Advertisement

How to plant flowers in an old wicker chair

I’m a fan of this chair!

Take a couple old pieces of junk and transform them into into a tiny little garden scene using just a little imagination.  It’s sometimes difficult to find outdoor decoration that will fit into a ranchy/foresty type garden but this wicker chair is a classic.  Here’s how I planted my garden chair.

Old fan, used for parts

On a visit to my old goat shed, I saw a couple pieces of decrepit junk I could use to create a little garden scene in my rain garden. One was an old stand-up fan and the other was an old wicker chair with the seat broken out. Knowing the chair needed a ‘container’ to plant in and seeing the ‘basket’ part of the fan cover gave me the idea of using them together. Kewl beans! I asked Tractor Man to remove the front basket part and the fan itself from the fan and we tossed the rest back into the shed.

Decrepit wicker chair

Preparing the chair

As I looked at the chair, I realized no one could ever sit in it again,…the seat was all broken down. What color should I paint it? After asking our group, a million colors were suggested,…do you remember? Even the idea of leaving the original chippy condition was suggested! After a bit of consideration, and knowing it should be a light color to show up in a mostly shady area, I decided on a creamy white. Then let it chip away!

All fresh and painted

Don’t you love spray paint? The chair is now being held together with two coats of it.

Wrap and plant!

Fan ‘basket’ and burlap

The only other material I used was a roll of burlap found in the hardware store. I cut a rectangle piece, 36″ wide by 72″ approximately. I doubled that and set the basket part of the fan on top, wrapping the burlap around. I’m sure this will need to be done each season, so I figured the soil and plants would be enough to hold the burlap to the fan.

Advertisement

Burlap wrapped fan ‘basket’

 

The basket fit the seat of the chair perfectly!

It’s all good

The chair was planted up with Golden Fleece and pansies and a couple French flower buckets, with blue nierembergia were set by one side. Columbines are nearby.

I had fun planting flowers in my new junk ‘container!’ Golden fleece, or Dahlberg daisies around the edge of the last of the pansies fill out the basket. I placed the chair next to my rododendron that lives happily in my part shade garden under the oaks. It’s in site of our sitting area there and I’ll enjoy seeing it when I relax there during the summer.

 

Finished chair set in the rain garden

It’s so enjoyable working out new and different ways to create something out of nothing and then share how it’s created. Hopefully someone will take this original idea and tweak it into yet another original. Fun! ~~ Sue


Note: What is a rain garden? It’s a garden placed at the end of a drainage line or roof drain pipe that gets a bit more water than the rest of your garden. Plants that need this extra water can be planted there and you use the extra water instead of having it simply run off.

Sue Langley

Sue Langley, a passionate gardener and photographer lives and gardens with her husband and Corgi, Maggie on 7 acres just south of Yosemite, Zone 7 at 3000 feet. She manages the Flea Market Gardening Facebook page and website.

View Comments

  • Michelle Irving says:

    Very clever, would coconut fiber be a better alternative than burlap?

Recent Posts

Boat gardens sail away…with our hearts

Grow, Grow, Grow, Your Boat... These boat gardens are beautiful, colorful, and well grown.  It looks like a lot of… Read More

4 years ago

Decorate your garden with blue!

'Paint' Your Garden with Blue... Is your garden is singing the blues? Mix recycled containers and crafts with blue flowers… Read More

4 years ago

Lost and Found in the Garden

See this hilarious and sometimes poignant list of lost items in the garden Question.......what was the last thing you lost… Read More

4 years ago

Jeanne’s garden Baker’s rack

Designing a charming garden baker's rack When I first saw Jeanne’s well-arranged and simply delightful Baker’s rack, I thought, ‘Somebody… Read More

4 years ago

Billie’s Yellows in the garden

Choosing a color from 'Over the Rainbow Garden' Billie Hayman's garden is full of color and she shows how one… Read More

4 years ago

Alliums in the garden, real & crafty!

Alliums are drama queens in the garden! Whether real flowers, grown from bulbs or the crafted faux flowers modeled after… Read More

4 years ago
Advertisement