Do you have a livestock feeder that has served its original purpose but isn’t ready to be retired? Maybe you are looking for ways to get that farmhouse look. No matter what your goal is, using re-purposed livestock feeders will bring more life to your Spring/Summer flowers.
When we moved onto our new property, it didn’t take us long, like five seconds, to realize that there was a LOT of garbage left for us to deal with. We have already hauled tons of junk to our local landfill. While I found this super irritating, I did start to see a few things that we might be able to re-purpose.
I started with the livestock feeders because its Spring and I am in the mood to plant flowers. The great thing about this project was that I didn’t have to do hardly anything to get these things ready for their new life. In the very back of my treasure pile is an old cast iron headboard. My mom and I found this under a lavender bush when we were doing some yard work. It’s so cool, but I’m not sure yet what its new purpose will be. Let me know in the comments if you have any ideas.
If you don’t happen to live with junk everywhere, there are a few places you might be able to find feeders like these. Of coarse you could buy them new at any farm supply store, but that just wouldn’t be as fun. I would start looking on Craigslist and go from there. Maybe you have a great salvage yard near you, that would be a fun place to go treasure hunting.
The Chicken Feeder
I used the chicken feeder as a centerpiece for our outdoor dining table. Since our table is a big chunky farm table, it just made sense. I can’t wait to watch this pretty thing fill in with flowers. I planted my tallest flowers in the center of the feeder and shortest on the ends to get that triangular effect. Anything would look nice in this thing though.
I had originally considered using this as a hanging planter, but then I didn’t have a good spot to hang it. If it were to hang, some spiller flowers would be so beautifully matched with this feeder. All I had to do to get this feeder ready for planting was remove the legs. If the legs would have been in good condition, I may have considered keeping them, but the poor legs on this feeder had given up on life so I laid them to rest.
Am I the only one that I gets totally overstimulated when I go to the garden center to try and pick out plants for a container? It doesn’t help that my kids are usually testing out the limits of the deck swings that are on display. (True story). So I usually just end up grabbing a few of each plant in the colors I like. The ones I found were only a couple bucks each.
The Chick Feeder
For the chick feeder, I never doubted for a minute where it would go. I have been working on my shed for that last month, and it is becoming my go-to place for re-purposed decor. A chick feeder would also be great with succulents in it if you were not going to hang it.
The Trough
Last but definitely not least is this gigantic water trough. By the looks of it, this big fella was re-purposed into a water trough so he’s been through the wringer. This particular planter is my favorite because the tank/feeder/trough adds so much life to the whole set up. I think that’s why re-purposed items have so much appeal for some people, they have a story to tell. I can’t wait for these geraniums to fill out and beautify this thing!
Now that I have all my flowers in my re-purposed planters, and I have cleaned up a big portion of that the special junk left for me, all I need to do is go get a tetanus shot. Then I will be on to the next DIY project.
If you need more re-purposed planter ideas, check out my Window Planter post.
