Planted Wheelbarrow

I figured I'd copy the ideas I've seen on garden tours, and utilize unusual items as creative planting containers.
I've seen lots of items recycled into planters--chair seats, a grandfather clock, an old enamel stove, red wagons, coffee pots, pitchers, boots, wooden shoes...the possibilities are endless.
This is a way to incorporate mementos into your outdoor space, or whimsy, or pockets of treasure.

My mom had a rusted-out wheelbarrow spattered with concrete, its bare front wheel stuck in the ground at the tail end of my garden.
Last year I moved a few rocks in it, but since then it sat abandoned and unused.
It was time I brought it back to life--not with paint, but with plants.

First I covered the bottom with rocks to aid drainage


Then I added horticultural charcoal so collected water wouldn't sour (turns out there must be some rust holes in the wheelbarrow, because water actually drains through. Bonus)


Using the method I learned from The Garden Compass, it's most aesthetically pleasing if containers incorporate
"thrillers" (upright plants for drama),
"fillers" (plants to fill the area),
and "spillers" (plants that cascade over the edge)

I like to plant in odd numbers, so I chose five plants for now, and will watch to see how they fill in.
Later I may add more of the same plant, or I may eliminate.
Time will tell.

Two grasses for thrillers
Achillea "pink grapefruit" for filler (a pink-colored yarrow)
and I'm hoping the Mexican Primrose will bend and cascade as it grows and blooms, to become my spiller.

If you haven't seen Mexican Primrose, it's really beautiful, but it's invasive, so often best kept in a contained area (photo grabbed from google images)


Other garden happenings:
Zucchini still producing
Pomegranates are growing
Aloha Lily
Tuberose