How to reuse old planters in the garden – 5 beautiful ways to give your pots a second lease of life

There are few things more satisfying than coming up with clever, beautiful ways to reuse items in the garden. Take old planters, for example. Whether they're still in pristine conditions or slightly broken, there are some stylish, functional ways to give them another chance in the garden.

Finding a way to reuse old planters in the garden can mean cleaning them up for your container garden, but there are equally innovative ways to make use of them elsewhere in the yard. With a bit of imagination and handy work, you can turn planters into wildlife features, a pest control tool, or a watering system. No matter your backyard idea, there's always room to get creative with old planters.

Excited by the prospect, but not sure where to start? Here are our favorite ideas for reusing old planters in the garden.

5 beautiful ways to reuse old planters in the garden

Alongside repurposing your old planters, why not take the opportunity to repurpose household items into unusual planters. It's a sure way to give your garden some character and create focal points of conversation among your visitors.

1. Give your planters some TLC

Just because they're worn, it doesn't mean your planters can't still be used for their intended purpose. In fact, I personally love stumbling across old planters to add to my container garden, adding a rustic-feel, perfect for a nostalgia garden.

If you want to reuse old planters in the garden by adding them to your container garden, you might just have to clean them up. Just be aware that cleaning terracotta pots requires some specific care, for example by using a soft-bristled brush (from Amazon) to prevent damaging the surface.

You may also want to patch up your old planters if there are any cracks or holes. You can use something like this ceramics repair kit from Amazon which uses gold and silver glue to add some sparkle and give your pots a whole new pattern.

Just make sure to pay attention to container gardening mistakes when reusing old planters, including making sure they're the right fit for your plants (e.g. whether they have drainage holes).

2. Use broken pots to create a plant waterfall

This is a stunning example of how to make something good out of what is broken, with an incredible succulent display cascading down a structure of broken terracotta pots.

By placing broken pots horizontally, or using an upright pot with a missing front side, you can create a plant waterfall in your yard.

While it is possible to do this with a wide range of plants, this is particularly impactful when landscaping with succulents and cacti because they are shallow-rooted. Likewise, it can make an impressive addition to rock gardens and a unique vessel for alpine plants.

You may find you want to use some tools for vertical gardening to make this arrangement work. For example, a plant stand like this one from Amazon can be a suitable support for the planters to sit on.

3. Create a slug-repellent barrier with broken pot fragments

Just like using eggs in the garden for slug control, the sharpness of broken pot fragments are ideal for keeping slugs and snails away from your kitchen garden.

This is one of the best natural pest control defences. Creating a physical barrier that slugs and snails find difficult to cross will stop your crops being eaten by them.

It can look quite attractive, too. Simply bury the bottom of small and medium-sized pot fragments around the plants you wish to protect, with their sharp tops sticking out above surface level.

It's a good idea to pair this method with other ways to get rid of slugs and snails, such as using the best pest-repellent plants (like these marigold plants from Walmart).

4. Incorporate clay planters in your watering system

Have you ever head of a garden olla? Well, your old clay pots are the perfect tool to use for this watering method.

It's a method that essentially consists of burying a clay pot in the ground, with the opening (or drainage hole) at surface level. You then fill it with water to gradually release to surrounding plant roots.

The reason this works so well is that clay pots are porous, absorbing moisture and then releasing it over time. You can use anything from large clay pots to smaller terracotta plant pots (from Amazon).

It's a great way to keep plants hydrated during extremely hot and dry spells, and it's very low-maintenance. Just make sure to top up your olla as water levels drop.

5. Make a wildlife feature with old pots

If you're looking for a way to reuse your old planters that gives them an entirely new purpose, try making a wildlife garden feature out of them. There are quite a few options here, but our Head of Gardens, Rachel Bull, recommends making a bee watering station:

'This is such a charming idea we stumbled across earlier this year. By turning a pot upside down and placing a saucer on top, you can create a station for bees to hydrate at,' she explains. 'Make sure to add some decorative pebbles (like these from Amazon) or stones from your yard for the bees to sit on. You can then add water up to just below the surface of the stones,' Rachel explains.

You can also use your old planters as vessels for making your own bug hotel, filling it with sticks and leaves. Or, grow the best container plants for pollinators in your pots to create a mini pollinator patch in your yard. You can simply sprinkle these wildflowers for pollinators from Amazon on some potting soil in your pots.

Rachel Bull

Rachel is a gardening editor, floral designer, flower grower and gardener. Her journalism career began on Country Living magazine, sparking a love of container gardening and wild planting. After more than a decade writing for and editing a range of consumer, business and special interest titles, Rachel became editor of floral art magazine The Flower Arranger. She then trained and worked professionally as a floral designer. She joined the Homes & Gardens team in 2023, where she heads up the Gardens section, and presents the weekly social series Petals & Roots.

FAQs

Can I reuse old potting soil?

If your old potting soil is from last year and it didn't house diseased plants previously, it is possible to reuse potting soil. However, you should be aware that the essential plant nutrients in the soil have likely depleted hugely. New container plants will be much better served by fresh potting soil. Or, you can add an organic amendment, like a layer of fresh compost, to improve the soil quality of your old potting soil.

Not only does reusing old planters give them a second lease on life and add a beautiful feature to your yard, it's also an eco-friendly gardening idea. There are other ways to be mindful in the garden, too, just check out our guide to zero waste gardening and non-toxic gardening swaps.