Transform Broken Dishes Into A Gorgeous Garden Feature With A Quick And Easy DIY

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If you're a collector of vintage dishes, you probably know what it's like to have one of those bold red Fiestaware plates be on the losing end of an encounter with the floor. And unless the break was clean, you also know that it's nearly impossible to salvage one of those lovely vintage dishes with glue. However, if you love gardening, your broken dishes aren't necessarily destined for the trash bin. As a video shared by the Vettel Farm demonstrated, those broken shards appear whole again and add a touch of texture to your container garden if you plant them in the soil next to your marigolds.

To begin, carefully gather up the shards of your dishes. The ones that work best for this purpose are still mostly intact — the bigger the pieces, the better. From a garden design perspective, vintage dishes with a lot of color and character make the display more visually interesting, so if you have pieces like that, don't be shy about using them for this. That old, slightly beat-up silverware has a place in this display, too, so don't toss it out. All of this will be cradled in an old-fashioned metal wash basin. If you're going for a rustic or shabby chic style, look for one with dents and other imperfections. 

Aside from filling the metal wash basin with your old dishes, you're additionally going to load it up with some potting soil and small plants of your choice. Finally, a hand shovel and a pair of gardening gloves make digging in the dirt a little tidier and more comfortable. Likewise, a drill comes in handy when it's time to create drainage holes in the basin.

First, wash the basin out thoroughly, to clear it of any residual flora left over from other projects. Dry it and add some drainage holes in the planter so that liquid doesn't gather at the bottom of the basin when you water your plants. Next, fill about half of the basin up with flowers. To create a more dynamic container garden, find some good flower combinations, like marigolds and cornflowers. Then, add the potting soil to the other half, but refrain from putting any plants in there, at least initially. 

Once your plants all have a home, insert the broken dishes into the dirt. Bury them down deeply in the soil to cover the broken areas. The dishes should jut up out of the dirt and kind of look as if you have a sink of dishes, but instead of being immersed in water, you're planting them in the soil. Plants with smaller flowers, like oregano or baby's breath, would look adorable dispersed in between the dishes too. 

Once the tiny plants are in place, place the silverware you want to show off, ladle- or tine-side up. If you have any additional room near the dishes and you want to add some more character to your dish garden, plant a pair of black and white pie birds from the R&M Store or a set of Mason jar-shaped ceramic salt and pepper shakers from the ZOSUJO Store in among the broken cups and saucers to add an extra dose of cuteness to the mix.