We are lucky enough to live in a warm climate where it is possible to grow orchids outdoors for most of the year, if not all year. Occasionally, though, the temperature falls and they have to be brought indoors. This is why I have my orchids in containers or pots. It is also handy when carrying out little jobs like orchid propagation, which is carried out more easily indoors.

One day, I realized that the pots themselves were a little dull. Mostly clay-colored, ceramic or plastic, their uniform color wasn’t doing my orchids, with their huge variety of colors, any justice at all. Searching the internet for ideas, I came across a site called Eden Makers Blog which inspired me to use recycled containers for orchid potting.

Although the lady on the site wasn’t talking about orchids in particular, her idea of using an old copper beverage cooler I thought was a neat idea. She simply drilled some holes in the bottom of the container for drainage, then placed an Ups A Daisy insert in the bottom, to ensure the roots aren’t sitting in water for any length of time.

I looked around the garage for suitable containers. There was an old galvanized bucket, which was the ideal thing for potting my orchids. This added a different touch to the garden display, and I resolved to replace all the uniform pots with something more interesting.

My plan was not to pay for anything; everything had to be re-used or recycled. Also in the garage was an old chipped salad bowl, no use for its original purpose, but ideal as a planter. I cut the top off an old burst soccer ball and potted orchids into that, and even re-used a goldfish bowl, whose previous occupant had passed away some years before.

I used her trick with pantyhose and some colored glass to spruce up my orchids even further. What a cool idea!

After I had exhausted my own garage, I asked friends if I could come over and look around the junk in theirs (they think I’m a little crazy anyway!). But it didn’t take much effort to make the garden a lot more interesting without those dull clay-colored pots.

Have any of you tried this? Let me know what you think either way. Please submit a comment below.

To help you choose what kind of recycled pot you should use, here are 3 Key Questions to Ask Before Buying from Any Orchid Grower to point you in the right direction.