April is Earth Month. While there may only be a few days left of April, I hope you can find some inspiration to keep your garden and household green all year! Gardening is my therapy. I look forward to starting my Spring garden as soon as the thought of Winter is fading. There is something so amazing about seeing all of our hard work in the garden paying off. I love teaching my boys to love our environment and to enjoy trying new foods. Gardening is a good way for us to accomplish both of those lessons. We also do worm composting and find ways to recycle since our small town doesn’t do recycling. We keep a collection of both plastic and glass bottles to repurpose as self-watering bottles and easy ways for the kids to help water the garden. We use rainwater as much as we can to water our garden. I am pretty pleased this year to not have had to turn on the outside faucet at all.
What ways do you green your garden and home?
Being green offers our household ways to help the environment and save money. I am sure if you look around the house (or ask family/friends) that it won’t be difficult to find plastic or glass bottles to make your self-watering.
First, soak the bottles in warm water to soften labels.
While the warm water can make some labels (and adhesive) fall right off. Others may require a little scrubbing to get all the adhesive removed. Most of the bottles I have used require minimal scrubbing.
Now decide what you want to stencil on the bottles. You can have them double as plant markers or pick a quote to inspire you in the garden. One of the ones I picked was “Work Hard Stay Humble”. I like stick-on stencils and used some leftover paint we already had around the house.
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I use cardboard to help make sure my stencils are lined up straight. See if I would have just started painting the perfectionist in me would be really annoyed with that E slightly angled up.
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Sometimes I get inpatient when painting. If you have an errors like below just use a cotton swob and nail polish remover or a knife to remove imperfections.
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To use Self-Watering Bottles: Make sure that soil is already moistened. If soil is dry it will immediately start absorbing the water.
- Fill bottles with water.
- Place bottle upside down into soil.
- Refill as necessary to keep plants watered.
- If using outside: I suggest using a UV protector top coat (or something similar) to protect the paint.
To see how I made the tire planters and more gardening tips {click HERE}
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Now that I have shared one of my favorite ways to stay green, I would love to hear something that you do to live a green lifestyle!
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That is such a great idea! Now my plants will always have their water, AND my garden will look awesome!
Stacie @ Divine Lifestyle recently posted..Get Fifty Shades Darker on DVD + Girls Night In Fruity Sangria Pops #FiftyShadesDarker
That is fully awesome! I love craft beers, and my wife loves wine. Both types of bottles would make excellent choices for this.
Bill Sweeney recently posted..Ride & Drive Kia Niro, Kia Soul, Kia Optima and More at Six Flags Theme Parks!
OMG, that is the cutest idea ever! We have so many bottles that we’ve kept because of their look. I think they’d be perfect for this.
Vera Sweeney recently posted..Easy Ways You Can Take Part In ‘Every Kid Healthy Week’ #gogosqueeZ #everykidhealthyweek
These are SO cute and so easy to make! Thank you for a great idea. We are HUGE into recycling. We have one trash bin and two recycling bins – all the same size – and we only go through one trash bin every three weeks. Our recycling bins, however, are always full!
We believe in cutting down WAY down on waste.
Joely Smith recently posted..April Round-Up Come See What You Missed!
This is a great idea for keeping your garden green. I will have to get the supplies I need to make a few this weekend.
I love to find new ways to reuse things. I have a few plants this will be perfect for. I am terrible at remembering to water.
While I am very passionate about being green and saving the planet, I must admit I am terrible in the garden. What you have posted here is a great idea and is something that would be good to do to keep plants healthy. I would never have thought about the stenciling though and this helps give the garden some character.
It’s a great way to recycle the bottles that we have at home, not to mention grow some more herbs that won’t be difficult to maintain! I love it! It’s definitely something that I would do.
Amanda Love recently posted..Be Unapologetically You!
This is just so lovely. I think it’s an awesome idea and it helps you make good use of the empty bottles at home as well. I wouldn’t mind making these for the plants at home.
Carol Cassara recently posted..Benefit from my screw-ups: Part 1
We recycle as much as possible and avoid needless waste. I’ve been wanting to add this to my indoor planters and I love your tips.
What a great idea! Helps recycle bottles and adds a cute touch to a garden!
Cameron – Diary of a Southern Millennial recently posted..Friday Favorites : Bars & Restaurants in New Orleans
I don’t have a green thumb and a self watering globe kept an indoor plant alive for several years. I like the idea of upcycling old glass bottles.
uprunforlife recently posted..3 Benefits of Cold Water Immersion
I really love this idea. We are going to have a garden this year, and this would be a great addition to our plot.
What a super creative idea~ I am totally going to try this out in our garden. Seems like a fun project to do with the kids.
sara recently posted..Unique Mother’s Day Gift Ideas
What a good post and this is such a good idea, I want to have a garden this year
What a great idea! Now I don’t have to buy those glass watering balls, I can just recycle glass bottles from home, make them pretty and stick them in the soil to water the plants in the pots… love it : )
Eloise recently posted..What Is Your Subconscious Telling You? (Quiz, Based On Science!)
What a cool idea. I am forever killing my plate because I forget to water them. I need to do this
This summer I’m planning to set up a rain water catch system to trickle irrigate our garden this year. This bottle idea is a lot better looking than mine.
This is a cute idea. I’m sure I could find some bottles to use, or have some friends save theirs for me.
Aduke @ Aduke Schulist recently posted..Laundry Room Reveal – DIY Makeover
That is such a brilliant idea! I sure have never thought of doing that. Thanks so much for the idea. Will show this to the hubs.
Lynndee recently posted..2017: April Recap
Wow, this is so cool. Definitely going to try this in my garden. The personalized wording is cool!
I love this post and such a good ideas. I love to have a mini garden on my backyard glad you share this tios how my garden always looks green