Garden Chair Flowers

Its so easy to turn an old chair into a fantastic garden talking point.

• Old chair. The main requirement is that you need to be able to cut a hole in the seat for the basket to fit into. So the best is a chair with a plywood seat or a seat that can be removed completely. Also the chair needs to be able to withstand the weather if you want it to last more than a season.
• Basket or bowl for flowers
• Seeds/Plants/Flowers

My first chair (red framed one) has a plywood seat. So taking the flower basket/bowl cut a whole approximately 1/2" (1cm) smaller than than the basket in the seat. This is achieved by drilling a hole and then using a saw to cut out the circle, the flower basket then simply sits in the hole, there is no need for any supports.

On my second chair (the white chair) the actual seat could be removed with some clips underneath. However the hole was then too big for the flower bowl. To overcome this I added a small wooden bracket at the back of the chair so that the flower bowl fitted snugly (it doesnt need to look too pretty since it will be covered in flowers in the summer). Then for extra security I have used chicken wire as a support for underneath the bowl/basket and staple gunned it at each side. The flower bowl will get quite heavy especially when its been watered.

You could just buy a ready made flower basket/bowl but its also easy enough to prepare your own in the spring and wait for it to grow. You want to use some trailing flowers so that they overhang and hide the bowl haning underneath, Ive used 3 lobelia plants simply because I saw them in my local market and they cost just $1 each back in the spring (far better than paying $20 for a ready made bowl but you need to be forward thinking !). I think 4 plants would also have worked well, any less than 3 and it wont fill out enough.

Its best to check what the best trailing basket plants are in your part of the world.

For the lining of the bowl its best to use a coconut matting since this will hold water, you can also add some water gel granules to the soil if daily watering is a problem for you.

Now simply place the basket into the chair and enjoy. Depending on the plants you have chosen you might want to place it in semi-shade or full sun.

Remember to water it daily.

At the end of the season you can recycle the soil and put the chair away ready for the spring. Set a reminder in your calendar for March so you can sow the seeds/buy the seedlings ready for next summer.