What can I use instead of a planter?
Almost anything can be recycled into a unique home for flowers and greenery—think about kitchen colanders, a wheelbarrow, ladders, old picture frames, a birdbath, even a slow-cooker liner. Upcycling containers not only adds charm to your garden, but also promotes sustainable living. Give new life to old containers by repurposing them into plant and flower pots. Almost anything can be recycled into a unique home for flowers and greenery—think about kitchen colanders, a wheelbarrow, ladders, old picture frames, a birdbath, even a slow-cooker liner.Cardboard & Newspaper. Along the same lines as the hugelkultur idea, you can use biodegradable materials like cardboard and newspaper to fill in the bottom of large planters. Cardboard and newspaper will eventually break down and turn into compost at the bottom of your pots.For a budget-friendly and lightweight approach, you can repurpose everyday items as planter fillers. These materials help save on soil while reducing waste: Plastic water and soda bottles. Unused nursery pots.Large planters can house big plants and even small trees or shrubs, but require a large amount of soil to fill. Fillers like newspapers, empty water bottles, and bricks are budget-friendly alternatives to using soil. Create pockets of air with sealed bottles or upside-down planters to take up more space.
What are the best planters to leave outside?
Fiberglass, lead, iron, heavy plastic, and stone are the best weather-resistant containers to use; terra-cotta will eventually expand and crack with repeated freezing and thawing. Assemble your designs early enough that the plants have time to acclimate to their new pots before the hard freeze. Terracotta, plastic, wood, and thin-walled ceramic containers can crack and break when exposed to freeze/thaw cycles. For safety’s sake, bring most glazed ceramics, plastic, composite and terracotta pots into a garage or basement when temperatures consistently dip below freezing.