One Neighbor’s Trash

Lately I’ve been trying my hand and gardening and fixing up my lawn to make it look less like I’ve only lived there a few months… when I’ve actually been there almost 18 years!

I fixed up an old pallet that I’d used as an herb garden a few years back and gave it a bit of a facelift.

I used back spray paint to disguise the roughness of the wood. Then, using a staple gun, I put in lawn fabric to hold in the dirt on all the sections, save the bottom (where I planted basil and sage, which have more substantial root systems. I got most of the herbs from my mom who has an extensive herb garden.

Then I was out watering my plants one morning and saw that my neighbor had put a rusted out grill on his curb. I’m not sure if this is the universal “come and get it sign,” but it is in our neighborhood 🙂

I suddenly thought, I bet I could make a planter out of that! And so when my best friend came over later that day, she helped me carry it over to my house.

Rust covered the entire outside of the grill and duct tape residue was on the lid (?)

Later that day I headed off to Lowe’s and got some steel wool (rust removal), some glossy black spray paint (I used Rust-Oleum), some planting soil and flowers.

First, I had to take the grill apart. I took of the kid and removed the inner pieces and the wood handle that had rotted apart. Then I used quite a bit of arm strength and scrape the rust off of the grill.

Next, I took a nail and hammered in some drainage holes in the bottom of the planter. Then I spray painted the whole thing- inside and out and filled it with soil.

After I’d scraped all the rust off and spray painted it.

After that all that was left to do was find a spot for it, and plant my flowers!

Here it all is the night I finished!

All said and done, it only took a few hours including the trip to Lowe’s.

Picture taken this morning- after nearly a month

So, be brave! If you find something on the side of the road that you might be able to spruce up a bit… DO IT! … just don’t become a hoarder. 🙂