Introduction: How to Liven Up a Disused Fireplace With Plants.

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Its that time of year again, its warming up and there is just no use for your fireplace. Or maybe like me your chimney is stuffed full of insulation. Every time you look back at your fireplace all you see is a dark black hole pulling your soul out of your eyes to forever wonder the land of the dead, well maybe thats over doing it but its a bit gloomy. Well here is the solution! For however much money you feel like spending on plants and compost you can create a natural scene to take away the summertime blues.
This is my first instructable, sorry for the poor photos comments are much appreciated
Thanks LZ

Step 1: Things You Need

1 black binbag

Some plants
choose shade tolerant species as they are not likely to get much light if you plan on a long term decoration. I chose salad cress, a plastic aquarium plant and an unknown flower.

Compost
as much as you need to fill your fireplace

Step 2: Fill Your Fireplace With Compost

Tear your binbag so that the binbag sits in your fireplace with the lip of the bag just poking out. Fill with compost. I used a stone to weigh it down or things could have got messy. Just scoop the compost in with your hand or use a trowel if you like.

Step 3: Plant It Up

Tap your plants out of their pots gently dig a small hole and plonk them in. Fill in any gaps in the hole. Make sure the plants are in an arrangement you like.

Step 4: Finishing Up

Fold the edges of the binbag inwards towards the plants and then sprinkle another layer of compost over the top to cover it up. Plump up the foliage to make it look nice sit back and admire. Now you're fireplace looks nice and I like to think of it as an anti-fire using up all the CO2 that would have been produced in that very fireplace by burning wood. So you're also being green, which is nice if you live close to sea level like me. NB I know nothing about climate change it could well be man made but at the same time be natural, I don't want to start that whole debate, I also would like to point out that you will not solve global warming by doing this Instructable. But to be honest most of you clever Instructableists will have invented a way of inhabiting the moon soon so it doesn't matter anyway. I digress though...

Step 5: Finished ! Now Go Creative

Give the mini garden you're own twist use sand and some cacti for a desert effect. Don't use plants at all, use rocks! Or do a minimalist zen style garden. Its really up to you!