Friday, January 16, 2009

I might be old, but I'm someone new

boots2_img_2161
The recent house move was the last straw for my old boots. I've had these since I moved from the checkouts to doing more grocery/stock work at Coles, during uni in the mid 90s. They saw me through all sorts of grotty endeavours, from shelf stacking and pallet hauling in the wee hours, polished up for checkout work too, a walk up Mt Kosciusko (though I can't really recommend this style to stand in for hiking boots - they roll a bit easily), and years of mowing the yard. The soles are drastically worn away. With some regret I chucked them in the bin.
boots img_2166
That chewed section of the side elastic was courtesy of Mia, when she was a puppy. She also liked to fish out the insoles and have a go at them.

We forgot to put the bins out for collection today. And I know the boots are still sitting at the top. Inspired by Bezzie's fun use of a pair of accidentally felted socks, I'm tempted to fish them out again, fill them up with potting mix and throw in some seeds.

Bezzie's idea is more original - I'm sure many people have planted things in boots. It might even be a corny idea in the garden world. I have no idea what I would plant. I pretty much have a black thumb, and don't really garden. At all. Any ideas?

4 comments:

Donna Lee said...

I think some ivy flowing out of them would look wonderful! And they're leather so, eventually they would decompose (except for the soles). I had neighbors when I was growing up that had an old toilet in their front yard with flowers in it. Really tacky but attention getting.

Rose Red said...

Love the idea of planting something in them (it has been done before, but so what!). I don't have much advice about what to plant - ivy might be a good idea. Or maybe a really pretty flower - would be a fab contrast to the no-nonsense boots!

Philosophical Karen said...

Ivy is very easy to grow, but it's just green. If it were me, I'd go with pansies for colour.

Or...

What about ivy in the boots, but pair them with a terra cotta flowerpot of pansies?

Gardening is easy. You just add plants to soil, and give them water and sunlight. (Just keep the soil relatively moist, and make sure there's a bit of shade in the hottest part of the afternoon.)

Doesn't matter what colour your thumb is. :)

Michelle said...

Geraniums! They'd be the perfect size for them.