UPCYCLE OLD SHOES INTO COLORFUL SUCCULENT PLANTERS

REPURPOSED GARDEN SHOE WITH SEDUM MIXTURE AND SEMPERVIVUM PLANTS

ESTIMATED READ TIME: 8 MINUTES

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Turn old shoes into charming planters with this DIY tutorial! Recyle, repurpose, and add colorful flair to your garden or party decor.

DO YOU WANT TO SUPPORT WILD WEST SUCCULENTS IN A SIMPLE WAY

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CLOSE-UP OF SEMPERVIVUM PLANTS IN REPURPOSED SHOE PLANTER

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION

How many times have you wondered how to recycle and repurpose your favorite worn out old shoes?

I know I have!

Here is a way that I have recycled and repurposed my favorite shoes to extend their use, enjoyment and keep them out of the landfill.

With this fun tutorial guide that can be done with children or even as a party event, you can reuse, recycle and repurpose your old favorite shoes into a colorful beautiful garden planter.

This can also be done with shoes that visitors bring for your party event.

For the photos in this blog post, I selected my old garden shoes for this tutorial.

Here are my steps but first please find below a list of what you will need for this project.

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

OLD SHOES
DRILL
DRILL BITS
EXTRA BATTERY PACKS
EXTENSION CORD
PLANTING SOIL
GRAVEL
MIX OF SEDUM/STONECROP AND SEMPERVIVUM/HENS AND CHICK PLANTS
TARP OR NEWSPAPER (OPTIONAL)
GLOVES (OPTIONAL)
BRUSH TO CLEAN UP SOIL (OPTIONAL)
LARGE RIVER STONE (OPTIONAL)
CHOP STICK (OPTIONAL)

WHAT WE’LL COVER

DO YOU WANT TO SUPPORT WILD WEST SUCCULENTS IN A SIMPLE WAY
INTRODUCTION
WHAT YOU’LL NEED
WHAT WE’LL COVER
STEP ONE: PREPARE YOUR AREA
RECYCLED OLD SHOES AT A PLANTER PARTY
STEP TWO: DRILL SHOE
STEP THREE: GRAVEL AND SOIL
STEP FOUR: SUCCULENT PLANTS
STEP FIVE: MAKE HOLES WITH CHOPSTICK
STEP SIX: DECORATE WITH RIVER STONES (OPTIONAL)
STEP SEVEN: FILL MISSING HOLES WITH OTHER SUCCULENT PLANTS
STEP EIGHT: PLACE YOUR NEW PLANTER INTO THE SUN
ADDITIONAL HELPFUL HINTS
CONCLUSION
AFFILIATE DISCLOSURE
JOIN US TODAY!

CLOSE-UP OF REPURPOSED SHOE WITH SEMPERVIVUM AND SEDUM MIXTURE

STEP ONE: PREPARE YOUR AREA

PUT ON YOUR DISPOSABLE GLOVES. (THIS PART IS OPTIONAL, BUT I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT.)
COVER YOUR AREA WITH A TARP OR NEWSPAPER FOR EASY CLEANUP
MOVE OLD SHOE(S), GRAVEL, SOIL, DRILL, BRUSH FOR SOIL CLEANUP AND MIXTURE OF PLANTS TO YOUR PROTECTED WORK AREA WITH A CHOPSTICK
IF I AM PLANNING TO DO A FEW PLANTERS, I DRILL ALL MY SHOES AT ONE TIME AND THEN PLACE THEM IN A LOCATION THAT I CAN USE THEM
YOU WOULDN’T THINK SO, BUT DRILLING SHOES CAN BE A BIT TIME CONSUMING
IF YOU PLAN TO HAVE THIS AS A GROUP EVENT, MAKE SMALL INDIVIDUAL BAGS OF SOIL, GRAVEL AND AN INDIVIDUAL PLATE WITH A MIX OF SUCCULENTS CLOSE TO EACH SITTING SETTINGS
ALL OF THIS IS COVERED IN MY STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTION IN MY BLOG TITLED:
HOST AN ECO-FRIENDLY GARDEN PARTY

CLOSE-UP OF SEDUM AND SEMPERVIVUM MIXTURE

STEP TWO: DRILL SHOES

FLIP YOUR SHOE(S) OVER AND DRILL A FEW HOLES IN THE SOLE OF YOUR SHOE(S)
IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A DRILL, IN A PINCH YOU CAN USE A LARGE SCREW TO SCREW HOLES INTO THE SOLE OF YOUR SHOE

DRILLED REPURPOSED GARDEN SHOE MADE INTO A PLANTER

STEP THREE: GRAVEL AND SOIL

ONCE YOU HAVE FINISHED THE HOLES IN THE SOLES, FLIP YOUR SHOE(S) OVER AND PLACE ON A FIRM SURFACE
GATHER GRAVEL OR SMALL STONES WITH GLOVED HAND OR SCOOP, FLIP YOUR SHOE(S) OVER AND PLACE ON FIRM SURFACE
GATHER GRAVEL OR SMALL STONES WITH GLOVED HAND OR SCOOP, PUT IN SHOE(S) AND COVER WITH SOIL

‘PEGGY’ SEMPERVIVUM IS A STRONG PRODUCER OF BABIES OR WHAT ARE ALSO CALLED CHICKS

STEP FOUR: SUCCULENT PLANTS

CLOSELY EXAMINE YOUR SUCCULENTS TO SEE IF YOU CAN USE BABIES FROM YOUR PARENT PLANTS IN YOUR GARDEN
SEDUM ALSO CALLED STONECROP, IS A GREAT SPREADING SUCCULENT FOR ANY PROJECT AND ONLY A FEW PIECES WILL FILL IN NICELY OVER TIME
IF YOU DO NOT HAVE ANY SUCCULENTS GROWING IN YOUR GARDEN, THIS IS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO VISIT YOUR LOCAL GARDEN CENTER OR NURSERY TO SELECT SOME NEW PLANTS FOR YOUR PLANTER
IF LOOKING AT SEMPERVIVUM PLANTS, TRY TO SELECT A PLANT THAT HAS MANY BABIES OR WHAT IS REFERRED TO AS CHICKS
I’VE SHARED A PHOTO OF SEMPERVIVUM ‘PEGGY’ THAT IS A HARDY AND ROBUST PRODUCER OF CHICKS
BELOW IS THE SAME PLANT LATER IN THE SUMMER THAT HAS CHANGED TO A PALE PINK LAVENDER WITH A PALE GREEN HEART
WHEN SELECTING A SEMPERVIVUM FOR YOUR PROJECT ALSO CONSIDER SIZE
SEMPERVIVUM ‘PEGGY’ IS ON THE LARGER SIDE OF SEMPERVIVUM PLANTS
WHILE EXTREMELY SHOWY SHE MAY NOT BE THE PROPER SIZE FOR YOUR PLANTER OR PROJECT
PERSONALLY, I USE ALL SIZES AND COLORS IN MY CONTAINERS, BUT THIS WILL BE SOMETHING YOU NEED TO CONSIDER WHEN DESIGNING YOUR PLANTER

‘PEGGY’ CHANGED TO A PALE PINK LAVENDER LATE IN THE SUMMER

STEP FIVE: MAKE HOLES WITH CHOPSTICK

WITH A CHOPSTICK, MAKE A HOLE IN THE SOIL FOR THE SUCCULENTS
PUT THE PLANTS IN THE SOIL AND COVER THE ROOTS
TRY TO SELECT DIFFERENT TEXTURES, SIZES, COLORS, AND STYLES OF SUCCULENTS
IN MY OPINION, IT IS FUN TO SEE DIFFERENT TYPES OF SUCCULENT PLANTS IN A TIGHT CONTAINER
I PERSONALLY LOVE THE COLOR AND STYLES THAT CHANGE THE LOOK OF A PLANTER
IT HAS BEEN MY EXPERIENCE THAT SEDUM PLANTS GROW RAPIDLY AND CAN FILL A SPACE QUICKLY SO, IF YOU CHOOSE TO USE SEDUM A COUPLE OF PIECES CAN FILL IN NICELY

RIVER STONES COLLECTED ON MY WALKS ADDED TO MY REPURPOSED GARDEN SHOE

STEP SIX: DECORATE WITH RIVER STONES (OPTIONAL)

AT THIS TIME, IF YOU WOULD LIKE, YOU CAN PUT YOUR RIVER STONE IN YOUR NEW PLANTER
I CHOSE ONE THAT I FOUND DURING ONE OF THE WALKS
I SELECTED THIS STONE, FOR ADDED COLOR, TEXTURE AND INTEREST

SEMPERVIVUM IN MY REPURPOSED GARDEN SHOE

STEP SEVEN: FILL MISSING HOLES WITH OTHER SUCCULENT PLANTS

FILL IN MISSING HOLES WITH PIECES OF RANDOM SEDUM AND SEMPERVIVUM
I USE MY CHOPSTICK TO MAKE A HOLE IN THE SOIL
THIS ALLOWS ME TO MAKE HOLES IN DIFFICULT TO REACH LOCATIONS
TRY TO FILL YOUR PLANTER BUT REMEMBER YOUR PLANTS WILL NEED SPACE TO EXPAND AND GROW
OF COURSE, IF YOUR PLANTER DOES BECOME FULL, YOU CAN ALWAYS USE YOUR PLANTER AS A BABY PLANT NURSERY AND REMOVE PLANTS TO START A NEW PLANTER IN THE FUTURE REPURPOSEING OTHER SHOES

REPURPOSED GARDEN SHOE READY FOR THE GARDEN OR GIFT

STEP EIGHT: PLACE YOUR NEW PLANTER INTO THE SUN

WHEN FINISHED, REMEMBER TO PLACE YOUR NEW PLANTER IN THE SUN.

ADDITIONAL HELPFUL HINTS

SAVE ALL YOUR GARDEN CENTER POTS TO REUSE IN THE FUTURE
WHEN REMOVING SEDUM AND SEMPERVIVUM PLANTS, KEEP THE ROOTS DAMP UNTIL PLANTED
USE A SPRAY BOTTLE TO WATER YOUR NEW SEMPERVIVUM PLANTER
WHEN GIVING AS A GIFT MAKE SURE TO SHARE THAT SEMPERVIVUMS NEED SUN AND LIMITED WATER
THIS IS ALSO A GREAT WAY TO MEMORIALIZE SOMEONE BY USING THEIR REPURPOSED SHOES NEAR YOUR HOME ENTRANCE, IN THE GARDEN OR GIVEN AS A GIFT TO ANOTHER FAMILY MEMBER.

CONCLUSION

Imagine coming home to a bright display of succulents greeting you in your charming repurposed shoes.

With this eco-friendly touch, you not only add a unique flair to your space but also contribute to sustainability.

Plus, these delightful planters can make a thoughtful and creative gift to share with friends and loved ones.

Happy Gardening!

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