Frugal Garden - Project

 

One of my hobbies is gardening but I sometimes don't have much time to spend and don't want to spend too much cash on it either.

 

I like to recycle and re-use, I love giving things a new lease of life. I am realistic, I know some things are beyond a project and are just destined for the bin, but I do recognise potential in some items that would otherwise just be disposed of.

 

My boyfriends hobbies are usually a little more expensive than mine, one in particular is Go-Karting, but he loves it. Anyway, during the year he will get through many sets of front and back tyres (Front are the smaller ones in the picture and backs the larger tyres).

 

 

 

I thought the tyres would be a quirky alternative to small plant pots as I have seen this kind of thing but on a much larger scale.

 

 

 

I bought a couple of plants from my local garden centre and although I liked the individual look I wanted something to stand out a little more, I thought painting would be a good option. I wanted to start of a light colour this year and depending on whether it works I would try different colours each summer, perhaps even have a rainbow of different colours.

 

I waited for a dry day and then I did the following steps the achieve the look below.

 

1. I purchased some Colours Outdoor spray paint in Linen Voile, this was in B&Q, I think it was about £6.50, it's UV and weather resistant so I thought this would be worth a try. The other required materials include tyres of any sort, fairy liquid, water and something to scrub these with.

 

2. Next I washed the tyres. I used an old toothbrush and old dish scrubber to get most of the dirt off these. I then laid them on dry newspapers outside to dry.

 

3. Once the tyres were completely dry I decided it was time to get spraying. I did a few coats starting of with a very thin layer. I built up the layers, they are not completely coated as I quite liked the dark showing through in areas and the project wasn't about making perfect shiny tyre pots. I have gone for  more shabby look. If you are looking for a more finished look you can do as many coats as you want in order to achieve that - I as just conscious of the smell and gassing out my neighbours. This is definitely a project that is best prepared in a back garden or somewhere where the paint will not bother anyone. It's also best on a still day so the wind is not blowing your paint in all directions before you have managed to even coat your tyre. In all I have 10 tyres and it's taken just over 1 can of spray paint. If you can get your hands on the tyres I would say this is a fairly cheap and easy project for all to try.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is the finished result, excuse the wall behind as this could also do with a paint :-)

 

Let me know what you think? For me these are a fun way to recycle something  that would otherwise have been discarded. I would say these have gotten a fair bit of attention lately, I have seen quite a few people stop to look at these as they walk past our house.

 

If you have any tips and tricks or frugal garden projects to share please comment.

 

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