Hello again! I hope your May is off to a wonderful start. I can’t remember a more beautiful spring in recent years…plenty of sunshine and mild temperatures…perfect for tackling some garden projects! One of my recent endeavors involved a trash-to-treasure makeover that I wanted to share with you. Some friends of mine who are avid art collectors recently received a new sculpture, packed extremely well in a very nice crate. When I saw the crate, I just couldn’t let it go to the dump, so I loaded it up and took it home. With some putty, a little paint and a few choice plants, it now has a new life as a charming box planter. Take a look:
First, I removed all the shipping stickers, filled in the major holes and gaps with putty and then gave it 2 coats of fresh white paint.
Next, I placed some gravel in the bottom of the box for drainage, filled it with quality potting soil and added a combination of flowering and succulent plants. In honor of the artist, Prince, who recently passed away, I decided to go with an all-purple theme. I used a tree-form Duranta as the centerpiece and surrounded that with purple scaevola to trail out and over the edge of the planter. To add some textural interest, I added a few silver-leafed succulents.
For a finishing touch, I attached a purple hand-blown glass heart I got some years ago at the former Fayetteville boutique store, Corazon.
And here are the results…not to shabby for something that was headed for the trash!
So, take a look around your garage or storage room (or garbage pile). You just might have a piece of trash you can convert into a perfectly lovely treasure for your own garden!
Exterior designer Daniel Keeley is an Arkansas native and founder/principal of DK Design. His work has won numerous awards and accolades and is featured regularly in various publications. For more information visit dkdesignoutdoor.com.
