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Holiday activity: Make a beautiful upcycled chair planter!

With the holidays stretching out before us, it is definitely time to get those little hands busy, and what better way to keep busy, than to make something out of nothing, that everyone will enjoy. A chair planter is a creative and easy-to-make decoration that can liven up any patio or quiet corner. It doesn’t require much in terms of tools, and the task is straightforward.

Why renew, reuse, recycle?

By upcycling an old chair, we are adding value to the garden, creating a beautiful gift, or simply keeping busy. At the same time, it prevents an old chair going to waste. Keeping our landfill sites as empty as possible is extremely important for our natural environment and for the wildlife in those areas. We can minimise the amount of rubbish that goes to a landfill site by renewing, reusing and recycling as much as possible at home. That is why we are going to take an old chair and create something fresh, new, and beautiful.

You will need 

  • An old, unused chair. The best chair to use would be a wooden one, but the most important chair to use is one that is not being used already. If your chair is slightly weathered and damaged, it’s absolutely perfect!
  • A hanging basket with the hooks and chains removed. You can use a wire basket from your local GCA, or find an old one at home. For this project, rustic items will work perfectly.
  • Flowering plants. It is a good idea to plan ahead and decide whether your chair planter will be placed outside, inside, in sun or shade. That will help you to choose flowers that will happily live in those conditions. Begonia boliviensis is a great plant to put into your hanging baskets, so is the classic and cute Petunia plant, or New Guinea Impatiens which we used.
  • Potting mix. Ask your GCA to help you pick the best mix for the plants you have chosen.

Get creative!

  • The first step in this project is to remove the seat of the chair. The seat is probably stapled on with a staple gun, so be careful not to damage the rest of the chair as you lift the seating away.
  • Our attention will now move to the hanging basket. Get your kids to fill the hanging basket with potting soil, keeping it only semi-full. (This ensures that the hanging basket isn’t completely full and will leave enough space to plant your flowers, and still make sure that their roots are comfortable and supported)
  • Help your little ones to place the plants gently in the hanging basket, covering the roots with soil and gently pressing the soil down to make sure the plant is well supported. If there isn’t enough space for the amount of soil that is needed to keep the plant supported, you might need a larger basket.
  • Give the plant a good amount of water, ensuring the soil is properly soaked. You can now place the basket into the chair, filling the seating area with beautiful flowers. Remember to give your flowers the right amount of water, and a little bit of sunlight every day.

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