April Garden

With winter finally letting go and the snow melting, the garden stirs awake with the promise of spring.

When spring arrived and the snow finally melted, it exposed the broken shells of two raised planters.

Rather than discard the wreckage, I reimagined it—turning broken into beautiful with a few inventive ideas, and limited skill with power tools.

What I ended up with are four pretty different—and honestly, pretty eclectic—planters.

These bagged leaves you see were used to insulate the plants through winter. Now, I’ve added them to the bottom of each planter to decompose and feed the soil over the summer.

This triangle planter is made from the top and 2”x4”s from the old planters. I added new cedar for the ends. The shaded side will house greens like lettuce, kale, spinach, and orach which is a spinach-like vegetable from the Amaranthaceae family. The upper level is for carrots and beets, followed by greens once the root vegetables are harvested. The sunny side will grow tomatoes, basil, scallions, marigolds and nasturtium. It’s amazing how much food you can grow in a small space!

The base of podium style planters is also leftover wood from the old planters. I made the top section out of new cedar. These planters will grow amaranth, corn, beans, nasturtium, squash in the right planter and melons in the left one.

This pyramid planter is made from new cedar and 2”x2” strapping. This will be home to strawberries, chives, oregano, thyme, cilantro, sage, tomatoes, basil, marigolds, peas, and cucumbers. See the chives in the holding pot surveying their future home.

What began with broken planters and leftover leaves has become a garden of trees, shrubs, and raised beds—each one adding charm in its own way. With just a spark of creativity and a dream, even the smallest space can flourish.

Gardens change all the time—and that’s part of the fun. Just keep growing!

Upcycled anything into garden magic lately? Show off your crafty side in the comments!