I started gardening when my boys were very young.  When they were playing outside, I needed to be there to watch and supervise them.  While I would play with them, I found myself thinking of ways to enhance my landscaping and would decide to do something new to plant. When I were planting, I would have the boys help me.  As young boys, their favorite thing was to haul mom’s supplies with their Tonka trucks.  I would often have to walk behind them and pick up plants, rocks and/or mulch that bounced out of their trucks, or weeds that never quite made it to the disposal area. Now that my boys are older and no longer playing in the yard, I still  enjoy the time in my gardens.  Working in my gardens has become a relaxing and creative thing to do.

One of my more recent joys is to make art for my gardens.  One of these yard art pieces was a beaded watering can that I posted about two years ago (July 12, 21017).  Recently, I saw another watering can idea and decided to add it to my gardens.

So, another new project – a lighted watering can!

Materials

• Watering Can. Unable to find a copper one to match the copper art in my yard, I found a copper colored brass one at Target that I decided would work.
• Fairy lights.  I originally tried using solar lights, but found that they did not last.  After one week, and trying several different types of rechargeable batteries, they would not hold a charge.  To replace them, I purchased battery operated lights that had a four hour timer. These have been in my yard for over a month and are still working well.
• Drill with metal drill bit.
• Support to hold battery case inside the watering can.
• GorillaWeld epoxy
• Brass wire
• Shepherd’s Hook

Steps:

1. To allow for water to drain, drill a hole in the bottom of the watering can on the same side as the spout.
2. To help keep the battery case from getting wet, mount a support for the case to the inside of the watering can on the same side as the handle.  The case will be protected by the metal of the can and less likely to be damaged by rain.  To mount mine, I searched Home Depot for ideas and settle on a piece of CordMate plastic that was mounted with GorillaWeld epoxy. Follow the directions an allow the epoxy to set properly before proceeding.
3. Carefully feed the wires of the fairy lights through the spout of the watering can.  This is a slow and tedious step.  I found that feeding two strands at a time was more successful than trying to push several through together.
4. Insert batteries and place the battery case on the support piece inside the can.
5. Detemine the best hanging spot and hang using a Shepherd’s Hook. I drilled two small holes in the watering can handle and used a piece of brass wire to keep the can at the angle that looked best. Depending upon what watering can you use, you may or may not need to do this step.