I love my country home in Montana and I love summertime and having beautiful flowers.  Having a victorian style porch is wonderful because I get to decorate with baskets of beautiful flowers.  I used to buy pre made hanging baskets for convenience, but then I realized I could make them myself for a fraction of the cost.  I had reused the plastic baskets for several years, but then I started wanting something that looked a bit more homey and rustic.  I have used the wire baskets with the cocoa inserts in the past but the low humidity in Montana would cause those to dry out too rapidly…I work a full time job, I can’t water my plants 3-4 times a day.

I had seen some planters at antique stores that I completely adored, but at 35-45 dollars a piece, too expensive when I need four of them.  Plus finding four that matched was an issue.  Then I had an idea.  I love the rustic, galvanized metal fad that is going on right now, what about galvanized pails?

As you can tell from the photos, they turned out completely adorable!  I found galvanized pails at my local farm store for just $7.99 a piece and since I didn’t want to hang the pails directly onto my plant hooks I added a loop of manilla rope to drop them down a bit and add an extra bit of rustic flair.  I found the rope at the farm store too and a bunch of other stuff for future projects.  If you want something a little different, this is a perfect project for you.

Guest author Jean Marie Stanberry, author of: Laying Low In Hollywood, One World United, The Illusion of Order, Blood, Sweat and Fears and Heartless-A Star is Dead. 

You can learn more about Jean Marie Stanberry and all her books on her website jeanstanberry.com