Here is an idea for using Vintage Galvanized Bucket as Planters and hanging them on a vintage ladder.
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Now that the weather is warming up, it's time to plant! First thing I did was get my porch ready! I cleaned it all up and swept everything up. Then it was time to do my favorite thing: get my hands in some dirt and make things pretty!
I had a bunch of vintage galvanized buckets in my stash and decided to put plants in them. I picked these up from someone on the Facebook Marketplace. If you can't find vintage buckets, you can buy some and age them, like these.
When I am planting in planters, I like to use 3 types of plants: a thriller, a spiller and a chiller. Having all 3 of them, makes the it look so pretty!
- Thriller: For the thriller, I used Dracaena. I like to use this plant because it is spiky and adds some drama and contrast to the planter.
- Spiller: My absolute favorite spiller is Sweet Potato Vine. It is hardy, likes full sun, grows quickly and spills out of the container and drapes down.
- Chiller: There are many different chiller plants. For these planters, I used good ol' Petunias. These are super easy to grow, are easy to take care of and add some color to the planter.
The Galvanized Buckets are much deeper than is necessary to grow plants. You could fill the buckets with dirt. But another thing you can do to save soil and make the buckets much lighter, is fill the bottom with the pots your plants came in or soda cans/water bottles.
Once you've put your plastic pots or soda cans in the bottom, fill the bucket with soil. I left about 4 inches down from the top.
Then I placed each of the new plants in the places I wanted them. I put the Dracaena in the center toward the back and the 2 Petunias on either side of it. Then I placed 2 sweet potato vines in the front. The sweet potato vines will fill in and spill over the buckets edge. I cannot wait to see it when it does!
Once all of the plants were in place, I filled up the buckets the rest of the way with top soil. I poured it on top and patted it into the bucket. Side note- I always plant my planters and buckets on the grass. When planting, it never fails that I spill some top soil. So if I'm on the grass, there's nothing to sweep up. Ask me how many times I spilled all over the porch before I figured this out? It was a lot!
How to Hang Buckets on a Vintage Wooden Ladder
So once you have galvanized buckets planted, you need a way to display them. Several years ago I found a vintage wooden ladder at the Nashville Flea Market and I knew it would be perfect to display plants on my porch, like I talked about here. But how in the world do you hang buckets on a vintage ladder?
This vintage galvanized bucket (that I also got years ago at the Nashville Flea Market) has a hook welded to the back. It fits perfectly on a rung of the ladder.
For buckets that do not have hooks welded to them, I used S hooks around the bucket handle. 2 of them together hold up the bucket very well.
When the buckets are hanging, the bottom of the bucket rests on the next rung of the ladder. It makes the bucket slightly tilt, which is perfect to show off the flowers in the bucket!
When using buckets as planters, make sure to drill holes in the bottom for water to drain out. Otherwise, the plants will not thrive since the roots will be sitting in water.
Once the sweet potato vine starts growing, it's going to look so pretty hanging down the ladder!
Galvanized Buckets make a great planter for a vintage loving gal like me. If you're looking for some planter ideas, try Galvanized Buckets and let me know if you do!
