Self-Watering Planters

My husband and I absolutely love to fish so we were super grateful when we were able to purchase a home near the water in Homosassa, Florida. This is where all of the Manatee live!!

Another thing I also love is live plants, but as you can imagine when you only get to visit your home for part of the year, having live plants seemed pretty impossible. I can be a little forgetful and forget to water my plants sometimes, so these beautiful plants can go two to three weeks without attention. I needed something that would allow me to have my beautiful live plants and not have to worry about them too often.

One day I was at Home Depot perusing the aisles when I came across a self-watering pot. It was a genius idea!! How did I not think of that first?? It was a very pretty pot, but they only had one design and size and it was more money than I wanted to spend.

So, that’s when I got creative and was able to design my own for half the price of Home Depot! Score!! Who doesn’t love a bargain?

First, I found a Terracotta pot that was the size I needed for my plants. Terracotta is a really great option as it will absorb water to keep the soil moist for your plants. You definitely want something that will keep your plants hydrated when you tend to neglect them.

I really like Terracotta pots but I wanted my drain pot to match my pot with no hole in it. So, I painted the rim white to match. Such an easy project to DIY. You can use spray paint or water-based paint, whatever paint you prefer.  The type of paint doesn’t matter as the painted area will not be in the water.

​Next, I needed to find a pot with no hole in the bottom (see below).  Any pot will do as long as it doesn’t have a hole in the bottom. I love this one I found!!

Now you are ready to put your soil in the Terracotta pot and plant your flowers or plants.

You will want to fill your pot without the hole about halfway or so with water. I suggest doing this over a sink so that when you put your Terracotta pot in it will not spill on anything if you have filled it with too much water.

When you are shopping for all of the items you need to create this project, I recommend buying a cork pot protector as well (pictured below).  They are inexpensive and will save your furniture just in case of spillage.

I have not had any problems so far with leaks but it is better to be safe than sorry. It will just cover the bottom of your pot and add some character.

​And now… The finished product!!

I love it!  It is so great having live plants in my home that don’t need to be watered every other day!  Enjoy!