Plastic Bottle Planters
Here is a fun and easy way to reuse a plastic bottle! These are the basic instructions for creating a plastic bottle planter. Creative fun for the kids and recycling those plastic bottles? We call that a win-win.
They look adorable with succulents (cactus or herbs would also work) and chances are the planters will last for a while.
You’ll need:
• Plastic bottles
• Sharpie
• Acrylic paint & brushes
• Pencil (for sketching details)
• Scissors
1. Use the sharpie to mark out the shape of your animal on the bottle.
2. With scissors roughly cut out your shapes. After the top of the bottle is removed go back around and clean up the edges. Wipe clean (make sure bottle is clean and dry).3. Paint the bottle with chosen shade of acrylic paint, this will take several coats. Tip: use a hair dryer to speed drying between coats. Spray paint made for plastic can be used if you already have a can at home.
4. Once dry, use the pencil to sketch the eyes, mouth, and other details, and paint over with your desired colours.
5. Fill with soil and your favourite succulents. These also make cute containers to keep anything in (pencils, food, toys, beads) as well as colourful décor for your kids’ room.
We hope you enjoyed our tutorial and if you make a one we would love to see a picture!
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Some Choice News!
DOC is rolling out a new tool to help figure out what to tackle first when it comes to protecting our threatened species and the things putting them at risk.
Why does this matter? As Nikki Macdonald from The Post points out, we’re a country with around 4,400 threatened species. With limited time and funding, conservation has always meant making tough calls about what gets attention first.
For the first time, DOC has put real numbers around what it would take to do everything needed to properly safeguard our unique natural environment. The new BioInvest tool shows the scale of the challenge: 310,177 actions across 28,007 sites.
Now that we can see the full picture, it brings the big question into focus: how much do we, as Kiwis, truly value protecting nature — and what are we prepared to invest to make it happen?
We hope this brings a smile!
Have you got New Zealand's best shed? Show us and win!
Once again, Resene and NZ Gardener are on the hunt for New Zealand’s best shed! Send in the photos and the stories behind your man caves, she sheds, clever upcycled spaces, potty potting sheds and colourful chicken coops. The Resene Shed of the Year 2026 winner receives $1000 Resene ColorShop voucher, a $908 large Vegepod Starter Pack and a one-year subscription to NZ Gardener. To enter, tell us in writing (no more than 500 words) why your garden shed is New Zealand’s best, and send up to five high-quality photos by email to mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz. Entries close February 23, 2026.
Share your favourite main crop potato recipe and win a copy of our mag!
Love potatoes? We will give away free copies of the May 2026 issue to readers whose potato recipes are used in our magazine. To be in the running, make sure you email your family's favourite way to enjoy potatoes: mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz, by March 1, 2026.
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