Using an old metal boat as yard decor

Karen
by Karen
Any ideas to make an old metal boat a focal point in yard with flowers???
  19 answers
  • Janet Pizaro Janet Pizaro on Mar 08, 2016
    Can you post a picture so we can answer correctly.Do you have SUN-SHADE?
  • KatAych KatAych on Mar 08, 2016
    You mean something like this?
  • Ree Ree on Mar 08, 2016
    the boat unto itself can be a work of art - just fill the boat with dirt and plant a lot of flowers and vegetables!
  • Gail Salminen Gail Salminen on Mar 08, 2016
    @karen actually pics of your backyard and the boat would yeild better suggestions. What I would check for are blank spots in the backyard that would be enhanced by a boat feature. Perhaps beside a shed or a corner of the backyard, even in the middle of a flower bed. If you search out boat ideas for the yard on this site you could get some great ideas. I have seen them used for flowers as well as ponds. Hope you post pics for the before and after.
  • Janet Pizaro Janet Pizaro on Mar 08, 2016
    Actually that is as far as I am concerned the only way this question can be answered.As previously stated.
  • Sharon Wright Sharon Wright on Mar 08, 2016
    This is what I'd do. First take some of husbands old clothes, use a waterproof spray(get in sporting section at wal-mart) and use on clothes so they don't get wet. When they dry stuff and make the look like a man sitting in the boat. Put a fishing pole in what would be hands. Fill boat with different flowers, adding things like a fish and maybe a frog and turtle. This would just get you started. Have fun.
  • Jonnie Hammon Jonnie Hammon on Mar 09, 2016
    I would fill the boat with flowers, or herbs, and have a seating arrangement around it.
  • Vicki Vicki on Mar 09, 2016
    What about a small fountain and water garden?
  • Cathy Cathy on Mar 09, 2016
    I think I would surround the bottom with rocks that you might paint different shades of blue. the idea of a person sitting in it is cute but might be difficult to maintain---you could always put flowers in it in pots so that they can be easily changed with the season---but it would be cute to put up a pole and attach a sail to create a central point.
  • Linda Linda on Mar 09, 2016
    If you have a rowboat-sized boat, rather than a cabin cruiser :-) a former restaurant here dug the front in to make the boat steady, surrounded it with rocks so it looked like it had foundered on the rocks, and filled with topsoil. They had perennials and annuals so it looked nice year round, and was watered by the rain.
    • Leslie Leslie on Mar 09, 2016
      @Linda Linda, and Karen this is what is done here with old rowboats. I think though that the whole boat is not filled with soil. It would eventually rot out ( unless it is an aluminum hull )and would be very expensive to fill . I would get contractor screen and make a shallow planting area by stapling it to the inside of the boat then I would add and secure heavy duty plastic...Pool / pond liner material, do not poke holes in it for drainage. Over that I would add some gravel or any material that would allow some kind of drainage, wicking action will bring the excess water up or if you put it in the depression at an angle drill some holes on the lower side through the boat and plastic for drainage. Add your planting soil and flowers. You can also go to your local gardening shop...not Lowes and not HD, and ask for ideas you can use :) Good luck!
  • Louise Adkins Louise Adkins on Mar 09, 2016
    I would place it on its side, might have to dig down in order to secure it as the above reader stated. Next, I would place planting soil and add something that flowers and spreads-like wave petunias. PS...I would place it at an angle towards the side of the yard. Best wishes...
  • Bobbie Littlefield Bobbie Littlefield on Mar 09, 2016
    Pick a theme (any theme) and stick to it through out the yard- it will come together. Start with a simple color palate and carry the colors with you so impulse buying isn't a problem. Lots you can do with boats - Pirate theme, cape cod theme, fishing harbor theme, wreck on the seas, tropical island (boat up or on it's side into a fountain), etc. Seal the wood appropriately,
  • Duv310660 Duv310660 on Mar 09, 2016
    I'd have to see a pic to be serious, so here is a fun response: bury the boat point-up, rudder down to make a niche for whatever you wish to celebrate by standing it in there (Ganesha, ScoobyDoo, Saint of your choice, Memorial to a dead pet, etc.). Finish off by making a 'cornucopia' type planting that is flowing down and out of the niche and into the surrounding garden.
  • Linda Linda on Mar 09, 2016
    Leslie, I think you are right, filling could get expensive if you are using high grade bagged or delivered topsoil. I'd probably use regular dirt (we live in the country, and it is plentiful) then put the bagged topsoil on top. This restaurant I talked about had small shrubs (azalea, etc.) too, and those have root systems that would need more depth, and probably some nutrients in the soil. It's all in what you want to plant, and for me, using what is available. Your ideas would work great on shallow-rooted plants!!
  • Ely2512234 Ely2512234 on Mar 09, 2016
    Saw it in half length wise. Dig small hole to anchor in place and plant away.
  • Tammy France Barnett Tammy France Barnett on Mar 09, 2016
    I would bury it below the soil and make an amazing water lily pond out of it.
  • Cindi Cindi on Mar 09, 2016
    I saw a boat turned into a bookcase once, you could do something like that for potted plants. You could also use it for a garden to plant veggies, that would be different.
  • Laurie Laurie on Mar 09, 2016
    Fill with cushions and have a great bed for tanning.
  • Terri David Terri David on Mar 09, 2016
    I turned my old aluminum row boat into a pond by filling it with water and added a small pump fountain in the center. The sound of the water draws birds to it.