Large planters are very expensive. I was given 3 pieces of culvert pipe by a construction crew that had been cut and these ends were being discarded. They are 18" diameter and range from 26" to 34 " in height.


This is what they looked like when I got them home.


This is the first one, after painting and planting.

I found this Tree standard rose at Piersons for half price. It is an English rose called Anne Boleyn and will have large sprays of warm pink, flat rosettes. I under planted it with Lithodora diffusa ‘Heavenly Blue’ and some pink Freesia.

I am going to cut the tallest piece in half to use as a replacement for that ugly nursery pot of Agapanthus.

I am not sure what I will plant in the remaining 2 pieces as they will not receive as much sun. Something tall in one. Maybe an evergreen bush or a small Japanese maple, under planted with bright primroses.

I have a few of these containers too Brenda. This type of pipe seems to come in a variety of different sizes . Mine is the 12" model or thereabouts. I had to go out in the dark to take these photos so forgive the bad shots .
I've also converted a few for growing strawberries by drilling a series of holes around the outside with a hole saw .

Paddy, I love your idea of cutting holes for strawberries.

Brenda and Paddy, what a great find.

Seems like they would also help with water shortages for you in California Brenda. Bet they don't dry out quickly. The Agapanthus should love that.

Paddy the evergreens look very happy.

Lynn, the water shortages are going to be extreme this summer. I expect to see all the grassy areas turn brown. All my plants are all in non porous containers so I can water only the plants as needed. The rest of the plant bed is filled with bark mulch so it should be easy to maintain everything without using too much water.

I've been hearing about the water problems in CA. It's really getting tough down there. Sounds like you have a very good plan to handle it.

Great idea.
Do you have rain barrels ? I have 9 (yes nine); 7 hold 55 gallons and two hold 50 gallons. You can hardly see them; because they are black and just blend in behind the shrubbery, etc. I had some visitors the other day and they didn't know I had rain barrels -- I had to point them out ! Four of them are connected; so when one fills up, it overflows to the other. One has a hose snaking through the back of a flower bed and I use that rain water to top up my small goldfish pond. When it rains, I think of all the water that would otherwise just run off the roof.

I don't have a rain barrel but since I only have ornamental plantings I am going to use gray water supplement the water for my planters in the summer months.

One of my strawberry planters is in two halves .The bottom part is the water reservoir and is filled through a hole in the side which also acts as the overflow. The top section has a central perforated inner pipe which draws the moisture upwards through capillary action .It's my interpretation of an Earthbox.

Note the pink bottom in one half . It was all I could find !!! . The whole lot has yet to be cleaned up for the new season.

That is very clever Paddy. I doubt the strawberries mind the pink bottom