Wine Bottle Planter

Sadly my gardening options are limited by apartment life, but there are still loads of container options available. When I saw an awesome planter made from a repurposed wine bottle, I knew it was something I had to give a shot. With a few simple tools, you can turn the remains of a wild weekend into some gorgeous greenery.

Step 1: You'll Need. . .

• An empty wine bottle (or two - it doesn't hurt to have a couple extra in case anything goes awry and to allow a few practice runs)
• Glass cutter
• A box or scrap wood to position your glass cutter on to help provide a straight score line
• Fine-grit sandpaper (you could also use a Dremel or sander if you wanted to)
• Tea kettle or pot of boiling water and source of cool/cold running water
• Wool felt or similar fabric (undyed is suggested)
• Small stones, marbles, or similar
• Small plant (a hydroponic or air plant is suggested - succulents also work well (a jade plant is shown here))
• Safety glasses

Step 2: Cutting Glass

1. Position your glass cutter on your scrap wood or other support and score the glass bottle about 2" from the base of the neck portion. The trick is to score just once (don't keep going around and around)
2. Place a towel or cloth in the bottom of the sink and run the cold water
3. Hold the bottle and carefully pour hot water over the score line (make sure to wear safety glasses!)
4. Cool the score line under the running cold water
5. Repeat with hot and cold water until the neck portion of the bottle drops off
6. Use the sandpaper to smooth the edges of both the base portion and neck portions of the bottle

This great video (which was posted on Make) illustrates this technique:

Step 3: Putting the Pieces Together

1. Wet the fabric and fold/roll it to form a tube approximately 7" long which fits inside the neck portion of the bottle
2. Place it in the neck so that the end is extends slightly from the mouth of the bottle
3. Fill the base portion of the bottle approximately 1/2 full of water
4. Invert the neck portion and place it in the base portion so that the mouth of the bottle is in the water
5. Fill the neck portion of the bottle with the rocks/marbles and your plant, ensuring that the roots reach far enough into the neck portion to touch the wool
6. Add rocks or marbles around the base of the plant
7. Enjoy your awesome new planter!