galvanised watering cans and tin baths!

[redadmiralsinthegarden]

hi,
i am thinking of buying some old watering cans, baths, buckets etc to use as planters. Is this a good idea? however today I've seen some rusty ones, so I don't know if they have a limited life span. i was also thinkingf of using a tin bath as a wildlife pond, but now have doubts about this as well!
Any thoughts anyone?

I have an old bath as a dipping tank - it collects water from an outhouse roof and I fill my watering can from it. I think it should have a reasonably long life as it was intended to be a bath (although admittedly not to be kept outside). The place where I bought it punches holes in some of them so they can be used as planters. I covet one, as I like recycled planting containers, although I imagine it needs to be lined so that the roots of the plants don't fry in hot weather.

Go for it, I say!

Thank you Maud (I always read your posts with interest!). Yes, I think I will go for it! (And the liner is a good idea. I hadn't thought about that.)

Um, thanks.

Galvanised stuff should last for years and years but if its dented or bashed the galvanising can chip off - that's when it will start going rusty, so as long as not too bashed about they should be fine. We've got an old bucket that we found half buried in a hedgerow and is probably ancient but still going strong.
For comparison I've had a big olive oil tin which I've had stuff planted in for about 5 years (currently housing some dogwood cuttings) and the bottom's just dropped out of it.

Yes, one of my, ahem, imaginative planters was my grandad's old lawnmower. It was a push mower and couldn't cope with our bumpy, scrappy bit of grass lawn, so I planted the hopper with grasses and put the whole thing in the front garden as an ornament. It looked fabulous but within about 4 years the hopper had rusted away into nothing.

What a brilliant idea - I bet it looked lovely.

While it lasted, it did. I thought it was a hilarious visual joke. Nobody else did.

thanks, chix. Think i will get some stuff.
Great idea with the lawnmower, maud. i did something similar with an old basin, but filled it with violas. Got carried away and wanted to use the old toilet bowl as well, but thankfully my dh made me see sense!

I went to a garden recently where the wall baskets were cast iron cisterns from Victorian loos!