Planting classic Radio Flyers in the garden

A dozen little red wagons for your garden

A Flea market Gardening icon: do you have one?  Wagons of any kind are useful and decorative and can be used until they literally rust away.  We all remember playing with these wagons and now can keep the memories and use them in our gardens.

How did Radio Flyer come to be?

Who knew?

In 1917, Antonio Pasin made his first wagon from wood and began selling them. After hiring a few employees, his new company became known as the Liberty Coaster Company, named after the Statue of Liberty. His wagons captured the spirit of the times.

In 1930, with the automotive industry as inspiration, Pasin began using metal-stamping technology to produce steel wagons and the company is renamed Radio Steel & Manufacturing and becomes the world’s largest producer of toy coaster wagons.

He named his first steel wagon the Radio Flyer, after his fascination with the invention of the radio by fellow Italian, Guglielmo Marconi; and Flyer, which reflected his awed admiration of flight.  ‘Flyer’ was also the name for a horse pulled wagon,…usually the fancy kind.

 

Planting a wagon in the garden

Shallow wagons can be planted with equally shallow -rooted plants like Carolyn’s phlox, sedums or blooming ground covers like creeping thyme, hens and chicks and creeping Jenny. Usually wagons in the garden can be planted with anything that come in a 6 pony pak. That means most any annual.

 

Planted in Jean’s wagon are, clockwise from left, lavender Bacopa, pink Petunia, Marigolds, Coleus white Petunias, chartreuse Creeping Jenny, Lysimachia nummularia, Sweet Alyssum and Begonia.

 

 Kay Bassett’s wagon is planted with Million Bells, Callibrachoa, a Sedge, Hens and chicks, Sedum in front, an aloe and Creeping Jenny, Lysimachia nummularia.

 

Jan Clark fit her wagon in amongst containers and garden beds and Flea Market items for a real garden vignette.  A wagon can act as an ‘anchor for a grouping such as this.  She planted pink spiky Veronica, far left, Lavender, Sweet Alyssum, Million Bells and petunias

 

Loretta Fuller’s wagon holds pots of  blue Lobelia, Coleus, yellow and blue Pansies, red geraniums and in front Sweet potato vine, all ready to be planted.

 

Sherry Law’s wagon is filled with pale yellow Million Bells, Calibrachoa, and Wishbone Flower, Torenia.

 

 Jean Neuweg’s fairy garden wagon is planted with finely textured plants, creeping thyme, Polka Dot plant, Hypoestes, bushy Oregano, and purple Sweet Alyssum. All have tiny flowers appropriate for a fairy garden. See more of Jean’s fairy gardens as well as how she made this one.

 

 Tammy Prouty

used Mecardonia ‘Goldflake’ and purple Sweet Alyssum in her wagon…

New or used?

It’s nice to keep a wagon by your driveway so plants can be unloaded and pulled right to where you need them.  Once they rust a bit, so many things can be planted in them! Plant right inside with drainage holes drilled or pile in the flower pots.

 

“Beautiful day today… getting ready to plant my shabby flower boxes.”  This was Linda Gladman’s wagon from when she was a child.  “But he wheels on the cart are from a Gendron baby buggy!” she says.

 

 

Jacki Kropf planted lush strawberries with her granddaughter, using both the wagon itself and planting pots for a cute two-tiered look.

 

Shea Ricci’s wagon sports three garden favorites, Lobelia, Marigolds and Petunias.

 

Unusual Radio Flyers

 

Christal O’Connor‎ says,  “My yard sale wagon sporting it’s first fall season of flower pots.”

*We love this wagon is wonderful and have never seen an “Atkins Flyer” only a “Radio Flyer”  Does anyone out there know about this wagon?  If you know, please let us know in a comment!

 

Linda Ann Maguire says, “One of my neighbors put this out for the trash. They only made the blue one in 1976. It’s one of my favorite planters.”

It’s true!  A company representative tells us, “Radio Flyer did, in fact, produce an all blue wagon in the 1960s and 70s! In 1962, The model#100 was called the Rex Rocket and was more of turquoise blue. In the 1970s the Model#100 was called the Blue Baron and was a metallic blue. In 1976, the last year that this wagon was produced, the handle was red with an American Flag to salute the bicentennial year. ”

 

Not actually a Radio Flyer brand, Jean Morrow also has a Berlin Flyer, an Amish made wooden wagon, built to last. Here’s she’s planted it with White Bacopa, blue Lobelia, red Geranium and white Petunias in a rusting galvanized bucket, all showing off beautifully against the weathered wood fence. Red White and Blue!

 

Gorgeous Garden Carts

Radio Flyer also made a garden cart that’s much sought after and much admired by Flea Market gardeners.

 

Put Radio Flyers on your list, when you’re out at garage sales and flea markets…$40 dollars for the cart and as little as $10 for a wagon is a good price!