Advantages of bottle borders
Most often, bottles (plastic and glass) are used specifically for fencing. Bottles have many advantages as a building material:
- The convenient shape of the containers allows them to be used even without prior preparation. In summer cottages you can often find borders made of bottles in the shape of a butterfly, a swan (a classic example of garden creativity), and piglets.
- Possibility of replacement in case of accidental damage to one or two parts of the curb. This advantage is typical for almost all types of glass flower beds (except for one model).
- Availability is one of the most important positive qualities of a consumable material.
- Bottles, both glass and plastic, are very resistant to various climatic influences (temperature changes, moisture, dampness, small hail).
- Fastening plastic and glass containers presents absolutely no difficulties (glue, fixation in the ground, use of cement mortar for laying the original flowerpot).
The surface of the bottles can be decorated using acrylic or oil paint, as well as transparent acrylic varnish.
Useful devices for the garden
solar collector
You've probably encountered the fact that your dacha doesn't have a central water supply, you haven't had time to get a boiler, and after a hard day of caring for the garden, you really want to take a warm water bath rather than an ice-cold shower. We invite you to try making a summer shower for your site with an energy-saving system - a solar collector made from PVC bottles. The principle of operation of such water heating is based on the so-called “thermosyphon” - denser hot water moves upward, less dense cold water moves downward. The developer of the system, a Brazilian engineer who received a patent for the invention, claims that 1 m2 of solar panel will be enough to bathe 1 person.
You can assemble a solar panel from plastic bottles and forget about ice-cold water in a summer shower
Cold water entering the solar collector from the tank returns back already heated
Consumables and tools for making a collector from plastic bottles:
- 2-liter plastic bottles – 60 pcs.;
- 1-liter milk cartons – 50 pcs.;
- PVC pipe 100 mm – 70 cm;
- PVC pipe 20 mm – 11.7 m;
- PVC corner 20 mm – 4 pcs.;
- Tee 20 mm PVC – 20 pcs.;
- Plugs 20 mm PVC – 2 pcs.;
- PVC glue;
- Matte black paint;
- Brush;
- Emery;
- Scotch;
- Rubber hammer, wood jigsaw.
Plastic bottles need to cut off the bottom and insert one into the other. 100 mm PVC pipes are used to form the rectangular frame of the solar panel, 20 mm pipes are cut into sections of 10x1 m and 20x8.5 cm and assembled into a single structure using tees. Black paint is applied to meter-long sections of pipe and milk cartons, which are placed under bottles to improve heat absorption.
Solar panels made from plastic bottles should be located at least 30 cm below the water storage tank on the south side of the wall or roof. To optimize heat absorption, the panels should be installed at an angle, which is calculated as follows: add 10° to your latitude. It is recommended to replace plastic bottles in panels with new ones every 5 years, since after some time the plastic becomes opaque, and this reduces its thermal conductivity.
Another energy-saving idea came to us from hot Brazil called “1 liter of light”. The essence of this engineering idea in terms of how to illuminate a room without windows on a sunny day is striking in its simplicity - you just need to hermetically integrate a plastic bottle into the roof - not empty, but with water. It is water, refracting the rays of the sun, that will fill a room without natural light with bright light.
By filling a plastic bottle with water and sticking it into the roof of your house, you will always have a bright source of light in rooms without natural light.
Growing and watering plants
Plastic bottles will be useful in the garden not only for buildings or decoration, but also directly in growing plants, flowers and vegetables. By cutting a hole in the container and filling it with soil, you can use a plastic container to grow seedlings. Just remember to drill holes in your newly made pots for drainage and take care to drain the water.
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Glue corks to a plastic bottle - you will get funny little people instead of boring pots for growing seedlings
Containers for growing plants can be given a little color by painting them with stained glass paints or decorating them with bottle caps. If your dacha is small in area, try creating vertical gardening - hang plastic pots from bottles on a fishing line under the wall. This way you will decorate a dull, featureless surface and save space.
You can learn about which plants are best suited for vertical gardening from the material:
To create pots for seedlings and flowers, not only plastic drink bottles are suitable, but also multi-colored containers left over from using household chemicals
Make multiple holes in a plastic bottle - this will allow you to get a drip irrigation device at your dacha
PVC bottles can also serve you well when watering your garden; if you poke miniature holes in the bottom of the bottle and attach the container to a hose, you'll have a nice drip irrigation tool. By equipping a homemade water sprayer from a bottle with wheels from an old children's car or stroller, you can move the watering machine around the garden.
Arrangement of linear borders
The simplest way to make flower beds from glass and plastic bottles is to install a linear border. For such a purpose, it is necessary to prepare a shallow trench along the garden path, along the perimeter of the ridge or around the circumference of the alpine hill.
The containers are washed thoroughly; for sufficient fixation, you can partially fill them with sand or soil. The bottles are placed in the prepared rut with their necks down and secured with earth and sand. Before installation, the surface of the future fence can be painted in any chosen color.
Bottom line
Construction from glass bottles is a real way to create exclusive elements from seemingly useless raw materials. The use of glass containers in construction work reduces financial and labor costs.
Laying rows of bottles does not require much skill or effort, and the raw materials themselves will not cost you anything .
Collecting bottles is not only a chance to get free building materials, but also a way to take care of the environment.
Give unwanted glass a second life!
Construction of a glass flowerpot
For single flower beds, you can build a very original flowerpot using cement mortar and several dozen glass bottles. Instructions on how to make a flowerbed from bottles with your own hands:
- First of all, prepare the base. The site intended for the installation of a future flower bed must be cleared of debris and vegetation.
- In a separate container, mix a concrete solution of sand, water and cement.
- Glass bottles are placed on the prepared area with their necks inward. It is imperative to ensure that there is a hollow space in the center for soil and flowers.
A layer of concrete mortar is laid out on the first row, and then they begin laying the future flowerpot. All components of the design have only the bottoms facing outwards, which creates an interesting visual effect and style of the garden accessory.
After the concrete has completely hardened, you can pour nutritious soil inside and begin planting plants for the flower bed.
Flashlight and lamp
Of course, such a lamp will give a little light, but it will perfectly decorate the interior of the house, veranda and terrace.
And on Christmas and New Year's Eve, you can simply put an electric Christmas tree garland into an empty bottle. The effect is mesmerizing!
Vertical flower garden made of plastic bottles
Classic 1.5 and 2 liter plastic bottles can be excellent pots for a vertical stand. For such a task, you should choose containers with a denser frame that can withstand the weight of the soil. The neck of each part is cut off or the container is cut in the center in a horizontal direction.
Be sure to make several drainage holes in the bottom of the future pot. Hanging flowerpots are fastened using self-tapping screws to a wall, a wooden stand, or a reinforced lattice. Peat is poured inside and small annuals (for example, petunias) are planted.
Artificial flower beds on the site
Alternatively, plastic bottles can be used to make artificial flowers. For work, as a rule, it is enough to prepare a sharp knife, acrylic paints and clear varnish.
Using pre-prepared templates, cut out parts for decorative buds (petals, leaves, stems), which are covered with 1 layer of primer and acrylic paint.
Fix the resulting effect with 1-2 layers of transparent varnish. In practice, you can find optimal combinations of natural and artificial flowers in one flowerbed.
Unusual decor
If there is a lot of free space on the site, you can decorate it with interesting decorations. To do this, stick a wire into the ground and hang bottles on it. To make the composition more attractive, the containers should be painted in advance with bright colors.
Note!
Such decorations will last for many years and will always look original and fresh.
Mosaic flower beds made from bottles
An alternative to a complex carpet flower garden is a mosaic flower bed made from ordinary plastic bottles. For the job you will need paint of the desired colors (depending on the chosen palisade scheme), acrylic varnish and brushes. Instructions on how to decorate a flowerbed with your own hands:
- All plastic containers must be cleared of labels and washed thoroughly.
- After drying, the parts are coated with 1 layer of primer. The use of a primer increases the adhesion of acrylic to the underlying base, and also creates an additional protective coating for the plastic.
- All bottles are coated with acrylic paint and secured with 1-2 layers of clear varnish.
- A carpet flower bed is assembled in the selected area, focusing on the prepared diagram.
You can decorate such an original palisade with a border made of stones or gravel, a snow-white ball made of plastic bottoms, a funny figurine for children (a garden gnome, a mushroom or a pig from a 19-liter bottle). Photos of original flower beds made from bottles, made by yourself, will allow you to choose an option for decorating your dacha.
Candlesticks
Without any special tricks or additional accessories, a wine bottle will become an original candle holder for thin candles.
And for wider candles, you need to make holes in the bottom or wall of the container.
