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DIY Hose Pot Holder

This DIY hose pot project will give you a place to put your hose and will also add a decorative touch to your garden bed.

Hoses are a necessity for any well cared for garden, but they often end up messy, tangled and full of kinks from sitting out on your lawn or garden bed.  

This DIY hose pot keeps a garden hose out of sight and adds a decorative touch to a garden bed.

Keep your Hose Tidy with this DIY Hose Pot Holder Project.

There are lots of ways to keep a hose more tidy. Some feature reels that are attached to a wall, or are held in place by looping the hose around a decorative hook of some sort.

One new way that I discovered this year is to use a hose pot.

Note: Power tools, electricity, and other items used for this project can be dangerous unless used properly and with adequate precautions, including safety protection. Please use extreme caution when using power tools and electricity. Always wear protective equipment, and learn to use your tools before you start any project.

What are hose pots?

Hose pots are basically a large pot that holds your hose in place.  Some are just a pot, and some have inserts to wind the hose around.

They all have a hole in the side of the pot for the hose to enter from the faucet end, and often have drainage holes in the bottom so that water will not sit in the pot and damage the hose.

Some also have covers.  They look great in the garden and, to the eye, they appear to be a decorative container that blends in on your deck, patio, or in your garden bed.

This is what my current hose holder looked like.  Very obvious, right? There is no mistaking what this contraption is used for.

I wanted something that people would love the look of, but not really know why it was sitting in the garden bed.

And I wanted to add some curb appeal by removing my old, unsightly, hose holder.  Also, I never used it.

Our preferred method of hose storage was leaving it like a snake in the grass.  old hose holder

After pricing hose pots, I knew that even though I wanted one, there had to be a cheaper way to use the idea of hose storage and decoration without the expense of a store bought product.

So off my husband and I went on a shopping trip to see what we could come up with to fashion into a hose pot.  I figured it was worth the afternoon to see if we could save $50 or so. 

We started out by looking at all varieties of decorative planters.  Our main problem was that the planter would need a large hole drilled into the side of it to let the hose enter.

Ceramic ones were out, in my mind, since I did not want to test a $50 planter to a drill bit, only to discover later that it shattered the pot.

This was a shame because I found many designs and shapes that would have worked.Ceramic Planters

Next we investigated the selection of plastic pots.  These could be drilled into with no problem, but I had my heart set on a cover for the hose pot and, of course, no planters had this.

My husband suggested plant saucers upside down at this point and received a well deserved look of scorn from me. 

But he redeemed himself quickly.  We were looking around a place here in Raleigh, called At Home, and he suggested looking around the whole store to see what else they might have in stock that would work.

We wandered the aisles, and while I was looking at bird houses that I might somehow fashion into a hose pot holder, he said “lookie, lookie.”  And I fell in love.  (with the product and with him a little bit more.)galvanized tub

I have long loved galvanized garden accessories, so as soon as I saw this, I knew I had to have it and somehow make it into my hose pot.

It was a galvanized trunk with a hinged lid and it was the perfect size.

The first step was to get rid of the rope.  It was a nice accent, but made the trunk too nautical for the look that I wanted.  I got some 26 gauge copper wire and replaced the rope with a single strand of the wire.    The copper is a great choice, because it matches the patina that is already on the galvanized trunk.The copper wire replaces the rope cross.Next came the hole for the hose to slide through.  First we had to protect the finish of the trunk with gray duct tape.

I used a can of whipped topping to draw the outline of the hole.  We put it about 4 inches up from the bottom in case the trunk sinks into the ground from the weight of a hose in it.first draw your hole

 Now we had to drill the hole. This is where my husband’s honey do list got longer.  (well, he was the one who found the trunk, so fair’s fair, right?)

This involved drilling a few holes to start and then cutting the galvanized tin with a pair of tin snips. A little bit of time with hubbie and his drill and the holes were made. drill some holes and finish by using tin snips to cut the circle.

The hole was rough where the holes had been drilled.  We carefully removed the duct tape and smoothed the hole with some emery paper.  A metal file would work too.File the edges of the hole to make it smoothWe had to reinforce the side hole, so that it would not rip my hose apart.

A trip to a local car and motorcycle salvage yard was just the thing to save money.  My husband knows the owner so it did not cost us anything. It is amazing how resourceful my husband can be at times!salvage yardSome plastic gas tubing from the fuel line of a motorcycle did the trick nicely.  It needed a cut with a razor blade all along the length of the fuel line.A motorcycle fuel line will protect my hose.

The fuel line tubing fit over the hole, and some glue keeps it in place quite nicely.  The plastic protect my hose from the sharp edges in the back and looks good, too.Plastic tubing protects the hole All that was left to be done now was to remove the old hose holder from the wall, position my galavanized tub and snake my garden hose through the hole and wind the hose into the tub.

It fits perfectly, and the positioning of the tub allows the side of the house to support the lid of the tub open while I water.

The opening is quite large and this makes it easy for the hose to be curled up each time when it is not being used.Hose potOver time, the galvanized tub will weather with a nice patina.   It adds a lovely decorative accent to my front garden bed and gives our modest house some much needed curb appeal.  My total costs was $39.99 for the tub, and $1.39 for the copper wire.

Since hose pots are about $89.99-$129.99, this was a great savings and I love the way it looks.

How do you store your hose?  Do you hide it, display it, or leave it like a snake on your lawn?  I have done all three, and I love my hidden hose the most!

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Patsy Fitzgerald

Sunday 30th of April 2023

Looking for hose pots

Mrs. Faye

Tuesday 13th of September 2022

Hello and thanks for your extremely creative DIY! Hopefully,my project will turn out as well as yours did! Thanks and be blessed!

Jess

Wednesday 15th of July 2015

I just love the part where you used the fuel line to cover the edges of the hose hole. It's so creative, and it just looks great that way!

What a fun project, thanks for sharing. :)

admin

Wednesday 15th of July 2015

thanks Jess. This was one of my favorite DIY projects. I love the way it turned out.

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