by Sammy Stein

Created on: September 30, 2009

Planters and containers can cost a lot of money, especially if you want to make a real display of them but you can use items which you have around the home and yard. With a little imagination, a bit of know-how and some good growing medium you can create cheap, attractive planters and containers which leave money for the plants or look good on their own.

Whatever you use, remember that each plant needs the right amount of growing medium, nutrients, light, warmth and water so make sure you can provide this for your plants first. Make sure each container is large enough for the number of plants you want to grow in it for best results.

Large planters can be made easily using old sinks. Belfast sinks are best - those flat-bottomed, deep ones with a good amount of space. These make great alpine display planters or you can grow vegtables in them if you want to. All you need to do is remove the plug-hole, line the sink with some crocks for drainage and add a layer of gravel, topped off with a deep layer of growing medium suitable for your chosen plants.

Trailing plants can be grown in bottles hung upside down and attached to fences and walls. Remove the bottom from each bottle, hang upside down and plant with trailing varieties of verbena, begonia, fuschia or any other ornamental plant - they look really good if you use a range of different bottles.

Yoghurt pots with holes punched in the bottoms can be painted using outdoor paints and these make wonderful small containers for children's gardens - they are very portabe and you can grow anything from small grasses, pansies, begonias and even tomato plants (dwarf bush types) in them. Quick and easy to make, they provide a moveable display for children and adults alike.

Old terracotta pots can be given a make-over using metallic outdoor finishes in different colours. These look good planted up with plants with contrasting foliage colors and also make great displays on their own.

Chimney stakcs are sometimes available cheaply from salvage yards and they make unusual and individual containers. Fill the bottom of the stack with stones and rubble so you are not filling the entire stack with soil, add the growing medium and plant with small shrubs or grasses for a quirky and very attractive display.

Use wooden battons nailed together to create your own wooden planters. Far cheaper than buying ready-made ones, you can tailor their size and shape to fit any corner or area where it is difficult to add plants and then plant them up with vegetables, salad crops or flowering plants - or a mix of all of them for a really individual and useful display.

Metal buckets can make an unusual and attractive planter and you can use ones of different sizes for a tower of pots which adds height and will be a talking point. Put a plastic pipe in the centre so you can water the container easily, remove the handle and punch holes in the bottom. Add a plastic liner to prevent the bucket rusting and sit different szes on top of each other. Add soil around the plastic pipe and plant them up.

There are many items which you can use to create innovative and imaginative continaers and planters - so long as the plants have what they need, they do not care if thy are grown in a bucket or shop-bought container. Be creative and enjoy the results.

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