Making a hanging planter from a fish basket

I love making stuff from junk. That’s why when I see something rusty, I have to have it.

#rusthoarder

And this is what happened with this old fish basket. My friend Shannon was getting rid of it so I swooped it up. And then I waited for inspiration to strike. (For a year. Or two.)

But this week, it finally did.

I asked Ryan to hang the basket under the back porch. He used an old chain he found in the yard to hang it from the deck above. The top basket of the fish basket is like a trap door, so I just tied it shut with fishing line to keep it from opening and dumping all my plants and soil on the ground.

Then, I added some burlap (you could also use landscape fabric) and a few rocks. Finally, it was time for potting soil and plants.

I wanted to add something to the top that would spill down the side, so I chose my very favorite container garden stunners – sweet potato vines in pretty lime green and a darker purple. These are really easy to grow and will also give it some visual interest.

These plants are made for full sun or partial shade and since the under deck area gets plenty of sun in the morning, I went for it.

This is a super simple project, and I think it will look even better as the summer goes on and they vines work their way down the side of the basket.