From bird feeders to herb gardens: 7 ways to repurpose old flower pots

The collection of flowerpots is inevitable for any experienced gardener. However, not all of those pots will always be in perfect condition; they may get chipped, stained, or cracked. Nevertheless, such flowerpots might not necessarily end up in the trash can, as they still have several possibilities. Thus, the task of finding an appropriate reuse is challenging but fun and can save both time and expenses. There are many ways to give the old flower pots another meaning, including turning them into herb planters, bird feeder stations, and even a garden water feature. Therefore, there are seven creative ways to repurpose the old flower pots instead of disposing of them.

It might be difficult to imagine what to do with slightly cracked and chipped pots, but using them for planting herbs can be the perfect solution. There is plenty of different varieties of herbs that could be planted in old flower pots, including basil, mint, coriander, parsley, and rosemary. Such a small project is easy and allows the old flower pots to serve as a source of tasty food. It also provides an opportunity for gardeners to grow fresh ingredients in their backyard.

The process of making bird-feeding stations using flower pots is rather simple but requires some imagination. People who own flower pots should arrange shallow flower containers with seeds or build a platform using stacked pots that could hold the food for birds. Moreover, they can even paint flower pots to make them brighter and more attractive for birds. It would be great for gardeners as these stations will be a nice addition for their garden, allowing them to support local fauna.

The storage of gardeners' tools and accessories can be a challenging problem for gardeners because everything seems to get lost somewhere in the shed or garage. Old flower pots are an excellent solution for this issue as large ones can be used for storing such things as trowels, hand forks, and pruning shears, whereas small pots can be employed for holding plant markers, strings, or seed packets. Thus, old pots can become very handy storage devices.

Fairy gardens are a trendy and fascinating project as they attract both children and grown-ups. The creation of a fairy garden begins from choosing appropriate flower pots. In order to achieve the goal, gardeners need to plant miniature plants into the flower pots, place some stones and tiny houses, and put figurines there as well. Sometimes, cracked flower pots are particularly useful for building a fairy garden as gardeners could make terraces with such pots.

Flower pots are not only useful when they contain plants but can serve for other purposes as well. For instance, the construction of the garden water feature requires just one large flower pot, a simple fountain pump, and decorative stones. After that, gardeners should create an impressive garden accent with minimum investments. Furthermore, the presence of a fountain increases the chances of attracting birds into the garden.

Gardeners often deal with food scrapes that need to be collected and transferred to the compost bin. Old pots could be used for storing these food scraps until they are taken to the main compost pile. This way, people would be able to create the habit of separating organic waste, which is highly valuable as far as environmental protection concerns.

Flower pots that cannot be used for planting are also capable of decorating gardens. Gardeners should only repaint flower pots in bright or interesting colors and place some accessories into them to make them look nicer. In particular, gardeners can create a sculpture of various pots, light stands, or decorations for a stone fountain.