Tire Planter

The weather yesterday was delicious. A perfect Sunday afternoon to be outside in the garden. The sun is slowly making its way back around the north side of my town house, and because my pea shoots were getting just high enough to climb, I went ahead and moved all the planters to the front. The configuration is nice and tidy for now, but as plants grow and bush out, my garden footprint will bulge.

What I really had fun with, though, was converting an old tire into a planter - almost for free. Last fall, I picked up a tire from the side of the road. Yesterday, while arranging my containers, I remembered I had it. Rolled it around, tried to slosh out a winter's worth of leaves and water, and decided to paint it. I had no paint, so I went over to the Scrap Exchange. [Side note for those of you who may not know this, or have yet to check out the new location: the Scrap Exchange is one of the coolest places in Durham. Located in a huge new space over by Golden Belt, the re-use center is my go-to spot for fabric, paper, containers, plastic, random garage-sale-like items, and all sorts of odds and ends. If you live near here, you should go, often.] I found a sample jar of blue-grey paint for 25 cents. Loosened the ground where I wanted the planter, wiped down the tire quickly, and painted it with a brush I already had.

It looked better than expected when I was done. Filled it with dirt and planted some bok choy. Now it's one of my favorite planters, and I did it for a quarter. I need at least one more, because I still have paint and they're the perfect size for squash plants. Matching tire planters, one squash, one zucchini, got to make it happen. So, any of you locals who happen to see a free tire and do not need it yourself- LET ME KNOW. But really, how could you resist making this yourself?