. :)

I tried a tree stump planting one year with sedum 'Angelina' but I don't think I had enough soil in it and it really didn't thrive.
Martha

I have been waiting for the path to be finished so I could install this twig wreath as a sempervivum planter in the garden.
Its a neat trick if I can pull it off.Plants arrive next week.

Good idea. I have lots of Semps. I think I'll try that. :)

I bought the wreath in The ChristmasTree Shopp.I expect TuesdayMorning or florests supplies might have them.XMAS tREE Shope was less than 5 dollars.

Sounds good. Sometimes I pick up wreaths at the thrift stores. They don't always have them, but occasionally
.

Sounds like a plan.This one was just the right diameter.

We have used so many different types of containers over the past few years. The 35 gallon laundry tubs on our back deck (about 24 inches deep) are this year really beginning to deteriorate. The plastic is becoming very brittle.

I think if you are a grower, you can grow in anything. However, the containers sometimes have a shorter life than the plant.
Marcia

True. I'm sometimes torn between inexpensive ones that have to be replaced more often and more expensive but a longer life. This year I'm using some grow bags but have no idea what their lifespan will be.

Lat year we purchased some VERY large double walled pots, about 24 inches in diameter by almost 30 inches high. On these containers I always use a false bottom, usually a 1 inch circle of styrofoam from the craft store. They are just that much lighter to move, but still deep enough for big stuff.

What will you (or have you) planted in them?

In the largest pots, we put in a tomato or two, a black petunia and a trailing coleus. the trellis was outside the pot.

In a slight smaller pot were caladiums with a heuchera in the center. Also a forest of calla lilies in another large pot.

What a neat thread, you all are very creative!! Last year we had a new septic system installed. After the installation, they left a (new!) piece of black plastic pipe, diameter is roughly 36", about 20" tall. It reminded my husband of one of the old tire planters, so he saved it for me. I didn't really know where I wanted to put it so it just took up space last year. This year I ripped out a bunch of ditch lillies to make way for my new rose bad and Voila! It fits right in there perfectly, and I don't have to worry about having to mow around it. Now, to figure out what should go in it... But that's the fun part. :)

What good fortune, jaime! Hope you can post a picture when it's planted. ^_^

I definitely will post pics. I'm hoping to get some new plants for it this weekend. :)

This is actually part of a ceiling fan.

That's very clever. Lots of interesting succulents in there. I use the glass shades from lamps. Turned upside down, they make nice "bowls" for planting. And conveniently have a drainage hole already in them.

There are so many great ideas here and am enjoying the creativity each of you have shared and hope you will continue to do so.

This old blue-speckled melamine bowl dates from the 1980's when it was purchased new at a flea market. My late Mother had several similar bowls, different sizes and colors, and actually picked this one out. It was my favorite bowl, just the right size to sit on the porch and string beans. Over time, a hairline crack developed in the bottom and decided last year fill it with Semps and small Sedums. There's a matching blue butterfly ornament for a bit of whimsy and a Scotch Bonnet shell from North Carolina's Outer banks.

Thanks for reminding me about this thread, Fruity. That is lovely. I have a bowl exactly like that except in the brown shades (bad shot of it from underneath since it sits up on the hanging pot rack). No crack though. I have a bowl obsession. I collected old wooden bowls for awhile. In fact I just found one in rough condition that I've taken outside for planting as soon as I drill a drainage hole.

Another shot of the old coal scuttle this year. The Semps are about to need thinning again. The old boots will be planted as soon as I can get to it - another thing awaiting drainage holes. Here are some boot ideas someone offered on another thread.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1024&bih=556&q=Old%20boot%20planter&oq=Old%20boot%20planter&gs_l=img.12..0.5000.13890.0.16234.16.9.0.7.7.0.391.1407.1j7j0j1.9.0...0.0...1ac.1.18.img.rSdfeG_bH2Y#hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=Old+boot+planter&oq=Old+boot+planter&gs_l=img.12...0.0.0.46808.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0..0.0...0.0.0..1c..17.img.uaDar89qtiw&bav=on.2,or.r_qf.&bvm=bv.48705608,d.eWU&fp=fdff5c2139a511d1&biw=1024&bih=656

I am impressed Fruit! My folks retired to NC 23 years ago and had a beach place for about 15 of those years. All those years down there and I was the only one of my entire family to find a Scotch Bonnet on the beach! while on vacation from MA no less. I think your dish garden is beautiful. I use old ceramic mixing bowls when I can find them for not too much money at a yard sale.
Martha

I love this thread it is just too fun. What imagination everyone has. I have been told this is part of the underneath of a car. I think it is the axle? I have had it for years hence the rust coming thru. I like rusty metal things so it is right up my alley. Now the bowl part is kind of shallow so depending on what you plant determines the amount of watering needed.

That's a great piece, happ. I'm fond of rust in the garden. I'm hunting for my pictures. I know I have some somewhere.

Hope you find them, I love looking at other stuff.