House of Hawthornes

Vintage. Thrifting. Gardening.

Keep On Trucking: Fun Upcycled Planter Idea

By

I tend to get a little tired of using the same old pots and containers for my flower gardening year after year. And let’s face it, most flower pots are a little boring and mundane, so when I found this toy truck at a yard sale I knew exactly what I was going to do with it.

Nothing is safe from potting soil around here!

What a fun gardening DIY project! Upcycle a toy truck into a planter (this rusty one was found at a yard sale). Too cute!

After I de-girlified it by removing the unicorns and rainbows (thank you, Goo Gone),

What a fun gardening DIY project! Upcycle a toy truck into a planter (this rusty one was found at a yard sale). Too cute!

MY LATEST VIDEOS

I taped the tailgate door down to keep the dirt from dumping out the back. Dump trucks tend to do that.

What a fun gardening DIY project! Upcycle a toy truck into a planter (this rusty one was found at a yard sale). Too cute!

Then I added a small layer of stones for drainage,

What a fun gardening DIY project! Upcycle a toy truck into a planter (this rusty one was found at a yard sale). Too cute!

an even smaller layer of charcoal just because I had it left over from my terrarium project

What a fun gardening DIY project! Upcycle a toy truck into a planter (this rusty one was found at a yard sale). Too cute!

and a really thick layer of potting soil.

What a fun gardening DIY project! Upcycle a toy truck into a planter (this rusty one was found at a yard sale). Too cute!

Then planted some Limelight Japanese Stonecrop in it

What a fun gardening DIY project! Upcycle a toy truck into a planter (this rusty one was found at a yard sale). Too cute!

and I was ready to haul my load.

What a fun gardening DIY project! Upcycle a toy truck into a planter (this rusty one was found at a yard sale). Too cute!
Now, you don’t have to give up your typical flower pots altogether, but it’s nice to plant in something unexpected and different every once in a while. It gives your garden a little touch of whimsy!

How is your planting going this year?

 

What a fun gardening DIY project! Upcycle a toy truck into a planter (this rusty one was found at a yard sale). Too cute!

If you like a truck made into a planter, you may also like these projects:

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. I’m still on the look out for a metal pick up truck to fill with bottle brush trees at Christmas. Love your dump truck planter. We haven’t even started planting yet. Falling behind again.

  2. That turned out so cute and I’ve never heard of a Japanese Limelight Stonecrop-really interesting plant that I assume doesn’t get very large?

  3. Ellie – the tag says it grows 2-4 inches tall (which it is right now) and spreads out to 12-24 inches. At the end of summer I’ll plant it in the ground around some rocks, so it’ll have more room to expand.

  7. Super cute, but that truck might be worth some bucks, so research it. LOL We had a dealer who sold trucks like that for $35 and up. Hope you don’t end up with all this rain we have here today, but its moving your way.

  10. I like it!! So cute!! We have had a week of wonderful temps, just like the middle of summer now today it is a freezing rain warning! Glad I didn’t plant!! What is going on??

  14. That’s very cute. I’m suddenly dying to get myself some unique planters. Never paid much attention to these outdoor details before, but oh how the green is growing on me! You have a lovely blog 🙂

    Cheers,
    Heather@ Lark & Lola

  15. Such a cute idea! You have just inspired me to use some of my son’s old Tonka metal trucks he has recently grown out of. Not much planting going on here hopefully in the next week or so.

  16. The truck looks so cute fixed up as a planter. I am going to be looking for some of the Japanese Stonecrop. It is pretty.

    Finally the weather is gardening worthy, and I’m sickish with a cold. Hopefully the cold will be gone within a few days and the weather will continue to be good.

  17. I hope you’re relaxing today on Mother’s Day Friend!!
    I love the truck project.. where do you come up with such wonderful ideas? I haven’t even begun to start any planting. When, I get home from school I’m wiped out. EEK!! I’ll be done in Sept. lol!!!
    Thinking of you..
    xo Liz

  18. Such a cute idea! I have one of my sons yellow metal tonka trucks from when he was little. A little plant in it would fit the bill and feel right at home. No telling how many loads of dirt it has scooped up over time.
    Visiting you from Inspire me Tuesday.

  20. Adorable! Watch out for those garden gnomes. I hear they like to take joy rides at night.

    I haven’t bought a single plant and my perennials are just barely poking through the soil. We are so far behind the rest of the country!

  24. I missed this absolutely darling sedum you planted in truck. I pinned it as I just found out how to drag the pin it button on my Mac-thankfully. I am so lost.

    • That would look great! I bet you could find one at an estate sale. You’d probably want to line it with something to keep the dirt in place, but that sounds like a fun idea!!! I’ll have to add that to my list of things to try to find this summer.

shares