What Once Was a Plantation Shutter is Now a Shutter Garden

I was reading through my latest Birds & Blooms magazine and saw a picture of something called a living wall made from an old louvered door - it was beautiful and huge. I wanted to try one out myself, but not one the size of a door. But where was I going to find used plantations shutters?

In Newport News we have a Habitat for Humanity's ReStore. I'd never been in it but thought I had a good chance of finding these shutters there. And I did. I found three smallish off white and white shutters that cost me a total of $33, so $11 each roughly. I have the shutters, now what? The magazine didn't tell how to make it so I had to use my own ingenuity to figure it out.

Sold this one for $60

"Where does the soil go?," I thought to myself. So here's what I did: I took a piece of weed preventor fabic the width of the shutter - why I already had this fabic I don't know. I used a staple gun to bind it to the back to hold the soil. Once that was done, I packed in the soil from the front through each louver and then added the plants that I bought for this specific purpose, adding more soil as needed. With all the plants in place, I watered it thoroughly and  even today am keeping my fingers crossed that the plants all live. The one pictured here is the very first one I made and have since sold it for $60, which the buyer said I should have charged more. She's giving it to her mom on Mothers Day, maybe even sooner so her mom can enjoy it.

It's not been easy, but I've managed to come across some other shutters, either damaged or on clearance. Finding used ones is difficult, but I have won some bids for used shutters on eBay. Boy I hate having to pay those shipping costs.

Spring is finally here and I hope these Shutter Gardens will be a huge hit for me at the shows I'm participating in as a vendor. I am trying hard to get into this year's Newport News Fall Festival to sell Shutter Gardens and all my othe repurposed goods. I will be selling the Shutter Gardens empty though because I don't want to buy the plants or I can't guarantee the plants stay alive, also the soil makes them heavy and difficult to transport. I know this as fact because I have potting soil all over the inside and in the trunk of my car. So empty is surely the way to go with these.

Here are some other finished Shutter Gardens.



Shutter Garden with herbs



Until next time . . .
Find Something to Repurpose,
Okie