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Step 1
Find a place in your yard to put your freestanding bathtub planter. You may wish to make it a centerpiece of your yard, place it beside the house or tuck it into a corner for an interesting surprise. Consider the optimum light requirements of the plants you want to grow and choose a location that will meet those requirements.
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Step 2
Place bricks underneath the bathtub or build up soil on one end to create a gentle slope so water will move toward the end with the drain. Use a level to check the slope, and test it by pouring some water in to see if most runs out of the drain.
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Step 3
Fill the bottom three to four inches of the bathtub with stones or rocks. Use stones from your garden or river rocks larger than the drain hole so they don't wash away as water drains. Fill the tub garden the rest of the way with your preferred growing medium, such as compost or potting soil mixtures.
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Step 4
Select plants for your bathtub container garden. Grow herbs, vegetables or an assortment of ornamental flowers, depending upon your preference.
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Step 5
Consider plant arrangement. If your bathtub is in the center of your yard, place higher-growing plants down the center, with shorter plants around it and trailing vine plants toward the edges. If your tub garden is against a wall or fence, or tucked in a corner, place taller plants toward the back, with plants getting lower as they move toward the front and trailing vines overhanging the edges. Place starter plants in plastic pots on top of the soil to help you decide on a pleasing arrangement.
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Step 6
Transplant seedlings into your bathtub planter. Water the garden thoroughly and add a layer of mulch around plants to keep moisture in and weeds out.
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Step 7
Decorate your garden further by placing some smaller planters at the base of your bathtub garden or poking an attractive garden sign or ornament into the soil. Consider fitting a hose with a pipe and add a shower sprinkler to overhang the bathtub.
