Three weeks ago I stopped into a local Family Dollar Store that was going out of business. Everything in the store was 10% to 50% off on the day that I was there. While browsing around there store, I found these metal sand buckets with metal shovels on sale for $4.00 each and then I got 50% off, bringing the price down to $2.00 each. Wow, what a deal! I knew as soon as I saw them that they would make the perfect garden and flower planters!
Since I decorate in a beach and coastal theme, I decided to decorate my metal sand pail with some seashells and wordage. I used a white chalk marker and hand wrote the word Shells on one side and the word Beach on the other side.
Using E-6000 Adhesive Glue, I randomly glued on a few scalloped seashells that I already had on hand and left it dry overnight to allow the glue to set.
My sand pail came with a non-removable white plastic liner. You’ll want to add about 3″ of gravel into the bottom and then place your top soil on top. This will help with water drainage and keep the roots from your plants from rotting. If your bucket is large enough, you may be able to set a garden center planter right down inside the pail and avoid adding the gravel altogether, that’s entirely up to you.
You can plant all kinds of things into these metal sand pails and for the one that I’m featuring today, I placed some Cats & Kittens (Chicks & Hens) into it which look really nice. These are succulents and are very easy to grow. Mine come back year after year and multiply all of the time! A great choice for beginner gardeners!
You can grow succulents indoors or out, or a combination of both! Some of my potted ones I’ll bring indoors during the winter season and they do just fine. The one’s that are planted directly in my flower beds…come back year, after year.
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These containers are very cute. I would love to try growing chicks & hens in them. These are nice looking succulents.
Real cute. I love the one with the chicks & hens. I have a collection of them. Can’t seem to get enough.
That was a clever find for you to spruce up and make beautiful. I’ve never heard of them called cats & kittens, just hen & chicks.
Very cute! I also had never heard them called cats and kittens just hens and chicks. I am now officially calling them cats and kittens. I like how you used the buckets and these are small enough to be portable. I have a few though not many things in containers as I have a garden, but I have been toying around doing more containers as one side has gotten pretty shady over the years and the nicest grow in full sun. Its also a good way to move them indoors if need be.
This made me smile ……………….. Cats & Kittens (Chicks & Hens) At 67 I have never head them called cats & kittens and it is so cute. Some times they will grow for me and sometimes they will not………… BUT i keep trying because I love them
Gloria
You need to make sure that you have BOTH male and female plants. Yes…there is a difference. I’ll have to take a few pics of them so that you all can see the difference. If you want them to be healthy and to make babies, you need males & females together.
These look really great. I’ve been looking for some big tubs of some kind to try some container gardening with tomatoes. We rent so we can’t just tear up the lawn for a garden, lol.
Tamara – I buy metal wash tubs from the local flea market and I’ve found a few at yard sales too. I normally pick them up for $5.00. They’re nice and wide and deep enough for the plant to establish a good root system and they will last for several years!
These are really cute Garden planters. I love growing tomatoes out back in containers. They are so much easier to water and take care of!
What a cute Metal Bucket and you even made it cuter with your decorations.I wish I knew as much about gardening as you do. I am wanting some home grown tomatoes this year but I don’t want to grow in in a Garden. Would be too hard for me to take care of. I am not too mobile 🙁 I was considering trying to grow them in a bigger planter and setting it on our back Deck. Do you have any suggestions for me? Thank You for sharing all the wonderful ideas you have. I always look for ward to them…:O)~~
You can grow tomatoes in a container too! Just get a large enough planter, put gravel in the bottom with some drainage holes and then good soil to fill it up. You need to use good soil and have good drainage to prevent root-rot. Cherry tomatoes do extremely well in containers and most reg. tomatoes do well too. If using a standard large round pot, just put in one plant as they need to establish a good root system.