Upcycled Window Herb Planter

14 Materials
$10
2 Hours
Easy

Turn an old window and some tin cans into a gorgeous herb garden for your backyard.


I decided to use old tin cans as planters as I had lot of success with the colourful tin can planter (click here to see) I made last year.


Not only does the upcycled window herb planter looks fantastic in my little garden but it's really practical, as I now have my own little herb garden. The herbs are in portable upcycled tin can planters, that can be easily taken into the kitchen when needed.




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My friend was having new windows installed and was about to throw out the old sash windows, luckily I managed to grab them before she did. To get an old window look out for anyone having new ones installed as they are normally more than happy to give you old ones to save them going to the dump.

Being a fan of Cyndi Lauper I decided to use the pun "Thyme After Thyme" on my window.


You can download the Cyndi Lauper herb pun and bee graphic from my blog. If you want to paint behind the window like me, print a mirror image of the words and tape them to the front of your window.


Paint on the window with glass paints, I used to very small pots one black and one yellow. You can use acrylic paint but you will need to seal them afterwards.


As you can see it you don't need to be an artist to paint the image as you were using it a bit like a stencil.


To make my tin can herb planters. I first spray painted my tin cans cream and drilled drainage holes in the bottom of them.


The insect images I used were cut out from some Cavallini insect wrapping paper and stuck to the tin cans with decoupage glue. The decorated cans were then covered in a waterproof mod podge to protect them from the elements.


Before planting the herbs into the can planters, I added a layer of gravel to help with drainage.



If you visit my blog as well as downloading the images you can see more detailed instructions. You will find out how I attached the cans to the window, so that they could easily be removed and swapped round.


I love the window herb planter I think it's a great addition to my back garden.

You should check out my other stunning Marimekko tin can planter display.


As well as "Thyme after Thyme" I did think of with a few other herb/lyric puns. Such as "The Thyme of My Life" for the Dirty Dancing fans.


If you have any good song lyric herb puns I'd love to hear them.


You could of course plant flowers instead of herbs in your tin cans. I'm sure there are loads of good songs with flowers in the title !



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Claire at Pillarboxblue
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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Frequently asked questions
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3 of 6 questions
  • Integritygirl Integritygirl on Feb 25, 2017
    This is probably a very dumb question...but How the heck did you cut out the legs of those insects so perfectly to affix to the cans?
  • Dahliaqueen Dahliaqueen on Mar 03, 2018

    So many weeds, so little thyme.


    Love gardening.....hate the weeds. How can they grow anywhere but we must really cultivate our veggies?

  • Dena Dena on Sep 24, 2018

    How can I do a bench like yours? I’m going to try the window too.

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