Vintage Container Garden - MY WEATHERED HOME

What is a Nymph? Here’s all you need to know about this unique vintage vessel & how I transformed it into the cutest vintage container garden!

There are so many great vintage vessels out there that can be transformed into so many things, but let me share with you how I took this unique old piece and used it to create a fun flower garden in my home. It was so easy and satisfying to see this come together.

There is something about me that is a little different and that is ok because I embrace the idea of being a ‘little different.’

It is actually kind of cool and fun sometimes!

It should come as no surprise then … that when I am out shopping for my house … that I enjoy things that are a little different. Like this piece right here:

the nymph container that I used for the Vintage Container Garden -

A few months ago I stumbled upon this amazing old Nymph tub. I love finding unique and cool “one of a kind” pieces and that is exactly what this Nymph piece is – unique. When I saw it sitting on the shelf at the antique store, I immediately knew that it would make the cutest vintage container garden, and a few weeks ago, I decided to put it all together!

A Little Nymph History

You may be wondering what this nymph was in it’s former life, I know I sure was when I first brought it home. After a little digging online I discovered that the “Nymph” is an accessory for the sears 1929 “Water Witch” washing machine. It is an agitator that was added to the inside of the larger washing machine to was smaller loads of clothes. This is considered to be a rare piece since the washing machines were so expensive back then (about $80.00) and accessories were rarely purchased.

Creating This Vintage Contianer Garden

Shopping For The Flowers

Once I decided that I was going to use the Nymph as a contianer garden, the very first thing that I did was to go out and buy a few plants and flowers that I thought would look good. I knew, from previous container gardens that I have done (you can see my fall container garden here) that I needed to have a filler, spiller, and a thriller – but I wasn’t sure exactly what colors to go with. I decided to do a quick online search to see what colors would go well with the mint green color of the Nymph. I was able to quickly see what colors worked and I decided on use deep purples and peach. I walked around the garden store and decided to purchase:

Prepping the Nymph For The Flowers

putting the container there and getting ready to add the rocks into the vintage container garden

Once I got home from the store I was excited to get busy putting this all together. I rolled out some craft paper to protect my table (and to make cleaning up a bit easier) and I got to work! The first thing that I did was to prep the contianer. Knowing that I the Nymph was designed to hold water (because it is a washing accessory), I felt like this would be a good choice to use for this project – but I didn’t want to drill holes for drainage. I am pretty sure that I don’t want to leave flowers in here forever and so I didn’t want compromise the integrity of the piece by drilling holes. Instead, I added in some small craft rocks and a few large rocks from our dry river bed into the bottom of the contianer to assist with the drainage. I then added in some potting soil.

Adding In The Flowers

vintage contianer garden all done and ready

This was the best part of all. I always enjoy working with plants and here I just made sure to place my plants and flowers accordingly so that the whole contianer arrangement looked full and mature. Again, I used the “Thriller, Filler, and Spiller” technique that I describe here. I love the way that it turned out!

Finishing Touches

shoeing off some of the extras around my vintage contianer garden

When I can, I always like to add a few finishing touches to any vignette that I create. Here, I layered the container into an old bread board and added in some additional little plants like this creeping wire vine and this peperomia watermelon.

And I also enjoy adding in a few ‘unexpected’ pieces like this brass bird door knocker and this little pile of butter pats covered with a little basket!

I also enjoyed adding in a little ‘moment of discovery’ inside the vintage container garden and I chose to pop in a little eagle – as we approach the summer months, I felt it was a good choice!

Create You Own Vintage Contianer Garden

Maybe this has inspired you to create your own little vintage contianer garden. It really can be a fun and unique way to add some color into your home! I am excited about finding the next “perfect” vintage vessel for my next one! I love shopping around as you know, so I gathered up a few cool old vessels for you to inspire you to create your very own vintage container garden for your home. Just click on each image below to get more info on any of these pieces.

Wrap Up

Honestly, one of my favorite things to do is to take a forgotten old piece and give it a new life where it can be loved and admired. That is what I feel like I was able to accomplish with this old Nymph accessory. And – I hope this inspires you to think outside of the box as you are shopping … remember, it is ok to be a little unique!