I've got a wee concrete patio that gets lovely morning sun and is where I keep a lot of my herbs on hand for cooking. But I don't think I'm using that space well enough, and am thinking about how I can spruce it up with containers to grow veges such as lettuce and rocket and other salad greens over the summer. As it loses the sun in the afternoon, it's a perfect spot for these greens, which tend to bolt or go to seed when they get too hot.

But I also don't want to spend a fortune on containers. So what to do?

Luckily, these folks have some ideas.

I don't know if I want my smelly trainers turned into containers, but this has given me the idea of what to do with Trusty's recently grown-out-of-and-have-holes gumboots. I love the way these succulents have sprouted out of the holes at the front. Photo from here.

I love this idea - and it would be easy to pull it off with old olive oil tins. Just drill some drainage holes in the bottom and voila. Alys Fowler uses them to great effect in her urban garden, and in her book The Thrifty Gardener. She also uses old champagne boxes that she's sealed with linseed oil. Photo from here.

I love this - though I would probably dig out a few test pots and colour the drawers something a little less beige. Again, out with the drill to make a few drainage holes, and probably some black plastic to line the drawers and protect the wood from dampness. Photo from here.

Here's an idea that I think is a bit pants. Yep, I bet it looks cute when you first do it, but can you imagine how stinky and rank those jeans would be after a winter in the rain and cold? Not for me, thanks. Photo from here.

Have you used anything a bit out of the ordinary for a container?What do you think of these ideas?

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