April 19, 2008

Little Blue Wagon

I rescued this little fella dumpster diving last year! On Saturdays, the City sends the garbage trucks to local schools and folks take their junk there to be crushed. We were sitting behind this guy and I spotted this rusty, broken wagon on the back of his truck. I "made" hubby get out and confiscate the wagon off the guy's truck before it could be demolished (hubby is used to my strange requests but the man looked at us like we were weird....who would want a broken wagon?). Anyway, it sat behind the storage building all fall and winter. One day while in the paint section of Wal Mart ( my 2nd home lately) I saw this bright blue paint color and thought....why not paint that old wagon a bright color and plant it full of vibrant and pretty flowers? Sooo....today was the day! I didn't scrape, sand or prime the wagon (hope I'm not sorry later) but got right to work spraying away. I covered the wheels with an old tee shirt cause I didn't want the entire wagon the bright blue...I wanted to leave a little of the old wagon showing. One wheel is broken but we put a brick under it to level it off and here she is all ready to be given a new life!



Hubby drilled holes in the bottom for drainage



After a quick trip to the "one stop" plant shop this is what we came home with


"Creeping Jenny"; Petunias, Lantana, Spike Grass; Begonias and my favorite...

....Sweet potato vine! It will trail all over the place and I'll have to keep it cut back
You can see the wagon patiently waiting to be all dressed up!

And here she is....all ready for summer!
(Don't mind the "bald spot" in the yard...we don't get much sunlight through all the trees)
A lot of neighbors came out to see what we had done (they are used to my "unusual" planters) and some people even stopped driving by....everyone liked my little "blue" wagon and so do I!!!

I love using unusual objects to plant in. Years ago people used whatever they had because that's ALL they had....coffee cans, old shoes, porcelain pottys (yuck), but nowadays, it's the "in" thing to do to use whatever your heart desires. I have an old metal bread box planted on the front porch. Most of my things are in urns because I LOVE urns but I do like to "mix it up" and use a few unexpected things.

What's the most unusual thing you've used as a planter or seen used? Please let me know and if possible, post a few pictures of your favorite unusual planters.




6 comments:

  1. Hi Judy! Your planter looks great! I love old wagons.

    Yes, those dishes are Johnson Brothers. You must have a good eye for dishes! I've never heard of them before, but I did look on ebay and found some pieces for varying prices. I just liked the pattern and colors on them!

    Hope you're having a great weekend!

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  2. Judy, I adore your wagon! It is precious,and the blue is just a perfect backdrop to your plants! I found a "cousin" to the potato vine yesterday at a local nursery. It grows like a mandevilla vine...up on a trellis, and has purple flowers! I wish I had the name, but she didn't have a card for it. She said that it grew really fast and recommended that I not put anything else in the pot with it, because it would just take over in no time! If you like potato vine, (I do too!), you would love this one too! If I go back, I'll let you know the name! I love container gardening and yours is just beautiful!

    My MIL came one day last week to visit and I showed her your blog! She just loved it! She wants to try your black and white plates! :)

    Hope you are having a great weekend! ~Rhonda

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  3. Very nice! It looks perfect in that spot in the garden and the blue is truly an inspired choice.

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  4. Judy, I love your lil' blue wagon. It's so.. cute filled with your beautiful flowers. I am really getting into the gardening mood.

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  5. Hey, Judy, I've been traveling again to FL & have been out of it last week. Love your little wagon & how cute it is with the new color. Also love your new hardwoods and can't wait to see that new seagrass rug in there. I just know you will love it. You probably know that the seagrass rugs are not soft on the feet, so just remember that if you think about putting one where you walk on it all the time.

    xo,
    Rhoda

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  6. Ohhhh I love your wagon! I fill all kinds of weird treasures with flowers. Old Strainers make good hanging baskets for geraniums!
    blessings
    Diane

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