Versatile Garden From an Old Clothing Rack

Using an old clothing rack from a store I create a vine and flower garden that is can be arranged to your hearts content and is a perfect filler for any outdoors space! Both of the hanging boxes can be moved to wherever you would like and the heavy duty wheels on the bottom mean it is completely mobile.

This is the first Instructable I have done in a while. Please leave a comment if you feel compelled to and don't be too harsh on my lack of pictures. I never intended to make something out of this but I decided to. Enjoy :)

Step 1: Finding Your Rack

While I managed to get my rack purely on luck it is entirely possible to find it with enough looking. Many stores carry very similar things and will often remove them or dispose of them while remodeling or selling. Look around for such events and contact someone in charge and see if you could take it off their hands. They will usually give it for free. Look for something with a metal grate going up the middle and a strong base built in. Metal is preferred to wood but you may not have a choice.

Bonus points if you can pick up hangers with it.

Step 2: Gathering Your Materials.

The materials list for this build is relatively short fortunately. I got everything I needed in one trip to Home Depot. It ended up being under $30 so it was relatively cheap. Depending on your personal build it will vary slightly.

• Wood. Pressure treated is recommended because of the damp environment. I got 12' of 1x6 in 2 6' sections. This was found in the mis-cut area to make it even cheaper. If you want a deeper base then get a wider board.
• Soil. I used a total of 3 bags of soil. 2 generic bags and 1 bag of Miracle grow moisture control. This mix worked great for me in the long run. If you choose a deeper base you will need more than this.
• Window Boxes. I got 2 24" plastic boxes when shopping for parts. They were the perfect size for what I wanted. Thisi
• Brackets. To secure the wooden base to the bottom of the rack I used 7 large L brackets. These are an easy pick up and many people may have them around already.
• (Of course) Plants! This part is entirely up to you. If you want vines crawling up gets vines. If you want vegetables do vegetables. If you want hanging plants get that. The only thing to be wary of is how deep your soil will be in the base. Some plants may need more than what you can provide.

Step 3: Sizing and Cutting Your Wood. and Stain!

To determine what lengths of wood you will need is simple. For my base we measured it at 48" x 14". This would cover the black border as surround the base wood. For the planter boxes we cut a piece of wood 2 inches longer than it's length. Then cut out everything but 1 inch on the side as pictured. This may require a little fiddling to get a snug fit but it won't be hard. I used a band saw for these cuts but it can be done a variety of ways.

Once you get all your pieces cut a suggest placing them down simply to make sure you did everything correct.

Once that has been done you can stain. If you haven't stained before it's a relatively simple process. Look it up if you need help. I did one coat of Mahogany Red and it turned out great. Too dark and you can't see the contrast. Go light on it.

I didn't any pictures of this unfortunately.

Step 4: Assembly and Soil

To assemble the base I put all the wood on and L brackets in the corresponding places. I marked the placement of the L brackets and drilled pilot holes for the screws. Once the brackets were on the wood I screwed it into the base. If it wasn't tight enough you can put a screw through one piece of wood at a corner into the other.

Next part to assemble is the hangers for the boxes. I took one of the item hanging brackets and cut off the bottom branch with a hacksaw. From here I stapled it onto the bottom of the wooden frame that would hold the boxes. These should now fit nicely onto the metal mesh and be movable to anywhere on it.

Before soil goes in I drilled about 8 1/2" holes to drain water from. While I neglected to treat the wooden base with anything to prevent rot I suggest you do. It is susceptible to rotting and would be a good idea to address that problem. Along the back metal grate I placed a piece of plastic to hold the soil in the base.

With all that out of the way I poured in my 3 bags and mixed it up!.

Step 5: Potting Planting!

This is the fun part.

Grab your plants, grab your trowel, and grab your watering can. You can have a lot of fun decorating and arranging the plants in the boxes. I did a tall center piece with surrounding hanging vines to come down. Then some filler between those.

In the very bottom I put some vines and an assortment of other plants. The vines will look great when climbing up the intricate metal mesh.

Step 6: Final Thoughts.

There is a lot more you can do with this project. In fact I am just getting started with it. I would love to add some LED back lighting. Add labels on the previous price tag area. Put a second garden in the back. So many ideas.

If you have any ideas or suggestions please comment. I would appreciate the input and very well might do it.

This is my first Instructable in very many years so advice is welcome.

Enjoy!