Repurpose This Minty Fresh Staple To Easily Stabilize Water Plants in Your Pond

Adding a pond to your backyard brings in a whole new realm of possibilities. That pond could be a water feature with a fountain, a small waterfall, a few colorful fish, or some water-loving plants. Your pond could even become a nursery for dragonflies which would benefit your garden. It's a little trickier to add plants to a pond than it is to plant seedlings in a traditional, soil-based garden, however. If the plants aren't held in place in some way, they may not stay where you want them. Also, any fish in the pond might find think those roots are a tasty meal.

The good news is there's a simple way to secure and fish-proof those pond plant roots by upcycling something that might otherwise end up in the trash. That clear, classic Tic Tac container is still quite useful after its done holding breath mints. Its size makes for good housing for the roots of smaller water plants such as creeping jenny — that is, once you modify the container a bit. You'll need one Tic Tac container (including its lid) for each plant. This Tic Tac container hack would work well in shallow pond areas, in ponds that use a plastic liner as the structure, and even in this DIY water feature made from a barrel. If you don't have a barrel, you can transform an old tire into a stunning garden pond, too. 

To repurpose Tic Tac containers for pond-plant use, remove the labels and lid, then rinse the containers. Place the lid back on to give the container some strength as you cut it, then carefully cut off the bottom of the Tic Tac container with a sharp craft knife. Wear a work glove on the hand that's holding the box in place or set it in a small hobby vise, if you have one, for safety. Cut as straight as possible around the perimeter of the container, then cut off the flap that opens and closes on the lid. 

Place a rubber band around the root area of the plant to more easily push them into the modified Tic Tac container and make sure the roots stay inside the container when you're done. Though creeping jenny is often used as groundcover or in hanging baskets, this water-loving plant works well in an aquascape, too. Of course, it's not the only plant this will work with. 

Turn the Tic Tac lid upside down and set a pebble in it; the pebble should be small enough so it doesn't block the hole, but large enough to weigh the container down. While the lid is upside down with the stone in it, push it onto the bottom of the container covering the plant's roots. Now set the container down in the pond somewhere along the perimeter.