How to Turn Broken Wine Glasses Into Awesome Coconut Planters
What is it with wine glasses? They always seem to break off near the stem when they drop. Which happens quite often in our house. Yup, we like to party. Not the drugs, sex and rock and roll kind of parties, mind you. More like big bonfires, drumming circles and kumbaya till the early hours of the morning. So when our wine glasses break, what do we do? We turn them into fairy garden cloches or make these awesome coconut planters. It’s way more fun than just throwing them away 😀
They look stunning as a rustic centerpiece and can be made in a few hours, depending on the glue you use 😉
Why do coconuts make great planters
Coconuts make great planters for several reasons:
- Natural Materials: Coconuts are made of natural materials and are biodegradable, making them environmentally friendly.
- Durable: The hard, woody exterior of a mature coconut is sturdy and will last a long time under the right conditions.
- Nutrients: Coconut fibre contains nutrients that are beneficial for plants. As the coconut decomposes, it releases nutrients into the soil, which helps the plant to grow.
- Portable: Coconuts are lightweight and easy to carry, making them ideal for transporting plants.
- Aesthetically Pleasing: Coconuts have a unique and attractive appearance that can add a tropical and exotic feel to any garden or indoor space.
Coconut planters are an excellent way to reuse natural resources and promote sustainable gardening practices.
Okay, before we get to all the good stuff, be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or Instagram. And don’t forget to subscribe so you’ll never miss a post!
Right, let’s grab those broken glasses and some coconuts and let’s get cracking, shall we 😉
Broken Glass. It’s just like glitter, isn’t it?
First things first. Cutting the coconuts and getting all the yumminess out to use later
How To Cut and Clean A Coconut
We prefer to buy our coconuts fresh since it works out cheaper, and I love the taste of the meat when it hasn’t been desiccated yet. It’s not so coconutty 😀 Did you know that the dried meat inside is called Copra? Me neither. Anyways, to cut and clean the coconut, you’ll need a glass (to drain the milk), a hacksaw and a knife. Remove all the hair on the outside of the coconut. Don’t throw it away. You can use the hair to make these adorable miniature bird nests. Look for three little indents at the bottom of the coconut. One of the indents will feel more squishy than the others.
Grab a sharp knife and dig that little squishy indent and the meat behind it.
Flip the coconut onto the glass and drain the milk. Once empty, you can cut it in half with a hacksaw.
Scoop the meat out with a knife and save those inside bits for later. You can hop on over to my friend Jas’s delicious cooking blog to get some amazing coconut recipes BTW.
Turning the Broken Wine Glasses and Coconuts into Planters
Attaching the stem
Eyeball the thickness of the wine stem and grab a drill bit that’s a little bit thicker and make a hole in the bottom, center of the coconut half. You’ll only need to drill into one of the halves since the indents should be wide enough for the stem of the wine glass to fit into. Don’t forget to drill a few small drainage holes too 😉
Mix some strong all-purpose glue and attach the wine stem to the coconut half. We used Pratley Steel Quickset, but any waterproof, non-toxic glue like E6000 should work.
To hide the glue, add some of the coconut hair around the stem.
Once the glue dries, you can start filling the planters.
Adding the plants
You can add any small plants to the coconut planters. We put succulents in ours.
I think the spikey job in the picture above is a Gasteria Flow. They’re often confused with Aloes, but they require less light and make ideal house plants. They get their name from the sac-like shape of their flowers, which are supposed to resemble a stomach, hence the name Gasteria. Ours have never flowered, so I’m not 100% sure.
The little trailing plant is a Crassula pellucida. One of my all-time fav indigenous succulents. She’s super easy to grow. Just cut one of her trails off and stick it in the ground. Each little leaf produces roots, and a new plant will form in no time.
I'm a succu for these coconut wine glasses 😉
So next time someone breaks a wine glass, don’t throw it away. Save the bits and turn them into coconut planters instead. Or, if you prefer an elegant and stylish alternative that doesn’t involve a coconut, then you can use the broken wine glass stems to make these beauties.
And if you don’t have a bunch of friends that break wine glasses, this quick video will show you just how easy it is to cut the stem off a wine glass so you can turn them into planters too.
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If you like the idea of turning broken wine glasses into rustic coconut planters, don’t forget to pin it for later.
And if you ever need to clean a coconut, there’s a pin for that too 😉
More broken wine glass tutorials
- If you’re not a big fan of coconuts or can’t find any fresh ones, you can make something similar using cups or ceramic holders.
- Those broken stems are also perfect for creating a dreamy, upcycled candle holder.
- On the odd occasion when the stem breaks and you’re left with a stemless wine glass, these tutorials will show you how you can upcycle the bowl
Let me know what you think and if you have any other ideas on what we can do with broken wine glasses. I know we’ll have a few more the next time we’re singing folk songs around the campfire 😉 Don’t have any broken wine glasses? No problem, I’ve got you covered. Disclosure: If you click the links below, we may receive a commission from Amazon. But don’t worry, it won’t come out of your pocket, and it helps us buy new wine glasses for our next party 😉
And as always hope you all have a beautiful crafty, and love-filled week. Thank you for popping in for a visit. We hope you’ll be back for more.
I love this project idea! Totally fits with my tropical theme.
Thanks so much Erlene ?
Wow!! Great use of the broken wine glasses. It can even be used for decorating tables of the restaurant with same concept. In place of using the vases, this is the great stuff.
So glad you like them Benjamin. Thank you ?
¡Muy buena idea!
Muchas gracias Luis
This is the coolest project!!!
Thank you Janine
I know, right?!!??
😀
What a cool project! I love how these turned out.
Thanks so much Sarah
Hahaha!! We have the same issues with champagne glasses in our house!! Will have to hang onto them the next time they break!! Fabulous creative idea!!
? If I had to try drink champagne I would be on my ear or on my butt ? Thanks so much Sam
What a cute idea and a great repurpose for something that would otherwise go in the recycle bin.
Thank you Toni ? We were just playing around with the goblet piece of the glass last weekend and there are so many recycle possibilities for that bit too.
Oh so cute!! I need a coconut. And a wine glass.
I love them. Pinned and shared!
🙂 gwingal
Thank you Nikki ❣
Love it! Let’s break some glasses!
Yes!!!! ?
What a fun tropical kinda Lahaina feel to them! Don’t eat fresh coconuts, but might just to do this project. Oh yeah, then I need to find the stems as I don’t really drink wine!
Thank you Kathy ? We don’t drink wine either but we have loads of friends who do ?
Michelle, these coconut planters are amazing!! You’re really too clever! Such a pretty repurpose.
Thank you Keri, I’m super happy with how they turned out
My mouth always opens aaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!! I love, love, love it! You can work as a florist also, you know that? The combination of the plants is perfect! Excellent work and idea my friend. Unfortunately I throw away all my broken glasses last summer 🙁
Thanks my friend, that means alot ?
I’m a florist and I love the idea! I have thrown all of my broken wine glasses and stems away reluctantly always feeling there must be something to useful purpose for them. Now that I found out what I can’t wait to make some and I love coconut. I might suggest a small filler of pea gravel at the base of the base of the shell for any excess water and a little air. Since they don’t need much water they are good for newbies! Great idea????
I have to remember that Debbie. I put a few small stone in before adding the soil but I probably should have added a bit more
What a brilliant idea, Michelle! Happy New Year, my friend.
Thank you Mia, and happy New Year to you too my friend
This is such a wild idea, but I love it! I don’t often buy fresh coconuts (I always have trouble cracking them open), but I do love the taste. The idea of using the shells as planters is really, really amazing though. What a great way to reuse those wine stems, too 🙂
Thanks so much Jelica and you’re right, they’re really hard to crack open.
O M G this is amazing, what a great idea of using those wine glasses and converting them into coconut planters. I am coming to your house whenever there is a party.
I use a lot of coconut in my recipes, but getting fresh coconut and getting fresh flesh is a lot of work. I know in Hindi also the inside flesh of the dried coconut is called copra.
Oh yay Sadhna, then I can taste some of those delicious dishes you’re always cooking.
This is such a fun idea, I love the coconuts, this would be brilliant in the summer time.
Thanks so much Ellie ?
I really adore these glass coconut planters. You really did awesome work and really impressed me because of it. That is a one of a kind planter.
Thank you Elizabeth, I’m glad you like them
This is crazily brilliant! Do you have any idea how long such a coconut husk lasts? It’s so environmentally friendly and so cool!
Oh that’s so good to know Tiffany, thank you. I’d love the planters to be around for a long time
OMG Michelle, I have to go and break a wine glass and buy a coconut! This is such a genius, cool, and beautiful idea! I just love it!!! You should submit this to Somerset Home or Reloved Magazine. I wish, we’d live close to each other. We would have so much fun playing with junk and each other’s furry babies, don’t you think?
You asked how Barney and Cosmo get along. Actually pretty well. They both know that Barney is the boss. 🙂
Ahhh I’m glad to hear that and Barney is the oldest so he deserves the respect and wouldn’t it be just amazing if we stayed closer Julia. We would have an absolute ball ?
A totally clever idea Michelle! Never would have thought this up in a million years, but I can see how the coconut halves would make awesome planters. Shaped just right. I say let’s just go break some glasses!
I say YES, let’s do that Florence ?
Now, that is a really amazing idea! Truly original. Love it!
Awwww Kim, thank you so much ?
So Creative! Looks amazing. Thank you. That was not as complicated as I thought it would be.
Thanks Karrie, they’re actually really easy to make once the coconut has been cut ?
Wow!! That is totally impressive. Such a great and smart idea to make a coconut planter from a broken wine glass.
Thank you Agnes, real glad you like it ?
That is really amazing! Impressive indeed! You are so creative! I like seeing adorable crafts like this out of the smart ideas. Awesome!
Thanks so much Shub ?
I took me a minute to figure out that you weren’t cutting straight through the hole from the indent that you drained the milk out of but were rather using that hole instead of having to drill one in that half. Now I’m off to find some coconuts and have a wine party and hope somebody breaks a glass!
LOL, Karlee hope you find some coconuts and enjoy the party ?
Ooo those are so beautiful!! I loved the final result. This definitely has an island vibe!
They do hey ? Thank you Nicole
What fantastic coconut planters Michelle! And you made it look so easy!
Thanks Maya. They were real easy to put together. Probably the most difficult thing was cutting the coconut in half and the hubby did all of that for me ?
oooh this is such a great and creative idea! i don’t have wine glass but i know my parents have so many and also broken so many! i should send them this post!
Your parents sound like my kinda people ?
Thats such a cute and creative idea! Would the coconuts get moldy?
I don’t think so Kym. The wood is surprisingly hard and as long as there’s sufficient drainage it should last a long time
This is the most creative thing I’ve seen today! What a great use of broken wine glasses.
Thanks so much Chelsee, I’m glad you like them
Michelle your tutorials and creative genius are sooo good! I don’t think I could ever think up something like this. What a cool idea! I smashed a glass at Christmas but I binned it unfortunately!
Awwww that’s a pity, we have a few more I could send to you ?
These are darling and such a wonderful idea. My wine glasses are always breaking and I love the thought on turning what’s left of them into room art like this.
I’m real glad you like them Kesha, thank you ?
Such an amazing idea to resuse old wine glasses which are damaged or broken…coconut planters add such a beachy vibe to the home!
They do and they make the most amazing mini serving bowls if you polish them up nicely
I actually have a succulent that needs relocating from it’s current small pot because it “gave birth” to a cactus next to it (don’t ask me how, I have no idea how a cactus ended up in the same pot, haha). I always break wine glasses as well when I wash them as I am really clumsy. This would be a perfect solution for my little succulent to have it’s own dedicated beautiful pot to grow alone in.
? They tend to do that – make little babies when we’re not looking and I’m sure the little one will be very happy in a coconut wine glass
Wow – this is so creative. Mine normally crack through the cup part, I’d never even considered thinking about how to upcycle them. Not only is the topic of this post creative, but I LOVE the look & layout of the post, especially the pinterest post. Let me know if you want to join my SA Mommy Bloggers Pinterest Board and I will add you as a collaborator. #lekkerlinky
That would be awesome, thank you
This is such a good idea and a cute way to display succulents! Our wine glasses tend to shatter, but occasionally breaks at the stem. Now I know what to with them the next time it happens! ?
LOL Sam, I think ours are the really cheap ones which is probably why they break at the stem although we have had a few shattered ones too ?
This is so creative and beautiful. The broken wine glasses make a beautiful setup and the coconut gives it so amazing look. I am going to try this, I already have few broken wine glasses from the get-togethers over the holidays.
That’s so cool Preet. Let me know how yours turn out ?
What an incredible use for a broken wine glass! I love your creativity!
? Thank you Cindy
Coconut planters? This is probably the coolest DIY i’ve seen in a while. It would be great for summer!
Thanks so much Erica
Very clever idea! I have never cared for the taste of wine but maybe I need to learn to like it, sounds like yall have lots of fun! LOL
Love your wine glass coconut planters they turned out so pretty!
I must admit, we’re not big wine drinkers either. We prefer our beer ? But we have loads of friends who looooove their wine and there’s always a broken glass or two at the end of the evening
Very creative and quite trendy, Michelle! What an awesome idea to use broken glasses, coconut shells and succulent plants together!
? Thanks so much Gail. I love the dramatic contrast between the glass and the coconuts
This is an amazing idea to use the coconut shells as planters. Thanks for sharing.#lekkerlinky
It’s a pleasure Noleen, thank so much for popping in to say hi
Oh you just gave me so much inspiration Michelle! I still have coconuts in store from when I made my candles, but now I love your planter idea, although I don’t have any broken glasses at the moment, haha. But wow, what a fantastic and clever idea of yours. As always – impressive and gorgeous!!!
? Thanks so much Katrin and you’ve just given me another idea. The planters would work beautifully as candles too
These are GORGEOUS! So exotic and wonderful looking, I honestly don’t know where you get these amazing ideas but they are so much fun to see and I love getting to see just how you created them. Again these look like something that you’d pay big money for, you are the craftygodessgenius, I swear!
? Thanks so much Ithi ? One day hopefully we’ll get to meet in real life and you can show me how to do that beautiful nail art of yours. Perhaps we can even break a wine glass or two ?
These look so cool! I’d have never thought to do something like this. 🙂 #LekkerLinky
Thanks so much Charlene and thanks for hosting the #LekkerLinky for us South African bloggers
Woho, I’ve never seen an idea like yours! You can actually benefit from having broken the wine glass and get some great coconut planters. It’s way more fun for sure. Thanks for showing how to open a coconut and basically all, step by step!
Glad you liked it Wiola ?
This is so nice! I had a few broken glasses over the festive season and now I wish I kept the pieces. #Lekkerlinky
Thanks Jeannette ? hopefully you ‘ll break a few more in 2018
Thank you for showing how to even open and clean-out a coconut! This would have been useful while we were on a vacation, and found coconuts all over the yard of our airbnb. I am pinning this!
It’s a pleasure Jillian, those coconuts are tough nuts to crack and thanks so much for the pin
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, you come up with the most ingenious ideas, Michelle. These are fabulous!!!
? Awwww Marie, thank you my friend. I really appreciate that
Ok that is pretty awesome and can be used for tiki themed parties! For glasses that broke off perfectly like the ones shown in the picture, can you do anything with the top part of the glass?
? We’ve been playing around with some ideas for those too. Hope fully we can do a blog post sometime soon.
I think the top part would make a great mini fairy garden to sit in a large potted plant.
I love that idea Nita. We so enjoy making fairy gardens and creating a teeny one inside the goblet part really appeals to me
Interesting and very crafty
Thank you Melissa ?
what a genius idea! love how the ended up looking! How did you come up with this? great job!
LOL, sometimes you just have to make a plan and it seemed like we had loads of broken glasses after Christmas ?