What would you do with this?

What a fun idea to plant trailing succulents, love the piece I think planting it out would be really neat. You could consider solar lights "planted" in with the plants too.

Ooooo, how nice, very interesting. If you are in the mind set of painting, clean up the rust be sanding with sand paper or a metal bristle brush and use an exterior paint on it like Rustoleum. You can find these items at diy stores. Have fun.

Do you have a covered porch or patio? You could put it there so it stays dry. I would use outdoor spray paint on it. Maybe you could put mini pots on it that you can decorate. You could fill the pots with herbs, flowers or succulents.

I also agree that you should try using sandpaper on it to remove the rust before attempting to paint it. Good luck!

You could also put it in a large planter on your porch that you fill with seasonal flowers, etc. You could use the stand for seasonal decorations like pumpkins or fairy lights, etc.

I wonder if after sanding, you drilled off center holes (to release any water) before applying a good coverage of Rustoleum paint would prevent rust recurrance? Then it could be used for small flower pots. If you wanted it for birds, you might glue small saucers/dishes over the tops. Ideally, if a small saucer could be inverted and glued on, it would reduce the potential for rust. Then you could glue another saucer of similar size on top of the first one.

Clean up the rust with WD40, wire brushing to clean it up. You can prime and seal it with Rustoleum spray paint. You could also put small glass saucers or pots on some of them for a small bath for birds. I think it looks like a great project! Good luck and stay safe!

Susan

You need to use a paint like rustoleum to prevent rust. You could use plastic pots to put your plants in with a small tray underneath to keep further damage - use potato vines, or any trailing vines or plants

you could use the trailing succulent as well here are some ideas

https://www.pinterest.com/succulentsbox/trailing-succulents/#:~:text=Trailing%20or%20hanging%20succulents%20have,be%20grown%20indoors%20and%20outdoors.

Could you put small mosaic tiles in the holders? That could look pretty and wouldn't rust?

I mean, like this project

https://www.hometalk.com/diy/outdoor/furniture/mosaic-tile-patio-table-22442660

Hi, Susan, if you take measurements of your item, you might find what you're looking for at Goodwill, thrift stores, etc. Many of these stores have a large number of porcelain/ironstone/glass saucers, dishes in smaller diameters.

I like the idea of drilling holes in the bottom so any water can drain. You could try lining it with say a silicone muffin liner if it's really small. Some small stones and succulents might look cool in it.

Have your looked into flower pot plates. They may fit inside or you could glue them on to the bowls. Of course drill holes in the bowls first to drain any water that gets in them. You would need to sand ,prime, and spray paint the unit.

Going off of William's idea, if you could find some tiny ceramic or terracotta dishes (small plates or pinch bowls) that could fit in each little dish (something like this: https://www.theartofhome.ca/terracotta-pinch-bowls.html)? And either fill them with/let them collect water to act as a cute bird bath, or fill the dishes with birdseed? That would require some sort of overhead cover of course to prevent the seed from getting washed out by rain.

I think you could try RustOleum paint. Make sure to remove the existing rust first.

Clean and spray with Rustoleum spray paint. You can add fairy lights to any succulents and/or plants that you use on the stand. You can also spray paint and then place on your front porch and change out the decor. You can use mini pumpkins as succulent holders and place on the stand - that would look adorable for fall.

What about metal tart shells with drilled drainage holes?

There are gold pans for prospecting that I saw someone use to make a bird bath once. You can find them on amazon in all colors, shapes and sizes and they're cheap.

Sand those rust spots down best you can then paint it with rustolium paint then if you want water add cups on the ends so that won’t rust

super cool flower pot rack

Thanks Oliva. I took a piece of foil and made a mold so I would have the size and shape handy. I went to Value Village and found a set of 6 glass dishes that fit perfectly and even echo the fluted edges. But while I was there I also saw some green glass items. There were 2 that fit but I just grabbed one for now to see what I think. I like it. I might do all different green glass as I find it over time. I’m the meantime the clear glass is good. I haven’t sanded or repainted yet (lazy) but will do that. I also saw cute hummingbird feeder and a water cooler at Home Depot that might look nice in the top spot. Here are some pics.

Put on Porch and fill with decorative gourds and fairy lights