I found a whimsical way of planting flowers using terra cotta pots. There are so many fantastic ideas and I found one that met in the middle between functional, whimsical and my taste. Four planters and some rebar later (dirt too) and I had my planter! I chose to plant green onions, chives, cilantro (you can never have enough!) and basil.
I went to Lowes for the materials. Let me say that I knew what I wanted...what I needed. The planters were quick choices and rebar was naturally on the other side of the store. My 9 month old rode in the cart for the first time like a big girl and grinned from ear to ear exposing the two tiny bottom teeth she has. My 2.5 year old continued to ask me "what's this place, Mommy. Mommy? What's this place?" as I repeatedly answered. Of course it switched to "Mommy, I drive that one!" as we passed the tractors. Back then again to the where are we line of questioning. I thoroughly enjoy the "bless your heart" smiles I get from the population mid-day. My ever present question of how this looks to others is answered in that moment...crazy. It looks crazy. Where was I going again? Oh...rebar.
There are very large and impressive pieces of rebar and then I found smaller ones. Perhaps they were 18"? Lots of those in varying diameters. I needed a larger piece but not too big... I asked a group of 3 employees if they had any other sizes or if they could cut the larger one? General consensus was no. After explaining the project, someone suggested a nail. A nail... Apparently these ::ahem:: "older" gentlemen do not share my Pinterest obsession nor do they listen as intently a their facial expressions led me to believe. After showing them a photo, the gentleman put the nail away (I didn't have any other way of explaining how it wouldn't work). However, finally one of the gentlemen walked me over to the aisle again and like magic, exactly what I was looking for WAS there. Always the last place you look, right? The man even carried it to the register and wrapped a bag around it because those things are super dirty!
I wish I could tell you how I figured out the exact amount to bury in the ground but I "eyeballed it." I dug a hole and put the rebar in there. While digging I found two rocks that I used to prop up the rebar before filling it back up with dirt. The rebar is not perfectly straight so...do your best. I piled some dirt up into a mound (because I kept envisioning my husband hitting it with the weed whacker) and slid the first pot on. I filled that with dirt but put a brick (use a rock or anything handy) in the bottom where the second planter will be resting. I just thought of all that weight settling and figured some dirt wouldn't be enough. I then slid the second pot on and filled that with dirt. I repeated that one more time and then tried to figure out how much less rebar I needed. I hit the rebar with a hammer as to not expose the rebar above. Last pot on and done! Well...then seeds but totally done! She's a beaut!
Things I would've done differently?
1. I found a way to age the pots. I definitely could see them in an aged look but I'm happy with it as-is. I'm sure I'll get that aged look the natural way.
2. I would've taken more photos to document the experience better. Perhaps a step-by-step visual.
3. I also would've waited to plant. The pots settled and exposed the rebar. After this planting season, I'll fix it by tapping it down. Until then, a constant reminder of my impatience...
I started a raised bed planter a few weeks ago and will be finishing that in another post.
Until then, love life! ...and plant!!
-Valerie
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