Dark green plastic hardly reflects a gardener's preferences. In this design, a rain barrel certainly does not fit into the cottage garden. But it is precisely here that it is more in demand than ever, because it enables very environmentally friendly and economical water consumption. In the meantime, the trade also offers handsome models, but why spend a lot of money when you can decorate your water butt just as well yourself? All you need is some manual skills, material that you can buy almost anywhere and the tips that you can find on this page.
Creative people can paint rain barrels beautifully
Ideas to beautify a rain barrel
- Plant rain barrel
- paint the rain barrel
- disguise the rain barrel
- Rain barrel as a garden pond
Plant rain barrel
After a while, climbing plants hide the unsightly plastic behind a dense, flowering growth. However, when choosing the plant, you should pay attention to a plant that does not grow too much. After all, the rain barrel should be accessible at all times. The best way to help the growth habit is to wrap the shoots around the rain barrel and thus prevent them from spreading too much.
You can also put plants directly in the rain barrel. Floating plants are then the varieties of choice. Many of them produce oxygen and thus deprive algae of the basis for their development.
You can find more information about planting a rain barrel here.
paint the rain barrel
Alternatively, you can match the color of the rain barrel to your garden. Use the same color as the object the rain barrel is in front of. In front of a red shed, a red water butt is hardly noticeable. Depending on the material, there may of course be color deviations. Also pay attention to environmentally friendly, non-toxic paint. Alternatively, you can specifically focus on the rain barrel. Striking, colorful paint jobs can also look good.
tips
Most of the time, children want to help with the garden design. Let your little ones dip their hands in paint and leave handprints on the water butt.
You can find even more tips for painting the rain barrel here.
disguise the rain barrel
High-quality rain barrels (€53.99) come in the design of a wooden barrel. You can easily create this look yourself. Read here how to dress up your water butt.
Rain barrel as a garden pond
As mentioned above, you can put water lilies or similar plants in the water butt. If you bury the water tank, nobody will guess that it is actually a rain barrel. Visually, the impression of a garden pond is created. Integrate your collection tank into the garden by enclosing it with a wall (equivalent to a fountain) or even breeding goldfish in the water butt.