Add Photo to Journal
|
|
| Photo Credit: Megan Bame |
| I planted ‘Black and Blue’ salvia and a pink Alternanthera in the back for height and color. At the front of the chair, I placed Calibrachoa and Bacopa to trail over the side. Sprinkled in the remaining space, I included an ivory Osteospermum, a blue Ageratum and a silver Dichondra for contrasting foliage. |
A couple years ago, as my husband and I were leaving the Southeast Greenhouse Conference in Greenville, SC, I noticed a wooden chair sticking out of the hotel’s Dumpster. While I’m not an avid Dumpster diver, my husband enjoys scooping out discarded treasures. But this time, I admit, it was my instinct that the worn chair had potential … in our garden.
We pulled the old seat out and noticed it was missing a rung, as well as its cushion. It also had some chipped paint. In other words, it was perfect. I decided to remake the old seat into a unique container – a flower chair. All I had to do was replace the missing cushion with a small garden. | Add Photo to Journal |  | | Photo Credit: Megan Bame | | Create a new look every season, if you like, with a fresh coat of paint. |
When we got home, I considered painting the chair frame a bright, bold color. Instead, I left it like it was, thinking the chipped paint gave my new “container” added character.
First, I cut out a square of chicken wire 1½ times the size of the chair’s seat area and molded it into a bowl shape. Then I attached it to the chair frame with a thin-gauge wire and snipped off any extra. Next, I put an old cocoa basket liner (for a 20-inch basket) on top of my chicken wire bowl to hold the potting soil. If you don’t have an old basket liner on hand, you can purchase a new one from your local garden center. I also added a 6-inch square of plastic (you can use a sandwich baggie or even plastic wrap) in the center of my liner to act as a saucer of sorts. The plastic keeps water from running straight through the fibrous liner, but because it’s small, extra water drains out.
|