Daily Botanical: Kitschy Tire Planter
I have a soft spot for these things. I mean the tire planter, not the begonias. Okay maybe the begonias too. But only tuberous begonias because the flowers are edible. All of those other useless begonias can suck it.
February 20th, 2009 at 10:28 am
I must agree with you about the begonias - can’t stand the flower myself. But the tire… really? The one pictured may be attractive enough, but the general phenomenon is more undesirable than begonias. I’ve seen too many brown, treeless yards punctuated with very large, white-painted tires filled with very small plants (some fake) and always fringed with tall weeds. Like a pink flamingo, a tire planter is either tasteless or tongue in cheek.
February 20th, 2009 at 10:30 am
I love this! I just went to one of Felder Rushing’s (www.felderrushing.net) lectures over the weekend and he showed how easy it was to turn tires inside out like this. Can’t wait to make one.
February 20th, 2009 at 1:03 pm
yes, the tire, too, they are in such abundance, why the heck not? Ever read The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver? There’s a garden in “garbage” in there, too.
February 20th, 2009 at 1:20 pm
I need to speak up in defense of begonias–or at least, rex begonias. I grow a watermelon begonia as a houseplant and I love it so much. My cats won’t touch it. I can forget to water it for weeks on end and it bounces right back. And it looks edible, at least.
February 20th, 2009 at 1:43 pm
I have a soft spot for tires, too! My first garden (more than 40 years ago) was in a white-painted tire tractor in our backyard. We lived in a small Manitoba town. I remember filling it with yellow pansies.
February 20th, 2009 at 3:18 pm
I love the planters. I used to make them and sold quite a few. Course mine weren’t your basic shapes and colors.