This Easy Patio Chair Upgrade Will Elevate Your Vegetable Garden — Literally

Fresh fruits and vegetables may just be the best thing about spring and summer. Sure, modern grocery stores carry zucchini and strawberries year-round, but there's a noticeable difference in the quality and flavor of these and other fresh foods when they're in season and grown locally versus the dead of winter when they've traveled thousands of miles. This is especially true for those who cultivate their own gardens — after all, you can't get more local than your very own backyard.

If you've never had a summer garden before, among the best vegetable gardening tips for beginners is to avoid breaking the bank by purchasing a bunch of seeds and supplies. There are lots of fruits and veggies you can grow from grocery store scraps, and you can save money on raised beds and gardening containers by adhering to the guidelines many of us were taught in elementary school — reduce, reuse, recycle. Not only can you use empty yogurt containers to start seedlings for your garden, you can also revitalize plastic lawn chairs and lidless storage totes to create a colorful and quirky raised bed-style setup.

The idea is to turn the totes into planters and set them on the seats of the lawn chairs, making it easier to maintain beds of salad greens and delicious and beautiful edible flowers. Though you could simply use these items as they come, unifying them with a few coats of spray paint turns them into a pretty and practical art piece.

The first step to getting this low-cost, high-impact DIY raised bed garden started is to choose your chairs and garden containers. Discarded plastic chairs are best, but you'll want to make sure they're still sturdy with a fairly substantial seat. It's just as important to make sure your garden containers fit easily between the arms of the chairs without sticking out too far, as unstable chairs and unwieldy containers can cause your garden to collapse.

The next step is to clean up these items and get them painted in the colors of your choice. You can use a single color for everything, choose a gradient from dark to light, show your pride with ROYGBIV, or color-code each chair to indicate what kind of plants it houses and the care they need. For instance, plants requiring full sun might be in a yellow chair, while shade-lovers might be seated in a chair painted gray or dark blue. You can also decorate your containers by painting flowers or other designs on them, or covering them with patterned contact paper that coordinates with each chair, choosing among florals, fruit-forward patterns, gingham or buffalo check for an outdoorsy, rustic flair.

When painting your patio chairs, make sure they're completely clean so the paint adheres properly. Wiping them down with alcohol wipes and a once-over with fine-grit sandpaper will give the paint something to grip, so your lovely new elevated garden won't need an update for several seasons.