I love bringing old stuff back to life. That’s kind of where I am in my own life right now — the realization of soon hitting 65 is weighing heavy on my mind.

My friends at Sister’s, Too, a fabulous re-purpose, up-cycle store in the town where I live, do that very thing for a living; always bringing new life into items that have been discarded. In fact, this very project is being made from an old chair that I bought from them.

I love this look in my front yard, and I love driving my neighbors crazy with my intentional “breaking of the rules.”  ha ha This one is like telling a little white lie, right?

Supplies:

Of course, you’ll need an old chair, some plants, potting soil, sphagnum moss, wire, wire clippers, and a basket that fits into the hole you’ll make in the seat of the chair. You’ll also need a bucket of water and a few drops of dish washing detergent.

Let’s get started.

This is a very simple project that only took me about 15-minutes to complete. But the chair, as you can see from the photo, already had a big ol’ hole in the center of the seat. So, depending upon what type of chair you use and how you accomplish the task of making a hole, it might take you a bit longer.

Put a couple of drops of dish washing detergent in a bucket, then fill the bucket with water. Pour about half of the sphagnum moss into the water and kind of massage it in until it’s all completely saturated. Some folks have reactions to the moss; it can make you itch. So, I use surgical gloves when I work with it. Set it aside for a few moments.

Set the basket or whatever kind of container you will be using inside the hole in the seat of the chair. Using floral wire or even long pipe-cleaners, attach the container to the seat of the chair. This container will get heavy each time you water the plants, so you want to make sure it’s secure.

Then begin adding the sphagnum moss one handful at a time and pressing it gently down into the container. The moss serves as a lining for the container and holds the plants in place. Continue adding the moss until the entire container is lined, pressing it down and pushing out the moisture.

Add your plants, filling in the spaces between them with good potting soil.

Place it in its new home, add some water, and your gardening project is completed!

So pretty in any yard! Even if you’re not supposed to have yard art.

(Instructions on how to make that Gazing Ball from an old bowling ball are coming soon.)