Sustainable ‘Swingin’ SucculentsRecycled Hanging Planters

AJ Gough is an avid environmentalist and artist based on the Northern Beaches. AJ’s art practice aims to create an awareness around the delicate balances found in nature and the impact that our decisions have on those balances.

Bio

By AJ Gough

Activity Overview

Create a fun swinging planter from a can or other objects found around your home.

In this activity, AJ invites you to reconsider your perspective on the things you consider to be waste. Explore creative ways in which these items can be reincarnated and have a new life.

Materials

Aluminium drink can with tab/alternatively use a plastic bottle or milk carton

Collected waste (e.g. bottle caps, buttons, colourful labels, etc, anything you can find!)

Acrylic paints

Masking tape

Handful of soil

Permanent marker

Twine/string (old cables or shoelaces also work well)

Small succulent or succulent clipping

Pliers

Stanley knife

If you are doing this activity with young children, you can use a milk or Tetra Pak carton and scissors instead of the can and stanley knife.

Making homemade planters is fun…get creative and see what you can repurpose to add to your planter collection.

Top tip

9 Stand back and admire your Sustainable Swingin’ Succulent!

= Direction of fold

Share your pots with us #creativenorthernbeaches and tag @magamnsw

Inst ruct ions:

1 Take your can or container, mark out lines (as shown in diagram) in permanent marker towards the top of the can. Repeat on opposite side.

2 Using a stanley knife, safely cut along the lines, being cautious to keep fingers away from sharp edges (children please get an adult to do this bit).

3 Use pliers to bend and fold the cut flaps inwards to create a window on both sides, turning in any sharp edges and pinching them flat against the inside of the can.

4 Cover sharp edges with masking tape.

5 Decorate your planter with paint and any other items that otherwise would be thrown away.

6 Once dry, place 2/3 of your handful of soil inside the bottom of the can followed by the succulent, loosely packing the remaining soil around the edges to make sure it’s firm.

7 Thread string through the hole in the tab and secure with a knot. If you are using a bottle, you will need to make two holes at the top thread the string through.

8 Hang your planter in a sunny area indoors, being careful not to overwater.