101 Creative Garden Containers (with photos)

Container gardening is great fun for creative people who love searching for interesting, eye-catching, and whimsical containers.  Anything that can hold soil and water is fair game.   DRAINAGE is the one consideration that should be in the back of your mind when making your selections. 

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Some containers (such as vintage sinks) have natural drainage; others can have drainage holes drilled into them; still others (such as bird cages, colanders, and wire mesh baskets) are overly porous and will need to be lined with moss, coconut fiber, or heavy plastic to hold in the potting soil.  If your container has no drainage, use it either as a cachepot (to hide another container) or put a layer of gravel, pumice, or crushed lava rock in the bottom and don’t overwater it or leave it out in the rain.  A glass container with no drainage holes could make a nice indoor terrarium.

Searching for creative containers can even be more fun than filling them up with plants and flowers.  Shop for them at flea markets, antique stores, auctions, thrift shops, architectural salvage yards, and craft stores -- and don’t forget to poke through Grandma’s attic and cellar.  Make one-of-a-kind creations in a pottery class, or shop at the sales hosted by pottery labs.  Let unusual containers inspire your plant selection by considering their shape, size, color and style.

Bear in mind that you’ll be diminishing the value of an antique if you drill drainage holes in it and if you let it take a beating out in the sun and rain --not to mention the risk of theft.  Bring precious items indoors, or at least keep them sheltered on a porch.

Unusual containers add an element of surprise and whimsy.  They elicit smiles, laughter, and the question, “Where in the world did you find that?”   With no trouble at all, we can think of 101 unusual containers that can add interest, amusement, and creativity to your garden space.  Here goes:

Birdbaths are great for creating miniature landscapes, such as fairy gardens, and the height is just perfect for small children.  Dry fountains can also be repurposed as planters.  A multi-tiered fountain packed with flowers makes a stunning focal point for the garden, especially when viewed through a garden arbor.

Birdhouses make great garden accessories, and you can find them at craft stores in various shapes and sizes.  With some moss, wire mesh, and small strips of wood, crafty gardeners can modify a bird house to support a green roof.  (Assorted sedum would be a good roofing choice.)

A vintage bicycle looks great parked in the garden.  Spray paint it a fun color, if you wish, then fill up flower baskets in the front and back.  Wheel spokes can be used to support climbing vines.

Any container with a face on it makes us chuckle when we see hair-like greenery spilling out of the top.  Wall sconces may also be used as flower containers.

By now we’ve probably all seen wheelbarrows used as planters.   For something more original, fill up a vintage seed spreader or the circular base of a charcoal grill that you no longer use.  (Wouldn’t red geraniums look sweet in a shiny black basin?)

Some garden sculptures are designed to hold flowers; other sculptures can be embellished with fresh or silk flowers.  (A lotus blossom is commonly found in the lap of a sitting Buddha statue.)

When you see a tree cavity, aren’t you tempted to stuff something colorful in there?  Flowers look right at home in containers made of wood, stone, and other natural materials.  A log or tree stump can be hollowed out (by using a hammer and chisel) and used as a planter.   An exotic grapewood branch makes a nice centerpiece and can be a home for your favorite little succulents (after you stuff some sphagnum moss into the nooks and crannies). 

Air plants (Tillandsia) are an easy-care species that can be nestled into sea shells, snail shells, sea urchin shells, driftwood, and other small containers.  Since they collect water and nutrients through their leaves, they don’t need soil to survive (just an occasional misting or soaking).    Big shells with fluted edges, either the real deal or ones made of plaster or cast concrete, make attractive containers, especially for people who live close to the ocean.

Wooden containers are warm, earthy, and well-suited to a garden with a rustic or cottage style.  The best woods to use outdoors are ones that are naturally rot-resistant, such as cedar, hemlock and redwood.  Half whisky barrels are commonly used as flower containers, but at flea markets you can also find wooden crates, drawers, kegs, tool chests, clam hods, and so much more.   Our Mandevilla looks pretty happy sitting in an antique nail keg – wouldn’t you say?   (Actually, the keg is just being used as a cachepot to hide the plastic nursery pot and a foot-tall plastic booster.)  

Anything made of wood, ceramic, or pottery looks good in a rustic setting.  Sleek metal cylinders and wild colors like orange and chartreuse look better with modern home styles.

We once saw an old library card catalog in a sheltered location on someone’s back porch, and ivy was tumbling out of some of its drawers -- just charming!  (No doubt those drawers had been lined with plastic sheeting before the gravel, soil, and plants were added.)   A little wooden desk or bureau can also be repurposed as a potting bench, display table, or side table.  The drawers can also be removed and used by themselves, perhaps to support begonias or fleshy little succulents that require only light watering.

Wooden pallets turned upright can be transformed into vertical gardens.  It’s all the rage to display succulents vertically in picture frames (by inserting the cuttings into sphagnum moss held in place with chicken wire, and then leaving the frame in a horizontal position for several months while the cuttings take root).  Other garden wall containers include stone sconces, a collection of birdhouses, or a collection of purses or pouches (perhaps lined with Woolly Pockets).

Old soda bottle carriers have 24 little compartments which can hold 24 little plant specimens, perhaps succulents of various shapes, textures and colors.  An old muffin tin or tool box can be repurposed the same way.

Now let’s think of some tiny containers that you can keep indoors on your desk, dining table, or kitchen windowsill.  Small containers require small plants, so choose miniature and dwarf cultivars.  Small containers also dry out quickly, which is why shallow-rooting, easy-care succulents are a natural choice.   Even the tiniest of tea cups can hold a tiny Echeveria rosette, and it’s not likely to wilt while you’re away on vacation for a week or two (unless it really misses you).  Other tiny containers include baby shoes, baby boots, an empty tin of mints, or an antique snuff box.  Tightly pack little containers with sphagnum moss, then insert, for example, little sedum cuttings or rosette-shaped succulents.   We once spotted a handsome old cigar box on display at our local garden shop.  The lid (which was decorated with a handsome portrait) was propped open, and the base contained assorted sedum.  (Line such a box with plastic, of course, and don’t overwater it.)

Browse through the kitchenware at a second-hand shop and you’ll find lots of possibilities for clever containers:  tea pots, cups, kettles, vintage tea tins, pitchers, crocks, urns, and even heirloom china.  Shallow china bowls (with no drainage holes) can be used for forcing bulbs, such as hyacinths, indoors.

Colanders come in many shapes, sizes, and colors and have plenty of natural drainage.  (Line them with moss or coconut fiber.)  Coffee mugs as flower containers make good indoor decorations, party favors, and hostess gifts.  (Stuff some moist floral foam in a mug, poke holes in the foam with a toothpick, then insert plant stems.)  We’ve seen silver teapots, sugar bowls and creamers used to display flowers.  (You may consider sterling silver to be too precious for craft projects, but silver plate is quite affordable and easy to come by.)

Let’s consider what you could use for hanging containers:

A birdcage lined with moss looks charming with plants cascading out.  Some possibilities (depending on your local climate) include creeping Jenny, string of pearls, baby’s necklace, rat-tail cactus, and donkey tail sedum.

A vintage wire basket (lined with moss and hanging from chains) would be a nice way to hang strawberry plants.  Luscious berries look gorgeous at eye level, and by keeping them off the ground, you won’t have to share them with beetles, slugs, rodents and other critters.

A little wooden armchair (or highchair) that a child has outgrown can be converted into a container for a hanging flower basket (that is, if you don’t mind sawing the legs off).   Attach some sisal rope and let it swing from a tree (but make sure that flimsy ropes are only used to swing flowers and not children).

An old chandelier (with bulbs facing upwards) can be transformed into a hanging planter.  Just remove the wiring and replace the fixtures with plants (such as vinca) that have a trailing habit.  (Alternatively, you can add subtle lighting to your evening garden by replacing the fixtures with solar-powered lights -- no wiring necessary.)

Are you TOO BROKE to shop at antique stores?  Then you’ll have to be extra creative and resourceful in your choice of containers.   Find better deals at yard sales, flea markets, and perhaps even by  – gasp! –  dumpster diving.   You can plant in plastic water bottles (after you cut them to the desired height and poke holes in the bottom).  Standard cinder blocks each have two hollow sections that can hold plants, and a dozen cinder blocks can form the perimeter of a raised garden bed.  Brighten them up by gluing colorful tiles to the exterior.

Some gardeners make their own (inexpensive) containers with hypertufa (a combination of Portland cement, peat moss, and perlite, strengthened with some reinforcing fibers).  It looks like stone but is much lighter in weight, and as it ages it develops a classy patina of mosses and lichens.

We’ve seen old sinks get transformed into garden containers, along with bath tubs, wash tubs, and – dare I say – toilets!  (Don’t laugh – at least they have natural drainage.)  An old claw-footed tub makes a gorgeous planter.  If you don’t want to fill up such a huge container, just fill part of it, and put a slab of stone or wood over the other part.  Voila! – you’ve got yourself a side table for resting your gin and tonic after an arduous afternoon of yard work.

Strawberry pots can be used for a whole lot more than strawberries.  In warmer climates, they look stunning with Echeveria rosettes stuffed into the many pockets.

Many children’s toys can be converted into planters, especially the ones you’re having a hard time parting with after the children are grown.   Toy pick-up trucks, dump trucks, and lunch boxes (propped open) can easily hold some soil and plants.   An old tricycle can support a flower container on the seat and more on the back step.  Doesn’t every child own at least one classic red Radio Flyer wagon?  They come in various sizes – including tiny ones just six inches long -- and can make portable garden beds for plants with shallow root growth.    At our local Farmers Market, red wagons are often used to display and transport plants, including cannabis (!).

We’ve seen vegetable gardens growing out of plastic kiddie pools (with drainage holes cut into the bottom, of course).  Imagine a tiny pair of kid’s jeans stuffed with soil and greenery (and held upright by either dowels or the belt loops) – that’s sure to bring smiles, laughter, and good memories.  Greenery can cascade out of a musical instrument no longer in use, such as a guitar, or from a tiny shopping cart.

The frame of a small child’s bed can be transformed into a (literal) garden bed.  If a headboard or footboard contains upright posts (made of brass, for example), they can be repurposed as trellises.  A child’s safety gate also makes a good trellis.

Let’s think of some creative containers for celebrating the holidays.  In the spring, Easter baskets can be filled with real greenery (along with ornamental eggs and chicks).  Straw hats and purses (with plastic liners) can greet the season with a colorful burst of tulips or lilies.   In the fall, pumpkins can be hollowed out and used as garden containers, perhaps stuffed with ornamental kale, cabbage, or a grass that resembles hair.  Pin Cushion plants (a.k.a. bead plants or coral moss) produce hundreds of tiny orange berries that look right at home in pumpkins.   (In cool weather, pumpkin planters ought to last outdoors for several weeks before they get mushy and need to be tossed into the compost pit.)  Little ornamental gourds can also be hollowed out and filled with soil and plants, perhaps one for each place setting at a party table or your dining table.

Here are some suggestions for large-scale containers (for those of you with plenty of yard space):   Old wagons and mining carts can be converted into elevated garden beds.   Big old wagon wheels make charming trellises for clematis and other climbing vines, or you can create herb wheels out of them by laying them flat on a garden bed and planting a different herb in each section.   Do you have a little rowboat or canoe you no longer use?  Fill them up!   Some large containers should be tilted to make the contents more visible and so that flowers can cascade out.  You might even want to position some containers on their side so that the flowers appear to flow out like water (or to hide the broken part of a pot).   Brick pavers can be used to create huge containers, and anything shaped like a feeding trough can be used as a flower bed.

Here’s a useful tip:  You don’t need huge amounts of potting soil to fill huge containers.  Fill the bottom with pinecones, empty water bottles, Styrofoam packing peanuts, wine corks, and other hidden fillers that have mass but not much weight.  And before you fill up any large garden container, position it just where you want it (before it’s too heavy to reposition).

There you have it!  We’ve given you 100 suggestions for garden containers that are more interesting than standard, oh-so-boring terra cotta pots.   And now, for the 101^st, let’s talk about those old cars that you hardly ever drive…