Although May Project Gardens is across the pond, its mission and goals could help America, too.

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Whether you want to plant a few potted plants around your deck or undertake a more expansive garden overhaul, consider repurposing unwanted items into useful garden planters.

We all know that one person’s trash is another person’s treasure and that is certainly true for the creative gardener. Instead of investing money in fancy store-bought planters, reuse items that would normally end up in the landfill in your garden to make a green (and inexpensive) statement.

13 Ideas for Repurposed Garden Planters

1. Tire Hanging Garden – Have a tire swing in your yard that is no longer getting any attention? Repurpose it into a hanging annual planter for a quick way to add some color to your backyard.

2. Library Card Catalog Drawers – If you are lucky enough to come across old library card catalog drawers, turn them into retro chic tabletop garden planters.

3. Wheelbarrow – If your wheelbarrow develops holes or begins to rust, you can turn it into a planter. Simply lay down some landscaping fabric to plug up any holes and fill with soil, compost, and plants.

4. Vintage Cooler – Oftentimes it’s possible to come across retro drink coolers at flea markets. They work pretty well as garden planters for larger plants.

5. Old Rain Gutters – Instead of tossing old rain gutters, repurpose them into functional garden planters. Not only will it keep something with some practical use left in it out of the landfill, but it’s certainly a creative planter idea.

6. Teacups – Delicate teacups are the perfect garden planter for small plants like succulents or pretty annuals. Decorate your deck with pretty vintage teacup planters to make a wonderfully green statement sure to make even the Queen proud.

7. Toolbox – Whether the old wooden style or a newer metal box, a toolbox is a great planter size for planting an herb garden or some pretty perennials.

8. Kitchen Sink – Yes, everything, including the kitchen sink, can be repurposed into a functional garden planter. The only thing holding you back is your imagination.

9. Mason Jar Planters – Mason jars are pretty easily found at thrift shops and can be used as planters for a small herb garden. You can even use them to create a hanging herb garden as well.

10. Washtubs and Buckets – If you come across old galvanized washtubs or buckets, snap them up. They make for great garden planters.

11. Birdbath – While you you don’t want to steal the birdbath from the birds, you can certainly turn an extra one into a decorative succulent garden planter.

12. Baskets – Baskets of all kinds and shapes can work as repurposed garden planters. They are also ubiquitous at flea markets, yard sales, and thrift shops.

13. Filing Cabinet Drawers – Making the switch from paper to digital records? Don’t trash that old filing cabinet, but repurpose it into a clever garden planter instead.

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Tire as Planter, Wheelbarrow Decorative Planter, Herbs in Mason Jar, Wicker Basket Planter, and Red Mum in a Teacup via Shutterstock

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Have a vegetable garden? Then you’ll love these 5 cookbooks.

The point of starting a vegetable garden is of course to reap the benefits, aka eat the food you grow. Anyone who grows their own food will know the special feeling of putting together a meal with produce that comes from their own raised beds. To go from seed to plant to plate is an amazing process. And with more and more people starting to grow their own food, there are a growing number of garden related cookbooks.

But let’s be honest: these are inspiring books even if you don’t have the space to garden (or if your space is tiny). Ultimately they are celebrations of local and seasonal food, something we could all be eating more of.

1. “Carina Contini’s Kitchen Garden Cookbook” by Carina Contini

Part gardener’s journal, part family memoir, part cookbook, “Kitchen Garden Cookbook” will appeal to gardeners and food lovers of all kinds. It’s organized by month, which means that even in the seemingly dreary root vegetable overdose of the winter, you’ll still be able to to find some cooking inspiration.

2. “Kitchen Garden Experts: 20 Celebrated Chefs and Their Head Gardeners” by Cinead McTernan

Ever wonder how food goes from garden to table in the restaurants of chefs who are working hard to incorporate food grown on site? “Kitchen Garden Experts” brings us into the world of UK chefs and their gardeners, a book that’s as much about the products that are grown as the people that grow them.

3. “From Seed to Skillet” by Jimmie Williams

In “From Seed to Skillet” you actually get a gardening guide and cookbook in one. Learning the art of growing and cooking vegetables from his grandmother, a South Carolina native from a traditional Gullah community whose members were descendents of Caribbean slaves, his book serves as a guide to building your own vegetable garden and putting it to good use. Gardening guides and recipes abound.

4. “Grow Cook Eat” by Willi Galloway

Just because you love good food doesn’t mean you know how to garden. And just because you love to garden, doesn’t necessarily mean that you feel like a master in the kitchen. “Grow Cook Eat” is the book to fill that void. The book is devoted to cultivating fresh, gourmet food, ensuring that everyone has the skills to grow their own, but also that they know what to do with them.

5. “The Gardener and the Grill” by by Karen Adler and Judith Fertig

Who said that all you could do with a grill was meat? “The Gardener and the Grill” is for gardeners who believe in the power of the vegetable. With more than 100 vegetarian recipes, it’s the perfect summer guide to good eating. You could also kindly give it to the grill aficionado in your life to prove that vegetables do have a place over the coals.

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Images: Anna Brones, Frances Lincoln, Chronicle Books, Sasquatch Books, Running Press

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Just because you crammed into the tightest corner of the city without any view of foliage or semblance of nature in sight doesn’t mean a garden is off the table. All you need is a window and a few supplies to start growing your own herbs and veggies. Here are 5 tips to get started.

1. Find a Spot

Choose windowsills, fire-escapes or balconies that are under the sun for at least 5 hours per day. If plants can catch the rain too, even better! You can keep more delicate herbs indoors while fruits, veggies and greens with more brawn and thicker skin can grow outsider.

2. Choose a Size

Do not overcrowd plants. Containers for herbs should be at least 15-centimers wide, while larger greens (e.g. lettuce), veggies (e.g. carrots) and beans require more space, so you should plant them in a pot at least 25-centimeters wide. Pots should also be deep, so that the roots can grow freely. The deeper the pot, the more successfully your plants will grow.

3. Support Growth

Bean stalks and other tall plants often require something to climb up. Be ready to support their growth by finding a stick to stand upright next to the plant’s stem as it continues to get taller, using a string to tie the stalk or stem to the stick.

4. Go Compost Shopping

Use compost that is fit for containers versus actually land, as these composts are better able to hold onto moisture and are equipped with extra nutrients to buffer plant growth.

5. Layer Wisely

Put stones at the bottom of the pot before packing in soil. This way, you can prevent soil from becoming too saturated with water at any given time. The stones drain the water from the soil. Use your finger to test whether you water too often or too much – poke your finger into the compost and it should be slightly moist just below the surface, not drench and swimming in water.

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image: Selena M.B.H

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Spring is the time of year when our minds turn towards planting. Springtime bulbs, summertime vegetable gardens and autumn pumpkin patches–all have their origins in the early springtime with the bevvy of seed catalogs that come in the mail. While you are coming up with your plans, don’t forget to think about garden planters.

Garden planters can be easy and clever ways to incorporate plants both inside and outside your home. Whether nasturtiums on your deck or an herb garden on your kitchen windowsill, planters can be a great alternative.

Not only can containers be easier to manage and add visual interest to your home, they are also great ways to repurpose items that might end up in the trash or the recycling bin. In addition, using planters offers versatility, because planters can be moved around–that is unless you are using huge planters.

Image: karenblakeman

Here are some great ideas for repurposing goods as planters both inside and outside your home.

1. Use an old colander as a clever succulent planter.
2. Turn wooden wine boxes into a patio salad garden with this project idea.
3. How pretty is this vintage bread box planter?
4. Got an unused tackle box? Make it into a smart planter.
5. Don’t trash that old bureau, turn into a succulent planter instead.
6. Use leftover galvanized steel heating and air repair materials as pretty planters.
7. Old paint cans can make great small planters.
8. Reuse coffee cans as fun and colorful cactus planters.
9. Turn an old chandelier into a hanging planter.
10. Repurpose an unwanted suitcase for new meaning to the phrase container garden.
11. Even turn old soup ladles into succulent planters.
12. Cinder block bricks get a redo as useful planters.
13. Turn a teapot into a pretty planter for your favorite posies.
14. Use an empty wine bottle as a clever planter.
15. Drawers from an unwanted piece of furniture can be turned into stylish planters.
16. Repurpose pallets as vertical planters.
17. Give boring planters the boot, use old boots as planters!

Finally, container gardening does have it’s challenges., so once you’ve settled on your containers, read up about the process using these resources.

• Organic Gardening’s Guide to Container Gardening
• University of Illinois Extension Successful Container Gardens
• Colorado State Extension Container Gardening

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ColumnFood is a privilege. Treat it that way.

“Making food makes you happy?”

I was on a walk with two friends and we had somehow arrived on the subject of food- a frequent occurrence in my everyday life. She was a bit surprised that food in general was on my list of things that made me feel good.

“Well, yeah.”

I thought about it for a second. “It’s a way to de-stress… if I have too much going on I feel good being in the kitchen and making something. It’s like a meditation.”

This was probably why I was feeling like I was having the Best. Weekend. Ever. I had discovered a new Mexican restaurant that didn’t have the typical Portland feel on Friday, scored a vial of truffle salt at farmers market on Saturday, and been offered up full access to a friend’s overflowing garden of tomato plants on Sunday. For a food lover, that is a pretty good three-day stretch.

Food does make me happy. Making it, thinking about it, talking about it. It’s true that in stressful moments I have been known to toss out the to-do list and go bake something instead.

I am not alone. Food can even be a way of dealing with larger issues. It can help us escape the mundane and it can help us romanticize our reality. Whether you like to cook it or just eat it, we are all affected by food in one way or another. There is a thrill in finding a new restaurant, thumbing through a new cookbook. Food is love. But that feeling is a luxury.

My mother and I were discussing a phone call she had had with my aunt, who in the course of talking about recipes had said, “isn’t it amazing how many recipes float around and yet we still can’t manage to feed everyone on the planet?”

It’s true. The fact that we even have time to discuss food is a luxury. While most of the world is concerned with putting the next meal on the table, or even just having access to basic nutrition, we’re frustrated because the steak was too salty, the artisan aioli was off the menu for the evening, or the creme brulée was burnt.

There is nothing wrong with the aforementioned behaviors – we do live in a modern society after all, and for those of us that have access to food, we have turned it into an art – but it is important to have perspective.

There were 925 million hungry people in the world in 2010, 19 million of those in developed countries. There are 10.9 million child deaths every year; poor nutrition plays a role in at least half of them.

Even if you are on a budget, when it comes to food, you are part of the 1%, and it’s important not to take our access and ability to talk about food for granted. The ability to appreciate food in the way that many of us do is because food is more than sustenance. We have what we need, and we know when we’re going to get it, which means we can relish in the details, be they locally harvested sea salt or homegrown fennel.

As I wrote last week, “In the modern age, if you are able to comfortably put food on the table, it is inexcusable to not think about what you are eating.” But that means more than just thinking about where your beef came from. It also means celebrating the people that produce your food, reveling in the simple joys of buying a handmade product, and thanking friends when they open up their garden to you. Not because these things are popular or trendy, but because they’re bettering our planet and communities.

I thought about all of this as I picked my way through 12 varieties of heirloom tomatoes on Sunday. To quote John Denver: “Only two things that money can’t buy and that’s true love and homegrown tomatoes.” It’s true. There are few things that are comparable to the smell of a tomato vine basking in the sun. I picked an entire backpack’s worth and carted it home on my bicycle, intent on making sun-dried tomatoes and storing them in olive oil and mason jars. This is not just late summer bliss, this is luxury.

We are privileged to be able to celebrate the moments where we grow our own food, when we produce a meal that is made with all local ingredients, when we make a meal from scratch instead of opting for something processed. Mere decades ago, these things were the norm, but in an agribusiness, monocrop, fast food kind of world,  they have fallen by the wayside, only to be slowly picked back up again.

Food may not be what you’re passionate about, but we could all take more time to think about it.

So this week, take time to be thankful for what you’re eating, appreciate the simple pleasures, and find a friend that grows tomatoes.

Editor’s note: This is the latest installment of Anna Brones’s weekly column at EcoSalon, Foodie Underground, discovering what’s new and different in the underground food movement, from supper clubs to mini markets to the culinary avant garde.

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Objects of Use features beautifully-crafted vintage-style tools and furniture. Like grandma’s but more chic.

In this technicolor age where every conceivable item in your house and garden, from cleaning to tech gadgets to tools, comes in screamingly loud shades and busy patterns – and often (although, thankfully and increasingly less so) made of plastic – a bit of aesthetic simplicity and craftsmanship solidity come as a soothing tonic.

Whether it’s old-fashioned kitchen scales using weights, 20 different types of brushes (including one for cleaning the radiator and another for the computer), a Japanese planting trowel or a mid-century-style chair, Oxford-based website Objects of Use offers high-quality, highly desirable artisan products. Many are gorgeous and some downright unusual, like a vintage-style French soap dispenser and (below) stoneware berry bowls.

The retailer’s gardening section would impress any green-thumbed friend (yes, Christmas is still months away, but bookmark this site). We heart this exquisite set of five Dutch hand tools, but you might prefer the various shears, sickles, hoes, picks and pruners. Ever heard of a dibber? That’s a pointed stick for making a hole in the ground.

As the name suggests, these are not pointless, purely decorative knick-knacks; each has a specific purpose in mind. All are made using low-impact production methods and locally-sourced, natural materials like wood, bone and jute. You won’t find any plastic here. The useful objects of Objects of Use are built to last, not to throw away.

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Seven creative and inexpensive ways to improve your garden.

Whether you dapple with a few indoor plants, garden on the patio with containers or have a full-fledged backyard mini-farm, you’re probably looking for creative ways to save money, time and resources. Luckily for you, incorporating recycled and reused materials can actually make your gardening projects cheaper, easier and less time consuming – not to mention far less wasteful! Last year, we gave you seven reused items to boost your garden. This year, we rounded up seven more.

Reuse Germination

If you’re starting plants from seeds this year, don’t waste your hard-earned cash on tiny planters from the garden center. Save a few bucks – and get a little more use out of your throw-aways – by making your own seed-starters from recycled materials!

To make your own biodegradable mini-planter (that’s right, no transplanting!), you will need scissors and a toilet paper or paper towel roll.

How to make it:

1. Using scissors, cut six to eight small slits in the end of your toilet paper roll (if using a paper towel roll, cut the roll into three pieces before beginning this step).

2. Fold the strips down so they overlap.

3. Fill carefully with wet soil, and set in a baking sheet.

4. Plant one seed per roll. After germination, just plant the whole thing in your garden!

If you don’t mind transplanting your seedlings, you can use all kinds of recyclables for germination: Takeout containers, plastic cups, soda bottles and shoe boxes – just to name a few.

Unfortunately, most takeout containers – including mixed-material takeout cups and foam clam shells – are notoriously difficult to recycle. So, if you have a few boxes, cups and clam shells left over from eating out, why not reuse them as planters to boost your gardening projects?

Take Out Container Planters

Just wash out the container, fill with wet soil and plant your seedling as usual.

For best results, stick with plants that require little root space, such as single herb plants or succulents like cacti and aloe.

Not sure how planting in takeout boxes will match your garden decor? Think creatively and opt for decorative containers, such as Chinese takeout boxes and colorful to-go cups, to add a whimsical touch to your garden display – whether it’s in your backyard or your living room.

Popsicle Stick Garden Markers

If the kids are starting to chow down on ice pops for the summer, why not save those sticks for reuse in your garden?

To use your throw-aways to make customized markers for your garden or seedlings, you’ll need Popsicle sticks, a permanent marker and a reusable cloth.
How to make it:
1. Apply a few drops of rubbing alcohol or a solution of warm water and sea salt to the ends of your ice pop sticks. Use the reusable cloth to rub off any remaining stickiness.

2. Let the sticks dry in the sun for at least an hour.

3. Label your sticks with permanent marker, and use them to mark crops in your herb garden or veggie plot.

If you’re feeling ambitious, you can also make your own customized garden markers from old milk jugs using this simple tutorial from TLC.

Plastic Bottle Irrigation

Remembering to water your container veggies and potted flowers can be tough. But you could save loads of time and water by setting up a self-irrigation system in your container plants.

Sounds tricky, right? It actually couldn’t be simpler. All you’ll need is scissors, a plastic bottle, a hand shovel and about five minutes to get the job done.

How to make it:
1. Using scissors, carefully cut the bottom out of your plastic bottle. Remove bottle cap and set aside for recycling.

2. Use a hand shovel to dig a 6-inch-deep hole in the potted plant of your choice, as far away from the plant as possible to avoid damaging roots.

3. Place your plastic bottle in the hole, bottleneck end down. Use your hands to pack soil around the bottle so it stands upright.

4. Fill the bottle with water as needed, and watch it slowly seep into the soil – saving you time and nurturing your thirsty plants.

For a more advanced self-watering container, check out this tutorial from the University of Maryland Extension.

Light Bulb Terrariums

Not sure what to do with all those old incandescent light bulbs? Sure, you can recycle them. But why not find a clever way to reuse them first?

Once the electrical components are removed, light bulbs make perfect homes for air plants and water-saving succulents.

If you’re a seasoned crafter and have hollowed out a light bulb before, this project will be a walk in the park. But if you’ve never tinkered with a light bulb, consult a tutorial, like these from Instructables and Apartment Therapy, before getting started.

Once your bulb is cleaned out, all you’ll need is some succulent potting soil and small potting pebbles (and your plants, of course!).

How to make it:
1. Add a layer of potting pebbles to your light bulb as a foundation.

2. Add a layer of succulent potting soil, along with decorative moss if desired.

3. Gently place your succulent inside the bulb. Succulents don’t need much water. For best results, allow the soil to dry out a bit before watering.

Bucket Gardening

If you live in an apartment or don’t have a yard,container gardening is a great small-space solution for growing your own produce at home.

Garden retailers offer vast displays of jumbo terra cotta pots, plastic planters and wooden boxes – often priced at $50 or more. But why spend more when a recycled option could actually yield better results?

Five gallons of soil is optimal for most container veggies, including large plants like tomatoes, eggplant and squash. Larger containers tend to require more water, while smaller containers won’t provide enough root space.

Since they’re the perfect size, why not break out all those old 5-gallon buckets from pet food and potting soil and reuse them as planters for your container garden?

Just remember to wash each container well before filling with soil. Also, since you want to grow healthy food, avoid choosing containers that were used to hold toxic substances – even after they have been washed.

For best results, cut at least four 1/4-inch holes at the bottom of your buckets for draining excess water.

Wine Bottle Edging

Looking to add a touch of pizzazz to your garden or backyard landscaping? Rescue a few wine and beer bottles from your recycling bin to assemble a playful border that’s sure to turn heads.

Use this handy tutorial from ReadyMade or this video how-to from A Gardener’s Notebook to transform your recyclable glass into a piece of reuse art that’s perfect for the garden.

In the interest of full disclosure, you’ll need more than a few bottles for this.

So, if you don’t think your drinking habits can keep up, ask local restaurants, taverns and wineries if you can pick up some of their leftover bottles on a weekly basis until you’ve gathered enough to complete the project. Most will be happy to oblige.

-By Mary Mazzoni

More from Earth911:

PHOTOS: Rad Reused Planter Ideas

8 Things You Probably Aren’t Doing in Your Garden

PHOTOS: Stylish Recycled Decor for the Backyard

Images: girlingearstudio, MeganEHansen, jstuppy, sa_ku_ra, iEEEj, rfarmer, Tobyotter

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The Biome allows you to grow exotic plants in a carefully controlled atmosphere.

Biome is a flora terrarium with a delicate balance moderated by you: its climate, water level and nutrients are managed via smartphone or iPad. The idea promotes “digital downtime” – steering the owners of 21st-century, 24-hour gadgets towards a slower life.

The control and nurturing of a real eco-system takes patience and care. This smart garden has low-energy lighting to replicate sunlight and contains sensors on the dome’s conditions that link back to the device when connected; air and moisture levels are controlled by the hole in the pointy top.

Choose your landscape – tropical, desert, herb garden – and then control it using an app on your device, which displays a readout of conditions. The Biome, by London-based designer Samuel Wilkinson, was designed for an exhibition; hopefully it will be available to buy.

(Take the hint, Wilkinson.)

The post A Dome for The Home: The Biome Terrarium appeared first on EcoSalon.

Smool: not a dairy-free dessert, but the Dutch design company responsible for these sculptural watering cans.

With all your statement planters and herbivorous tabletop features, it seems appropriate to have an equally arresting and pretty device to keep their precious cargo in pristine condition.

The Spring watering can is ergonomic and streamlined. You fill the wide spout, and dispense from the narrow one.

The can is made from matt plastic, and comes in tangerine orange-yellow, olive green, grey, and powder blue. Smool being a combination of the words smooth and cool (Amsterdam-based designer Robert Bronwasser says his products are smooth to use and cool to have); this one has an enviably lissom shape and unfussy design.

Drool-worthy is the natural, tree-like appearance, making for arty camouflage amongst household greenery. The price is an equally desirable 15.95 euros (around $18).

Images: Smool

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