The Bug Hotel, Wightwick Manor, Wolverhampton, West Midlands: “This habitat is home to ladybirds, lacewing, frogs, and toads which help keep the garden pest free.” Photo: Declan O’Doherty. This bug hotel was made from a pallet using found objects, including bricks, terra cotta, stones, hay, pine cones, blocks and branches. The items are carefully arranged in the pallet slots, filling the horizontal spaces tightly. The end result is a natural work of functional apartment-art for the bugs!

The Bug Hotel, Wightwick Manor, Wolverhampton, West Midlands: “This habitat is home to ladybirds, lacewing, frogs, and toads which help keep the garden pest free.” Photo: Declan O’Doherty.

This bug hotel was made from a pallet using found objects, including bricks, terra cotta, stones, hay, pine cones, blocks and branches. The items are carefully arranged in the pallet slots, filling the horizontal spaces tightly. The end result is a natural work of functional apartment-art for the bugs!

What a great idea. Going on vacation? Who will water your container gardens while you are away? I tried this last year for a client, with great success. What I did:

1) create a hole in the container garden about 3” deep with the empty neck of the wine bottle;

2) fill the wine bottle with water (if you want to add decorative stones in the bottle to filter the water, do so first);

3) hold fingers over the opening of the bottle and quickly tip it upside down (straight up or at a slight angle) into the hole you’ve already made in the container; and

4) quickly nestle the bottle into the soil, tapping soil around the neck opening to make sure it is stable and upright.

Smaller containers: try a beer bottle or other decorative glass bottle!