Garden Hoses Can Be Used For A Lot More Than Watering Your Yard

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It's common to keep an old, unused garden hose in the shed as a backup. As luck would have it, this essential gardening tool is a bit like a cat — it's got at least a couple more lives left in it, even after you've written it off. From raising a flower pot off the ground to actually becoming a flower pot itself, an old or unused hose can become quite the versatile gardening asset that you didn't even know you needed — proof that some of the best budget-friendly garden DIYs are hiding in your own shed.

In one instance, garden hoses can solve an annoying problem for plant owners, which is pots sitting directly on the ground, trapping moisture, inviting bugs, and potentially damaging areas such as decks and indoor floors. Your average consumer garden hose is about ⅝ inch thick, which just happens to be perfect for a plant riser — it offers just enough clearance to keep plant pots with drainage holes off the ground. Plus, using a garden hose as a homemade planter can save you a trip to the store the next time you need an extra pot, but don't feel like buying a new one. 

Garden hoses are often made from waterproof materials including rubber, polyurethane, and PVC vinyl, making them perfect candidates for plant pots. These materials, at least when used in garden hoses, are fairly dense yet flexible. This makes them sturdy enough to support plant pots as risers and yet pliable enough to coil into a pot of their own. These hacks work best with a standard rubber or vinyl hose, as modern expandable and fabric-covered retractable hoses, such as Flexi Hoses, won't hold their shape the same way.

If you're on a tight budget, but have plans for more your petal pals, then this DIY planter idea can help stretch your dollars a little further. This hack is about as low-lift as DIY gets. To prevent water stains from forming under plant pots on your patio, or to give your pot a bit more space to drain, build a rubber riser from an old garden hose. To build the riser, start by cutting off the ends of the hose to remove the metal fittings. Measure the circumference of your plant pot (at the base), and cut the hose length to your pot size, plus about 2 inches.

Here, you'll build an interlocking feature by cutting two parallel 1½-inch slits at one end of the hose, about a half an inch apart. This will leave a thin, tongue-like flap between the two cuts. Squeeze the cut sections of the garden hose together while maneuvering them inside the other hose end, leaving the tongue flap on the outside of the hose end. You're now ready to add your plant pot on top. And if you need your pot a bit higher, no problem — just stack one or two additional pieces like this to give your plants an additional lift.

For this DIY, you'll also need zip ties, like this 100-pack of 12-inch HS outdoor zip ties. Begin by removing the hose's metal fittings. Then fold the hose against itself, forming a tight spiral that'll create a disc shape — this will form the base of the pot. Use a zip tie to clamp the starting end to the third loop (at the initial bend), and add a zip tie every couple of loops. 

Continue this process until the base is at your desired base diameter. Once it's built, start positioning each new loop on the top edge of the previous one so the coil starts growing outward. Then, after your desired pot width is reached, begin looping them directly on top of each other to form the walls of your pot. Here's a good place to stop and inspect your design to make sure the sides are even before continuing. When you reach your desired height, cut off the excess hose with a sharp utility knife, hacksaw, or pruning shears, and clamp the end with a zip tie. And just like that, you're now ready to fill your new pot with soil and introduce your plant to its new home. 

To create a bit of decorative flair, you can add paint or wrap colored rope around your new pot. A coat of spray paint can also give either of your garden hose designs a facelift. After all, DIY doesn't always have to look DIY.