How To Turn Your Old Globe Into A Unique Garden Planter

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Vintage globes have a certain charm; perhaps an homage to a simpler era. While country names and borders may no longer be accurate enough to use as learning tools, older globes have plenty of visual appeal, making them ripe for repurposing. The globes that are easiest to take apart — and arguably the most common — are made of a chipboard-style cardboard or paper fibers. These are easy to identify because they sound like cardboard if you tap on them. This type also has a visual giveaway: A thin strip of printed tape around the perimeter to serve as the equator. While you could repurpose the globe in any number of ways, the average globe is a convenient size to transform into a planter or even two, if both halves come apart unscathed. 

To transform a globe into a hanging planter basket for the garden or your porch, you'll also need a cutting tool such as a utility knife or rotary tool, plus a clear outdoor sealant, some rubber grommets, and a hanging basket chain such as the Benvo 3-point hanging basket chain. Outfit your finished piece with abundant blooms such as succulents or calibrachoas, also known as million bells, that fill your hanging globe planter with bell-shaped blossoms. Instead of a hanging planter, you can also use a quarter of a globe as a wall sconce planter on your patio or outer garden shed wall, or set it on a stable base or stand as a container planter.

Once your globe planter is complete, add flowers such as 'Endless Illumination' browellia to attract more hummigbirds, thanks to its gorgeous purple blooms. It's also a fuss-free plant that's great for beginning gardeners.

Gently dust the globe with a microfiber cloth. Avoid getting a cardboard sphere too wet: It's not waterproof at this point. Carefully tug the equator tape off the globe; if it's stuck and seems like it wants to pull up some of the globe's paper, apply heat with a hairdryer to loosen the adhesive. In many cases on old globes, the tape is already loose. 

Carefully slice around the equator line with a sharp utility knife or a rotary tool outfitted with a cut-off wheel. Cardboard globes have an inner ring glued to both halves; the goal is to slice just through the globe so the halves can be pulled or twisted apart, away from the inner ring with a strong tug. Remove the ring and, if necessary, lightly sand the edge of the half-sphere smooth. 

To make a hanging planter, Drill three holes, equidistant from one another, for a place to add a hanging-basket chain. If you're going to add plants that require frequent watering, drill a few small drainage holes in the bottom of the globe half, too. For a sconce, you'll want to carefully cut the half-globe into a quarter, affix a half-moon wood backing to it, attaching that to the wall. Or set the half globe into a ring or something decorative like the Echo Valley 4061 low profile globe stand.

You'll want a sealant since this paper globe is outdoors, coating it inside and out. Follow instructions and drying times. You can also set a traditional container inside the globe to actually house the plant. Once your globe planter is complete, add flowers such as 'Endless Illumination' browellia to attract more hummigbirds, with its gorgeous purple blooms. It's also a fuss-free plant that's great for beginning gardeners.