Make Your Own Hose Guards
4 Materials
$2
20 Minutes
Easy
Nothing agrevates me more than to attempt to drag the garden hose to a new part of my flower beds, just to have it break off flowers as I drag it.
So I decided to make hose guards of my own instead of wasting money buying those expensive ones from the garden stores. One web site wants $16 for one! I needed way too many to waste money like that!
The first thing that I needed was rebar. I had these from another project but if you have to purchase them, I think I got them from Home
depot for less than $2 for two feet lengths.
The next thing I used was a bud vase I found at the thrift store for half price. I glued a glass bell onto the top with E6000 after being double sure that the glass was super clean. After washing it real good in dish soap, I wiped it dry and then wiped it with acetone to remove any oils. Oils can prevent the glue from adhering well. Next I glued the two piece together.
I then waited overnight to be sure they were securely held together.
My next step was to hammer the rebar into the ground to the depth I needed so the bud vase would be about two inches off the ground so the garden hose could glide underneath the lip of the vase as I pulled it along.
I did not was the hose to touch the glass but only the rebar.
Here it is all ready for the hose to be pulled along side. I placed several of these guards around my flower beds so they can protect my flowers as I pull the garden hose. No more broken off plants now.
Each guard is different since I used different glass pieces. There are no two exactly the same. I have also included a couple of other styles I made with shot glasses glued the back instead of the bud vase style. Naturally these are alot shorter.
These really add the the beauty of the garden when it rains, since they sparkle after it rains.
Here is one with the shot glass glued to the back of a cute plate.
When they are nestled into the flowers, they really add a special touch.
Here is another one.
This one is made with a cute candle stick holder. Like I said before, there are no two alike.
I place them about 4 feet apart so the hose is held away from my flowers.
I put them in from the lawn so the mower does not touch them. Since I do the mowing myself, I am careful with them. As far as them being too delicate, I have not had any get broke or chipped.
It is hard to say just what these cost since I find the pieces long before I actually use them. My guess is that the glass pieces probably cost under $5 for each guard at the thrift store on half off days. That is a far cry from the $16 ones I saw on the web!
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Comments
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2 of 55 comments
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Really cute idea. I like that they are all different.
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To clean glass rubbing alcohol works very well to remove any oils from your hands to just to clean before glue is used. You could also use recycled wine bottles. That would save money. I don't drink wine but many friends do. Great idea.
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I have no idea from the description or the pictures what is going on with this project. Where is the hose? How does this keep the hose off the plants, and I am not understanding what I am supposed to be doing. You show The pretty pieces of glass in the plants, but not how it operates. Plus the description of gluing the shot glass to the plate is also confusing. Does anyone else have this issue with this project?
I like the idea, but I'm not sure how you attached the bowl/shot glass to be on it's side like that. Any tips?
Great idea!