Grow, Grow, Grow, Your Boat…

These boat gardens are beautiful, colorful, and well grown.  It looks like a lot of planning went into each boat.  Old boats look nostalgic when you see them all neglected and abandoned, but when you recycle them, their beauty ‘floats to the top!’

You may reuse them in your garden as flower planters or even as water features.  For ideas on how you can reuse old boats check out these boat gardens from our own Flea market gardeners.

Shirley Keen

Shirley Keen tells us what she’s been doing in her garden in New Zealand. She says, “I’m surveying what needs to be done and what has worked well and I am happy with this boat I did six months ago. The succulents are great as they do not need daily watering like annuals do.”

“This boat is made of fibreglass so I’m pretty sure it will not rot. Before I had it, the boat was a child’s sandpit so it already had some good drainage holes.
I used about ten bags of sand (came with the boat) and then about 12 bags of potting mix that I mixed up with pumice. This gives better drainage for succulents. I am lucky where I live because we only get maybe six very mild frosts all winter. The succulents do not mind winter conditions. Remember, I am in New Zealand and our winters are different to other parts of the world. No snow in my wee piece of paradise.“

Natalie MacPherson

Natalie MacPherson’s boat garden in winter, above,…and summer, below.  She says, “I have a boat in my garden in Kentucky and it was already this faded blue.  I have had difficulty with some of my annuals in it in the past. I’m going to switch some plants out to succulents this year.“

Natalie MacPherson’s boat garden

Natalie MacPherson tells us, “My boat is filling in nicely with coneflowers, cosmos, blanket flowers, cannas, elephant ears, carpet roses, and a mandevilla that hasn’t bloomed yet. I spent two years looking for a boat.

I planted them in the sun just because I had a whole bunch of them this year and I didn’t know if they’d do well or not. So far, so good, but we were in a super hot time this summer. I wasn’t sure if they’d make it or not.

Winnie Saum

Poppy Mookerjee At a village in Lincolnville, Maine I came across this beautiful sight

Do you love boating?

For ocean lovers, having a boat ‘docked’ in your garden can set your imagination going!
Add a mooring of three logs and a rope, ‘tying up’ the boat.
Add a mast and sail!
Plant with blue flowers all around as water.
Add frogs, crabs and other water lovers…flamingos!
Set your boat on a bed of sand, as if it just washed ashore.

Tammy Scott I had a kids sailboat when we lived in Florida. It was so cute

Winnie Saum

Winnie Saum’s rowboat is home to a couple of sunbathing frogs. It’s filled with soil and low-growing bloomers.

Teri Clark’s boat is settled into a beautiful mixed perennial flowerbed

Realm of the Faerie Garden’s canoe is home to the fairies!

Where to find an old boat to recycle?

First of all, look at YOUR place! Becky Payton says, “There is a canoe under my deck been there for almost 20 years . I’d love to do this with it but my husband says no ?. I should add we live at a lake.”

Debbie Bell says, “I just put one in last fall. New house, no yard yet

Debbie Bell  just found a boat for her garden and will make it a focal point. Check your community free and for sale pages and simply ask.  You may get lucky!

Natalie McPherson says, “I looked for three years before I found my little boat. I was so excited when I found it and it came complete with faded blue paint!”

What to plant in your boat garden?

Joyce O’Connell I have two of them!

Iris grows beautifully in both of Joyce O’Connell’s boats.  Remember the adage for planting in any container,…thriller, fillers and spillers.  The tall Iris makes a good background for the low spillers that drape over the sides.

Joyce O’Connell’s  ‘Smokin’ Sole Resort’

Plan to plant around your boat garden.

Surround your boat with a sea of plants like these four gardens…

Sheila Cole Yes, I have a boat in my landscape.

Yes she does!  Sheila collects hosta to nestle in front of her boat.  What a nice background the boat makes, draped in an old fishing net!?

Judy Beckler “Here’s mine, last Fall.”

Judy Beckler’s boat is a water garden with a fountain and hanging lantern and a lighthouse.  You can just go wild, once to adopt this nautical theme.  Oars, floats, rope and nets add to the scene.

Gloria Vickery “My boat with mainly perennials to give colour to the succulent garden.”

Plants in Gloria Vickery’s garden mimics the look of coral reefs and seaweed, complete with a cunning crab.

Aleeda Chastain

A flock of flamingos have landed in Aleeda Chastain’s garden! She set her boat on a bed of gravel and blue containers.  Don’t forget an American flag in the bow!

Helen Trautman’s water garden,…in a boat!

Mary Long’s boat is sailing into a pretty sunset

Cyndee Baldwin shard this boat swing she found online. She says, “I don’t live anywhere near a lake but I still want this on my porch!”

Mignon Thiffault says, “This is the best use of what my father would term a “leaver right”…as in leave ‘r right there. And this the best use of that type of boat!”
Ha! Tractor man decided THIS year to restore our old motorboat,…perfect size for a boat garden.  Missed my chance!  ~~ Sue