Trio Tin Can Planter Project

I have been a busy boy! Making things, from trash and this is another project I recently finished. A trio of vertical tin can planters. The idea came to me after seeing a similar projects on Pinterest made with terracotta pots that sat in wooden rests and suspended vertically.I thought they were great and wanted to make my own. However I neither had the required pots or tools to make them. So like a good upcycler I thought about what materials I could get a hold off. 

To make this you will need.......

Three large tin cans (I sourced these from my work, they are around 3 litres in size)
Three hanging basket chains (I bought these for about 75p from a local garden shop)
Two M8 marine bolts with nuts and washers (the most expensive part of this if you find a cheaper part that's great)
A drill and metal drill bits
Electrical wire snips
And Paint!!

To Build.....

Clean your tins inside and out in hot soapy water
Lightly sand the surface you are going to paint and wipe with a damp cloth
Drill your holes,you will need to drill one hole slightly bigger than the M8 bolt in the centre base of two cans, three small hole around the rim of the can for the chain clips, I did this by eye it doesn't need to be perfect. and finally drainage holes.
Attach your M8 marine bolts a washers on either side and tighten up.
Paint your cans, I used spray paint that I had in the shed hence the random nature of the colours.
Attach your hanging basket chains, I shortened mine to 12 links as they were far to long, to do this just count the amount of links you would like for the desired length, move the clip to that link and if it looks right snip of the excess with the wire snips.
Finally plant up!! My trio is going to be in an almost full shade part of my yard thus ferns will be going in when I get some.

Garden Projects Picture Frame Planter and Tin Can Plant Pot

We have had some brilliant weather through March, the summer feeling has definitely come a little early this year. everyone one has been out in the gardens making the most of the dry sunny weather and even a BBQ or too. We had a high of 18 Celsius..... to some that might seem pretty cold but to us Brits at this time of year that's down right tropical! Especially after the winter we have had! So everyone has been getting ready for the summer ahead, myself included. But there is only so much you can do this time of year and for me this is when I start playing around and try to make things. And yesterday I made two picture frame planters, as an experiment really but I was quiet happy with the way they turned out.

I was pottering around the garden and cleaning up when I went to drop some rubbish in the bin and low and behold my partner had been cleaning out the house and these two small picture frames were on the top. I have seen a few posts on Pinterest and other sites where people had made these and I always thought they looked great. They were always on a bigger scale compared to my modest attempt however I think they could create a good effect, my neighbour was amazed though I don't know how much of that was politeness!

To make these I used some pallet wood to make the sides and some old plastic fascia board that was sitting idle in the shed. Finally some chicken wire that was left over. I knocked up a U-shape for the bottom and sides with the wood and nailed the fascia board on to the back. The chicken wire I used to sit in between the frame and the base to help hold plants in. FinallyI just nailed the frame on to the box base. This actually only took 10 minutes to make.

So far I have filled one with compost and seeded it with plain old grass. Really I just want to see what it will look like and weather it will work..... The other I would like to try some sort of flower, alpine type maybe.

I also made a planter out of an old tin can, I loved the paper label that was on it, the blue and orange so I really wanted to keep it. To do this I used a clear Lacquer spray, normally used for car metal work. And sprayed it A LOT! It seems water tight, and hopefully I get to keep the label on it!

Well time to go and plant up my early potatoes, the sun seems to be coming back out.