A friend and I celebrated Mother’s Day by helping her two grandsons create floral art from a couple of old chairs. The seats were no longer sturdy, but the unused chairs made great eye-catching flower planters. It was a quick, easy project that allowed the boys to enjoy creating Mother’s Day gifts.
To recycle an unused chair into a flower planter:
Remove the seat from the chair
Form mesh wire into a basket shape or use a wire plant basket
Attach all four of the chair seat sides using wood staples or nails
Line with burlap, sphagnum moss, or sheet moss topped by peat moss to help hold in water
Fill with potting soil leaving enough space to add the soil of the plants
Insert a variety of plants that will bloom alternately all summer
Choose a showy climber for the chair back like a running Rose or Clematis
Add depth by using plants of varied heights in the center like Zinnia, Elfin Thyme, or Campanula
Place cascading bloomers to spill over edges like Impatients or Petunias
Scatter bark over soil to hold in moisture; water weekly
This can be a creative and inexpensive way for adults to re-purpose unused items into interesting yard art. Its also a fun project to share with children. It allows kids to be creative with nature and can teach them to nurture living things. Allow them to make watering the plants their responsibility throughout the hot summer months.
Check your local florist or garden center to procure the floral products needed for this activity. Also, look for other creative ways to enjoy working with flowers and adding visual interest to your flower garden this summer season.
Celebrate life with flowers!
Sharon
Sharon McGukin AIFD, AAF, PFCI is a floral designer,
author of Flowers of the heart – a bride’s guide to choosing flowers for her wedding
http://www.sharonmcgukin.com ISBN – 13: 978-0-615-29222-9; $49.95 + S/H,
and Incoming President of the American Institute of Floral Design
Visit http://www.aifd.org for more details about AIFD.
Sharon travels across the country speaking to audiences and
encouraging all to celebrate life with flowers!
