Hey, I *could* have a flock of pink flamingos....

Originally I was going to do a post titled "Reduce, reuse, recycle" featuring this planter created from more or less "found" elements.... coupled with details on how I re-use last year's potting soil with a bit of a mad scientist approach involving fresh potting soil, compost, organic fertilizer, alfalfa pellets and some really grubby, dirty hands. Or how I use the styrofoam packing peanuts to fill the bottom of planters.

Sure, I used an old golf cart found in my parent's garage, and a very old golf bag. And I do mix up my own potting soil. And, I did save and use the packing peanuts - usually checking to make sure they are styrofoam, rather than corn starch which melts with water, to fill the bottom of large containers



But then, when I posted a picture on facebook of my finished product, my brother commented, "what will the neighbors think". You see, I live in an established, somewhat conservative, upper middle class suburb of Milwaukee. We did what I think was a brilliant thing - buying the least expensive house in the best neighborhood possible. What we didn't do was the expected tear down/rebuild or massive remodel/new addition. Instead we are tackling tiny project after tiny project ourselves.  The result of which has been comments from our neighbor that our purchase price is "bringing the neighborhood property values down", or in seeing we were doing landscaping ourselves comments about hiring a professional.

So maybe my neighbor won't like my golf bag planter. But I sure do! We got the original idea back in 2004 when we attended the PGA Championship at Kohler. There on the streets of Manitowoc, WI was this planter....

Ever since, we'd said we'd have a golf planter. Finally made that a reality. My version:

I think it'll get better as it fills out and grows. Oh the plants - in the top: Phormium 'Jester', Cuphea cyanea 'Caribbean Sunset', Cascade Centradenia, and 'Aloha Red' calibrachoa. Lower front pocket (with ball) Sanvitalia 'Sunbini', back pocket, sorry, lost the tag, maybe a santolina?

In other ghetto gardening news. A couple of weeks ago I saw these great painted trellises and tomato hoops at a local garden center. 

 

LOVED them, but not the cost. Instead I bought 12 tomato hoops from Menards and four cans of paint. For the cost of two of the garden center versions, I have a dozen. Set up a little spray paint assembly line of one of our bare spots, and went to town.

Have three each purple, blue, yellow and green to add to my driveway container vegetable garden.

I think they will be quite cool. 

And if the neighbor has a problem with these, I guess I could remind him it could be worse....I could follow the example of this homeowner I saw on today's Ride for the Arts.

Wait until next year when I finally get my bottle tree............