A new use for tomato cages ~

I love tomato cages, you know those inexpensive ones you see at the discount stores. They come in several sizes. I never use them for supporting tomatoes because they just aren't big enough. But I have found them useful in other ways. 

 First I paint them with a rust color spray paint so they will blend better into the garden - Camouflage is the name of the color I use. Then I dress them up with finials. For a person like me who thrives on details both in the garden and in decorating, some sort of finial makes an important difference.

 To make the finials this time, I took some old bathroom cabinet door knobs, glued them on the top of pots and  spray painted them in my signature red color.

Very simple

Then set them on top of the over-turned tomato cages. The tension of the wires keeps them in place.

Voila! What I call a Poor Man's Tutor.

In the first picture below I used one as an ornamental way to keep this small and newly planted rose safe from being stepped on. 

And...

here in the vegetable garden I am using one to support climbing string beans. I will plant the bean seeds around the the bottom.

These are 4 foot tall tomato cages with a bottom diameter of 18 inches, but I also use the smaller ones depending on what I plan on using them for. The smaller sizes work well in pots for topiary.

In a casual cottage garden like mine these fit in perfectly, add architectural interest. a pop of color, and are useful. You might want to give one a try.

Thank you for visiting.I hope you have a wonderful day.