Ditch Expensive Plant Stands For Affordable Baskets

When it comes to decorating your yard, patio, or any other space around your home, you don't need to spend an exorbitant amount of money. You'd be surprised at how many affordable gardening solutions you can find at secondhand or dollar stores, including simple ways to store your plants. You can even DIY stylish plant stands with repurposed household materials. If you are working with limited space or a tight budget, though, you can source alternatives to expensive plant stands, like turning a Dollar Tree over-the-door hook and a wire basket into clever hanging storage. Chances are, you already have these two items at home. With just a few zip ties, these inexpensive decor items can become sturdy homes for your plants that hang easily from your backyard or balcony fencing.

Traditional wire plant baskets, even the cheap ones, can start at around $20 a piece. With this hack, as long as you source your items from stores like Dollar Tree or the thrift store, you don't have to spend more than $5. Dollar Tree has numerous assorted wire baskets, varying in size, available for purchase, all for $1.50 each. Make sure your basket has wide enough holes to fit hooks through. Mesh baskets with tiny holes won't work for this hack. You will also need an over-the-door hook, which you can find at stores like Dollar Tree or Walmart for under $5 a piece. As long as it has enough hooks to support your wire basket, you're golden.

The process is simple. Decide where you want to display your plants, which can be off your front porch, wire fencing in your backyard, or your balcony rail. As long as your over-the-door hook hangs securely and your plants get the right amount of sun, it's in a good spot. Next, place your wire basket in between the hooks, making sure it's even and secure. To ensure it stays in place, use a few zip ties to secure where the basket and hooks connect. 

Now, it's time to add your plants. You can either use this DIY holder for potted plants or add a grow bag if you want to plant directly in soil. This is an excellent alternative for anyone who doesn't have a ton of space for a whole planter, but has vertical real estate, like a fence or a rail, to put to good use. Note that you can't just put any plant into a hanging basket. Larger plants, such as dahlias and zinnias, are not ideal options. Stick with smaller or trailing flowers like begonias, petunias, creeping Jenny, or periwinkles. 

If you want to protect these plant hangers from the elements, you can spray them with a few coats of rust-resistant paint, like Rust-Oleum's Water-Resistant Spray Paint. This will keep them from rusting from rain and potentially cracking or dropping your plants.