How to make a Bicycle tyre planter

I usually have no trouble maintaining my garden but this border has been a pain in the butt for years. With all the rain we have been having here in Australia my flower beds have been overrun with weeds and grass.  Every year this flower bed gets stripped of grass and weeds and every year it all comes back.  So this year I wanted to create a low maintenance flower bed using bicycle tyres and logs to make planters.

DIY Succulent planter

The second issue I have, is my new fur babies don’t like my garden to have succulents.  And have taken it upon themselves to dig them all up.  So to save my succulents I had to transfer them to the front of the house. They are cute but so naughty. The summers here in Australia can be very hot and my succulents that are around the front of the house tend to struggle with the all-day sun.  The idea was to have the bicycle tyre planter in the flower beds most of the year and during our peak hot months, I could lift the bicycle tyre planter up and move them to a more sheltered area.

DIY Succulent planter

How to make Low maintenance garden

**This post may contain affiliate links. This means I earn a small commission on links used at no extra cost to you. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.*

Prepare the flower bed

I am ashamed to say this is how my flower bed looked after all the rain stopped.

DIY Succulent planter

It was an easy task to pull all the weeds out because the ground was so soft from all the rain. Once all the weeds were out I used roundup weed killer and sprayed a generous amount over all the soil.  This will kill any grassroots left behind.

DIY Succulent planter

To stop the weeds from growing back if there were any I missed, I put a sheet of good quality weed mat over the soil.  You can buy the weed mat pegs that hold the mat down to prevent lifting over time.  I bought some large stones from our local garden centre to put on top of the weed mat.

DIY Succulent planter

How to Make a Bicycle Tyre Planter

Because I have so many succulents, I wanted a large round shallow planter, which proved hard to find.  So I decided to make my own planters from old bicycle tyres.  Car tires were too deep for what I had in mind. I had these bicycle tyres in my shed and thought they would work perfectly as planters.  I sprayed the tyres with brown spray paint before I started.

DIY Succulent planter

To open up the tyre I used broken clothes pegs and glued them to the inside of the tyre.  This just makes it easier to work with.  The soil will eventually hold the shape. The idea was to have a stand-alone planter just placed in among the stones.  But I also had to stop the soil from running out and causing more weeds to grow in the flower bed. To keep the soil in I started by adding a layer of chicken wire to the tyre.

DIY Succulent planter

You can drill holes in the bicycle tyre and attach the chicken wire using cable ties and scrap wire. I folded all the excess wire inside to prevent injury when lifted.

DIY Succulent planter

To prevent the soil from falling out of the tyre planter I used a piece of old yoga mat at the bottom.

DIY Succulent planter

Because the planter will be shallow, I added a lining from a hanging basket.  Succulents don’t need much water but soil this shallow will dry out quickly.

DIY Succulent planter

Next, add soil suitable for succulents and add your succulents to the planter.

DIY Succulent planter

I did not add too many because I wanted space for them to spread out.

DIY Succulent planter

To give my area a nicer look I added some wooden logs that have been hollowed out and filled with succulents.

DIY Succulent planter

These logs give the flowerbed a great and unique look.

DIY Succulent planter

For some added decoration, you can add some smaller pots with succulents.

DIY Succulent planter

You can also add some garden ornaments to the area. And that was my bicycle tyre planters completed.

DIY Succulent planter

One year on

Because I have so many projects on the go at the same time it does take me ages to catch up on the tutorials.  It has been almost a year since I added these planters so I have added some updated photos of how well they have grown.  I did have some casualties in the log planters but the majority of the succulents thrived. Please ignore the lopsided bush trimming. I had to stand on the back of my sons truck to reach.  And due to the heavy rains again this year I did not think my neighbour would be too happy if I drove on her lawn.lol

This log planter did not fare too well, I only had two plants that survived.

This was the only succulent that survived in the small pots all the others died.

More Planter ideas

One of my tree ferns died and I felt it was too much work to dig it up.  So I turned it into a succulent tree.

Succulent tree

If you have some scrap wood lying around, you could try your hand at this simple planter.

DIY Succulent planter

Pinterest pin

How to create a low maintenance garden using bicycle tires as planters. How to create a low maintenance border in your garden

If you are looking for any of the items used in this project, please consider using our links. By clicking on the links we will earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.  Which helps us come up with new and exciting ideas to share with you. Please feel free to share or leave a comment we would love to hear your thoughts.

You Might Also Like

17 Comments

  • Reply
    Susan
    November 1, 2021 at 9:52 pm

    Great idea!

  • Reply
    Michelle Leslie
    November 1, 2021 at 10:16 pm

    Aiiiiiiii, those fur babies 😀 Our husky x lab used to do the same. Anything that came out of the ground that had a flower would be removed in minutes. If it didn’t have a flower, she’d leave it alone. I have to remember your bicycle planter trick if one of our other fur babies start acting up.

    • Reply
      Anita Holland
      November 3, 2021 at 1:21 pm

      Thanks Michelle. I got rid of everything they can chew, now they are chewing my trees. Lol

  • Reply
    Rosemary Palmer
    November 1, 2021 at 11:25 pm

    I used to have an area which was like this, but mine was on a hill. I tried rocks once and they kept washing away. Love this.

    • Reply
      Anita Holland
      November 3, 2021 at 1:21 pm

      Thanks Rosemary, It has worked well no grass amount the stones this year.

  • Reply
    Sara
    November 2, 2021 at 12:38 am

    Wow Anita – I’m so impressed with this garden idea! Just brilliant to use the bicycle tires! I wonder what the fur babies find so attractive?

    • Reply
      Anita Holland
      November 3, 2021 at 1:23 pm

      Thanks so much Sara, I have no idea why they do it think they are just naughty. They pulled up all my irrigation pipes this week. Grr

  • Reply
    Marty Walden
    November 2, 2021 at 8:46 am

    So creative and what a gift you have with landscaping! That’s not my area of expertise for sure!

    • Reply
      Anita Holland
      November 3, 2021 at 1:23 pm

      Thanks Marty, I am no big gardener that is why I went for a low maintenance area. I would rather play in my shed or craft room.

  • Reply
    Lori Nell
    November 3, 2021 at 3:01 am

    What a wonderful improvement on the space! Your guide is thorough and very helpful! As always!

  • Reply
    Christina
    November 4, 2021 at 1:02 am

    Wow the space looks awesome and what a super great idea to recycle bicycle tires!

  • Reply
    Marie - Interior Frugalista
    November 4, 2021 at 1:17 am

    I’m so jealous you can grow succulents outdoors. Great idea for keeping those mischievous cuties out. I wonder if there is a scent that dogs don’t like that you can mix into the soil.

    • Reply
      Anita Holland
      November 4, 2021 at 11:54 am

      Thanks Marie, I have no idea why they do it. I think mine are just destructive nothing is safe when they are around.

  • Reply
    Anita Holland
    November 8, 2021 at 11:29 am

    Thank you so much, here in Australia the cold is not so severe it is the summers that kill my succulents around the front. The ones under my trees spread like you would not believe.

  • Leave a Reply

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.