The Find
Thank goodness for people who leave the broken parts with the rest, so that someone could fix it if they wanted. That was the case when I found this large planter with a cool patterned exterior a few weeks ago.
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| Broken planter, overhead view |
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| Broken planter, side view |
I liked the patterns on the outside that reminded me of cuneiform. So even though it was heavy (as large ceramics tend to be), I'm glad I muscled up and carried it home from the neatly arranged trash pile.
The Repair
My friend already had some epoxy on hand. The brand has worn off the labels, but the epoxy is the kind the is stored in two bottles, you have to mix Part A and Part B together on a mixing surface and apply it within a short amount of time. So after dry-fitting the broken parts to the main planter I got my gloves on and got to the gluing. No pictures from the epoxy-application portion because I had to work quickly
The Results
The epoxy dried clear but still 'wet' looking. The epoxied connections felt quite secure after drying for a few hours. However, I knew I wasn't going to be attempting to stress the repairs. Whenever I move the planter I pick it up by the main, intact, section.
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| Repaired planter with epoxy joints, oblique view |
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| Repaired planter, 3 re-attached pieces, top view |
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| Repaired planter, side view |
Conclusion
During a different evening walk I had found a large plastic plant pot in someone's discard pile. I thought it would be perfect to use as a planter stuck in the corner so the logo wouldn't be visible, or perhaps an insert in a cachepot (although I didn't have one at the time). Really I was just looking for more free dirt-holding containers to use for growing strawberries. But this it fit perfectly inside this pink pot....
The pink patterned planter does have a drainage hole in the bottom, but I didn't want dirt pressing directly against the side of the pot and potentially stressing the repaired parts. **Another** happy coincidence was finding a slightly sad, but large, geranium plant on sale for $2.99.
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| Repaired planter with plastic insert and geranium plant |
The geranium got repotted into the larger white insert and that got placed inside the newly repaired pink patterned planter.
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| Geranium in newly repaired planter |
Happy Freestyling. Don't be afraid to find your own scavenged beauty.