Old Crate Turned Flower Box / Hose Holder

I am not sure where May went, but time is flying by. Several weeks ago I did manage to plant all my flowers and the garden. Last year I made my Flower Towers. The 3 Pot one is in use again this year, but the Topsy Turvy one had to be disassembled, as the support pole didn't make it through the winter :( . Still using the pots. They are just sitting on the sides of the steps to the front door. This year I was inspired to come up with another new planter too.

This one was super simple and I used stuff that I already had. The only items that I had to purchase were the potting soil and flowers. Here is my Old Crate Flower Box / Hose Holder.

We had this old crate in our garage, it came with the house, and it wasn't being used for anything. It has a lid with broken hinges, so I just left it on there and leave it open, but I could close the top when summer is over.

Now, I didn't want to fill the entire thing with potting soil. First of all, it would be super heavy and I wouldn't be able to move it on my own if needed. Second, I didn't want to use that much potting soil. And lastly, I didn't think I had enough flowers left to fill the entire thing. So, I found an empty plastic container. Actually it is an old kitty litter box that someone gave us. I put the tray that a flat of flowers comes in underneath it so that it would sit up higher. With the empty space leftover, I coiled up the hose and put it in there to keep that out of the way. Really simple and easy. 

Flower Towers

Spring (and now almost summer) has finally sprung here! That makes me think flowers. Last year I planted a few flowers in some hanging baskets, then the summer heat came and the flowers didn't make it. I decided to try again with some flowers this year. Above are the two different flower towers that I created. One for each side of the house by the doors.

After browsing Pinterest for a while I found a couple of different flower pot ideas that I liked. First, I assembled everything that I would need for both of the flower towers: pots, three plastic in various sizes and 6 6" terra cotta; potting soil; garden stakes; spray paint; and flowers.

Then, I laid all the pots out on newspaper and spray painted them all the same color. Fyi, I used Krylon ColorMaster in Oxford Blue. Had to do two coats on the pots. The terra cotta pots really soaked up the paint and were more difficult to paint. Using a primer on them first would have been a good idea. 

I start assembling the towers with the easiest one first. I filled the largest plastic pot a third of the way with old chunks of brick from our slowly deteriorating trash burner. Then I filled it another third of the way with the plastic things plants come in. There is probably some fancy name for those things, but I don't know what it is.

 Then, filled the  rest with the potting soil. Placed the next pot in the middle of this one. Again filled it half way with the plastic things that plants come in, topped with potting soil. And repeated the process for the third and smallest pot. Next, plant the flowers. (Side note: the plastic planters that I used were really affordable. The biggest one I found on the side of the road with some left over yard sale stuff. I probably looked kinda strange carrying a big flower pot down the road while walking the dog, but it was FREE! The two smaller pots I got at a second hand store for 25 cents each. Didn't matter what color they were since I was going to paint them all anyhow.) Really easy and quick. Here is the inspiration picture from Pinterest and my finished flower tower.

Then it was on the one that tried my patience. I should have read how other people made a Topsy Turvy flower planter instead of just looking at the picture and figuring I knew what I was doing. First of all, now that I have gone back to read some other posts about this type of planter they all pretty much say to use rebar for the the support pole in the middle. I think this is where I made a mistake. I used two garden poles. Which are strong, but not quite rebar strong. So, I assembled, and half assembled, this thing about 5 times before I finally got it to stay standing upright. I seriously thought a few times that it was all going to come crashing down. Tip #1: Always use rebar if you are going to try making one of these :). Anyhow, I started by turning one pot upside down to be the base, then stacked the other 5 pots on top of that one each at a slight angle. Again I put one plastic flower thing in the bottom of each pot. 

 This actually helped to hold the pot at the desired angle. After it was all put together I planted the flowers in it. When it was all together, I said a little prayer over it that went something like this, "God please keep this thing standing upright and not come crashing down. I will be so mad if that happens. Amen." So far so good, it is still standing and we have had a few thunderstorms and wind since then. Here is my inspiration picture and the finished project.