Flower Pots for Next to Nothing pt. 1

When I moved into my apartment a few years ago, I was thrilled to have a tiny garden area I could play with. Small doesn’t really even begin describe the space, but its mine. Problem is, that being strapped for money, I couldn’t afford to buy much for the space. My neighbor worked as a landscaper at the time and was able to get me canna lilies, some sort of bamboo, some purple flower that grows on long vines that look like twigs (don’t know the name) and umbrella grass. I love his initiative, but these are all plants that grow wildly out of control. Rather than digging all of this up, I have come up with the idea of limiting them by covering them with potted flowers instead. Pots cost money though, and there just isn’t much (well any) to spare.

I started looking through my collected odd and ends and realized I had a few usable containers around the house. The one I started with was a small plastic Folgers Coffee can. Its bright red and obviously and old Folgers container so that needed changing. I remembered a post where a woman covered her whole floor in paper bags. It looked a bit like leather when it was done, and I liked that idea. I pulled out my trusty Mod Podge, a paint brush, a small paper bag and got to work. I ripped the paper bags into smallish pieces and applied them to the container making sure to overlap each of the pieces and the top and bottoms of the containers. Then I coated the entire outside in another layer of Mod Podge to weatherproof it. I like how it turned out, despite the fact that the red shows through. I paired the two I made in this style with red begonias (under $2 for a flat of 6 at Walmart). They look cute in the garden.

The first coffee can planter all finished and filled.

The terra cotta planter I already had made a good home too.

I haven’t come up with a plan for the next few planters. I have a few large coffee cans, plenty of glass bottles, and a few plastic bottles and jugs to work with. Any suggestions? Please leave them in the comments below.

FREE!!! My favorite word.

One of my favorite things is finding free things that are actually useful. The usefulness of the item is actually the most important part of the deal, as we all know that it is an easy thing to find free things that nobody wants. Today I'll share some of my more recent finds. Perhaps they may spark some new ideas for you.

Wallpaper and fabric samples
I have a completely bare wall above the couch in my living room. I hang stuff there for Christmas, but the rest of the year it's just a full, unused space. It has been this way for the two years we have lived here because I couldn't come up with anything that seemed to fit the space. Yesterday I had an epiphany and began looking for free wallpaper samples on line.

Wallpaperdirect.com allows 2 free samples (shipping included), no questions asked.

Bemz, a company that specializes in Ikea furniture updates allows fabric samples that ship overseas at not cost. The plan is to use the wallpaper and fabric in frames to fill in the space. (Now just to find free frames!) I will be sure to update this project once it is all in place.

Gardening
As you know if you have read previous posts, I have begun trying to supplement our grocery supplies by growing a few things at home. I already have cilantro and basil growing well from seeds that I purchased on the cheap. I also have green onions and ginger growing from store purchases. It is a good start, but I want more. After searching, I found several sources for free seeds.

Groundswell International was the most impressive source that I found. They have a goal, it seems, to feed the world. Therefore, every spring they give away thousands if not millions of seeds to promote ending world hunger. Definitely worth checking out even if you don't have a green thumb.

Gardens Alive will send you a free catalogue, and that contains a $25 coupon with no minimum purchase. I haven't received the catalogue yet, so I can't promise there is no fine print, but other testimonials I have read point to it being true to its words. The exciting thing here is that they offer equipment and other gardening supplies.

Feed a Bee has a lofty goal in mind. They want go grow 50 million flowers to help out dwindling new population. To that end they will send packets of 200 wildflower seeds for free. No, it's not food for us, but we rely on bees for a majority of our food. In my book, this type of gardening is even more important than any of my plant endeavors.

This isn't the end of my quest for freebies, but it is a great start. If you have any good sources, please share them in the comments. I, of course, will report on the outcome of everything I tried here today. A little searching can pay off in a big way!