I can't find a wide, on the shallow side, pot. So far, here's what I'm come up with. Either one of those aluminum roasters or a plastic tote/kitty liter box. I will be making a garden & possibly giving it to my preacher & his wife. I don't really like either if I'm giving away as a gift but these are I could find with that width & depth, something I could easily poke holes in, & was cheap.Which sould I go with & is there any way to make them look better?

I would go with the cat litter pan . I have tried moving the foil full and had bad results , just not strong enough.

Are you handy at carpentry? You can purchase single cedar fence panel boards at Home Depot/Lowe's for about $2.50 each, cut and nail/screw them into a simple box. Drop either the aluminum pan or plastic kitty pan (I like the kitty pan best ) into the cedar box and it will look lovely and make a nice gift.

Kitty litter pan with holes drilled into the bottom. The AL pan will quickly corrode away.

I would definitely suggest the kitty litter pan too...you can always spray paint it a nice bright color or terra cotta color. They sell that textured paint too that isn't very expensive and it will look like stone.

Another vote against aluminum because it bends too easily, sooo dangerous to move. The reflective quality of the sides is great for plants, but can be blinding when a human is trying to look at it.

You could paint whatever container you choose, or glue fabric, ribbons, sand, twigs, buttons, stickers/contact paper, use your imagination & what you have around you. The style of the decorations in the garden would probably lead you in a similar direction for decorating the outside. :+)

There's a mini gardening forum here, in case you hadn't noticed it. http://garden.org/forums/view/...

Kathy, I agree with everyone else ... the sturdier, heavier plastic kitty litter pan will work best; just be sure to drill a lot of drainage holes throughout the bottom. There are some neat looking miniature gardens pictured here:
https://www.google.com/search?...

Yup, I'd go with the litter pan also. It should be easy to put some holes in the bottom.

I would just hit up a garage sale or the dollar store for plastic bins. A "Kitter Litter" tray's price sometimes is jacked up because its for an animal. But you can find old rubber maid bins or cheaper ones, now that its BACK TO SCHOOL season on sale.

Ok herr's what I've got. Sorry about the quality of the pictures (& ignore junk!!!). My cousin gave me the container. Its hard to tell but I've spray painted the sides with that paint that looks like stone. I tried rubbing with some sandpaper first but it may not have been course enough. I've already got soil in it but do I need to spray some more paint or would it look too thick? Do I need to coat it with something to keep the paint from chipping or flaking?

Kathy... make it another 'yes' for the litter pan. As someone has mentioned, the aluminum will corrode too quickly. For plastic pans, don't forget to check second-hand stores like Goodwill and Salvation Army.

Looks good to me I do not think you need another coat unless there are some spots that are not covered that is not showing in the pic.
I am curious......what are you planting in the box?

Monthss ago I posted in the miniature gardening forum about this little figurine I got at a thrift store. Its of Jesus carrying a cross. My plan is to have the figurine going down a road towards 2 crosses (with space for the third). At the end of the road will be a cave (representing the tomb. Once thats in place, I'll figure what plants to put in.

While in the dollar store yesterday, I noticed some nice plastic pans that would make great little gardens.

That is going to be beautiful Kathy.

I love your theme. A true gift of love.
How about garbage picking? What to look for? A drawer from any type of furniture. I have seen some very creative planters made from drawers. I had an old wooden soda pop crate and lined it with moss and planted it mid-summer.

Along the container line of thought, but not for your current project, I want to share my up-side-down wire planter which I lined with cocoa mat, filled with potting soil, watered thoroughly, packed more soil in there, covered the top with more matting, tie wrapped wire cloth [1" holes] over the top and flipped it over. Then I planted winter hardy succilants. In the picture I have it sitting on a barrel, but later picked up a cheap 24" plant stand and put it in the garden shade.