My Bathtub Garden Accent (part 2)
Do you remember the old bathtub that we rescued from the marsh on our farm a few months ago? This past week, we got it moved into place in the nursery garden, and I am so excited about how it is coming together.
Originally, I thought I would fill the bathtub with water and a little solar fountain and have a water feature in my garden. But once we moved it up into the garden, we realized it had quite a few cracks in the bottom. Sure, we could use a sealer, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized it would be hard to keep it clean and filled.
So my new plan is to create a raised bed in the bathtub and fill it with herbs and flower plants.
Step 1: Drainage
One of the problems with raised beds is making sure I have proper drainage for the plants that will live there. There is a drain hole in the bottom of the bathtub, but I want to make sure it doesn’t get clogged up with dirt. I’m going to make sure I have fairly large pieces of chinking around the drain hole so it will hopefully let water run out when it rains.
There are also some fairly large cracks in the bottom that will halso help with drainage.
I rolled it over on the end away from the drain and added a few extra rocks and chinking to give it a slight lift. Hopefully, this will ensure the rain drains through and prevent standing water in the bottom.
So, now I plan to start filling it little by little with old pieces of chinking from the 1880’s farmhouse and then layer it with some small branches, fill dirt, and finally potting soil on the top 6 inches.
It may not look like much yet, but just wait a few more weeks until it is filled, and I get my flowers planted. I think it’s going to be a stunning centerpiece in my garden nursery.
I also want to find a ground cover that will grow up around the base and cover some of the rusty parts. Any suggestions? I want something that will be a bit aggressive and grow quickly this year, and be a pretty base for the bathtub to be sitting in.
I’ve never had an old bathtub in my garden, but I’m excited to see it come to life! What do you think? Are you on board with this idea or do you think it’s a bit silly?
Did you miss part 1, where we found and dug out the bathtub from the marsh? Click here for the full story!
