For those of us who practice urban homesteading in close proximity to the neighbors, sporting a butt-ugly rain barrel can be a concern. I personally like the looks of the traditional rain barrels, but many neighbors (and homesteaders) do not. Even if the neighbors can't see the barrels, many people don't want their yards to look like an Ed Begley, Jr. experiment so they seek out something a little more subtle. Beautiful even.
That's what I did when I got our rain barrel (pictured at left). Not only did it look more like a large, earthen urn but it included a planter on top. I drilled holes in it, lined it with barrier cloth, filled it with potting soil and planted strawberries and cyclamen to add some visual interest. The raised strawberries worked out great because it kept the slugs, critters and chickens away and produced all summer long.
If you don't want to use it as a planter, you can use it as a birdbath instead. In either case, it looks much better than a giant pickle barrel and, no doubt, the neighbors will be less likely to give you funny looks. Funny looks that they can save for when the dairy goats move in.
Giveaway
For today's giveaway, one randomly selected winner will receive a 50 gallon Algreen Rain Barrel (pictured at right). It's a little smaller than my 65 gallon one, but the principles are the same. It features:- Molded plastic that won't chip, crack, or fade
- A 4-foot garden hose with shutoff nozzle
- A screen guard and removable crown planter
- Measures 23 x 33 inches
If you are interested in entering the random drawing, please add your name to the comments of this post. You have until midnight PST this Friday, February 25th to enter. This giveaway is open to U.S. residents only. You do not need to be an urban homesteader to enter this giveaway - just someone who needs a rain barrel.
Good luck!
Note: There are affiliate links in this post. Consider yerself warned.
365 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 201 – 365 of 365I'm a rural homesteader with no close neighbors but I'd still like a cool-looking rain barrel like this to class up my yard.
What a pretty rainbarrel. Would love to win one.
what an awesome rain barrel. Thanks for the chance to win. :)
that may be too cool looking to be in my yard next to my olive barrels, but i think i might could make it work.
;-)
I am still trying to figure out where I would put a rainbarrel (we don't have gutters) but I think I've determined that the outside of the shed would be a great place
That is awesome!
Alison
Too Cool!
I hope, I hope, I hope!
Would love to win it!
I've been coveting a rain barrel for a long time -- would love to win one here!
maybe if I had this one the city would not cite me every year for the one I use in the front of the house. Just saying.
Karen
great looking rainbarrel! please enter 'petoskystone' in this giveaway. thanks.
Would love to win this!
Wow,I would really love that rainbarrel.
Just lovely! We just got another 13 inches of snow in Saint Paul but one can dream of strawberries and harvesting greens! :)
I am hoping to start a teaching garden at my son's grade school this summer. The school is about 90% free and reduced meals so this garden will make a difference in the health of these children. Empowering their future with shovels!
I would love to donate our only rain barrel to the school in exchange for this beautiful one! Cheers!
That's a whole lot prettier than the bright blue barrel I was thinking about using! LOL!!
It's the exact one I was looking at last week!
Would love one! Count me in.
I want a rainbarrel so very much! :)
Love the rain barrel! Please enter me in the drawing. :)
--Angela Mazur
The husband and I have been talking about trying to set up a barrel on the side of our house open to the neighbor, this would be a great option (and love the idea of strawberries on top!!). Although it seems as though we may never get out from under all this snow (four inches overnight and still going steady), so don't know if I would ever get to set it up!! ;p
I want a rain barrel so I can water my front flower and herb beds with water from the sky. I can get my HOA to allow a rain barrel is if I go with one that is camouflaged as a giant planter.
Holy crap, 221 comments. maybe I'll win anyway. I could use a rain barrel (or two) for the ever-expanding garden.
My parents could absolutely use a rain barrel. As it is right now they don't have a well or water, so my dad drives to a communal spring a few miles away and fills up water tanks. Then he puts it in their big tank under their house.
A rain barrel would be handy for watering chickens, pooches, and the garden.
Great giveaway!
*waving arms wildly* Pick me! Pick me! Something this classy might even convince my non-treehugging husband.
ooh- I need one, I'm on a quest to become an urban homesteading pirate- ha! Thanks for the info and the chance to win such a great rainbarrel - Myriam
I just told my husband that I would love to have one for my birthday! (He would love the price!)
Love this! Enter me please :)
Beautiful barrel!
I like it!!
Yay! We're applying to our local water board for a grant for a rain barrel as part of a drought program but don't know if it'll be approved. Thanks for having this drawing to help bring awareness to how great rain barrels are!
That's an awesome rain barrel!
It would be wonderful to collect and store water in my region. I live in southern California and we could use storage of water down here.
Hmm.. do you think it will hide the bright blue barrel I already have? :-) Probably not, but I'd take it anyway.
What a gorgeous rain barrel! Lindsey @ lgrossman27@yahoo.com
That is a great giveaway....I would love it.
Let's try this again. I posted in the wrong post a minute ago. lol
Thank you for the opportunity to win this rain barrel!
I have been looking for a rain barrel just like this one!
Sign me up!
Thanks,
Brynne
this is one HOT rainbarrel! my HOA wouldn't even need to know!
Oo oo... please enter my name! I would love to have this as my first rain barrel.
Please enter me...I would put this to good use.
Lolalo
Perfect idea! Thanks for sharing.
That barrel is so purty. Wld love to have it in yard... my
I would love a rain barrel!
Great looking rain barrell!
Hey there Crunchy Chicken. I have followed you on other topics too. Nice to see a familiarish face. Good to know you are on top of this issue too. Thanks for compiling the list of urban homesteading blogs on your site and for the giveaway. Maybe I will have to come up with something on my site too.
Kate
Wow... what a rain barrel~!
That's pretty. It would be a nice beginning barrel for me, and Mom (my neighbor) and Dad (THE LANDLORD) wouldn't have fits about how it looks.
The name's Jana.
Hooray for rainbarrels!
I would like to enter the giveaway! We really could use one of these!
Would love to have such an attractive rain barrel!
That is a beautiful rain barrel. So awesome!
I sure could put that beautiful rain barrel to good use!
Ok lotsa competion, but I want it too! pick me pick me pick me!
Me, me, me! Pick me! (please)
Great rain barrel, and a fantastic blog. Just found it thanks to all the Dervaes drama. My husband and I are newer to urban homesteading. We'd love a nice-looking rain barrel!
That's the coolest rain barrell I've seen, much tidier that my surplus pots and pans collecting rain out back!
That would be PERFECT for our tiny little balcony. We don't have room for a big rain barrel, but this smaller one is actually do-able!
I would love a rain barrel for home use but I am starting a community garden on our Main Street and could REALLY use it there.
Beautiful! I could use an additional barrel off the garage.
This is gorgeous!!! I'd love to enter! Thank you.
These are awesome! I need one . . . and two and three
Oh, oh! Pick me! Pick me! :)
Well, best not get my hopes too high. Look at the odds already! (1/264)
Ohhh, fancy!
Wow, love that! thanks for the chance to win one!
Nice idea. I'd like to win!
I would love to win a rain barrel - count me in!
I'd love to have such a pretty rain barrel.
I'd like to enter!
I'm always on the lookout for more rainbarrel goodness. Awesome!
Lovely. And perfect!
I want a rainbarrel!!!!!
Wow, thanks some nifty looking rain barrel. I'd love to put my name in the pool.
It would look lovely next to my ghetto, cobbled-together craigslist rainbarrel I currently have!
My neighbors are very close by and I would love to win this rain barrel.
I would love it. Thanks
-Jenette
I would be happy to provide a good home for the barrel.
I'm very very intersted! That has been on my Amazon wishlist for ages.
That is a great rainbarrel! Beats *old blue* any day!
I have wanted a rain barrel for such a long time. That is a great one!
I would love that rainbarrel! My patio does not have a faucet, so I have to water my garden with water hauled from all the way inside!
Wow! What a great rain barrel. Thanks for the opportunity!
Great giveaway! Thanks!
Fabulous giveaway! Thanks!
pick me, pick me!
I would Love Love to win this rainbarrel!!
Did the DIY rain barrels for the back, but need something pretty for the front.
That is one fine looking rain barrel and I would love one just like it!
Bev/Sundownr
Wow! A gorgeous rain barrel? Awesome!
Also Urban Homesteaders rock!
Last fall I replaced the pachysandra along my drive with Heritage raspberries. This would be a great way to keep them watered while not looking tacky. We have 3 fifty-five gallon rain collectors in the backyard for my veg gardens but sticking one in the front yard would be a bit much :)I have been looking for something eye catching and this is it!
love how aesthetically pleasing these are. thanks!
Very cool! I've never seen one like that before.
Awesome looking rain barrel!
This would go awesome on my urban homestead!
Love this barrel and was considering getting one for a corner I have calling out for one.
this would be great! would look much better in my front yard than the bright blue plastic barrel i'm using now!
Would love this also!
I'm hoping to add a rain barrel this year. This one would do nicely!
I love that rain barrel! It would be lovely addition to the garden!
Sweet rainbarrel!
Absolutely awesome! Thank you for the opportunity!
Beautiful! I would love this!
I save water in buckets, trash cans, cans and whatever I can find to save water. This water saver would certainly improve the looks around here.
Beautiful!
I'm in!
Jessica Garrett
what a great looking rainbarrel!
I can't see a rain barrel without thinking of the song "Oh Playmate come out and play with me... Climb on my rain barrel, slide down my cellar door..."
If I win this one, I wont climb on it.
What a neat idea for a rain barrel! Neighbors can get picky but I like this look too!
But it never rains in California, right? I'll take the risk.
I'm part of the Los Angeles Rainwater Harvesting pilot program & have been harvesting rainwater for over 15 years.
While I too like the pickle barrel, I love the look of this barrel and it would have a wonderful home with a pack of friends;')
I have to add my name to this one
Would love to win. Thanks
If I win I'd be able to get rid of the gravity waterer I built... Or not, but I could still save another 50 gallons... J. Walt Layne
This is a really nice rain barrel! Thanks!
That is really cool
What a beautiful and functional way to collect rainwater!
Count me in on this drawing!
I hope I win. Could use this. Aida
I definitely could put that purty little rainbarrel to good use!
Pretty barrel is pretty.
very nice rainbarrel. Pick me! ;)
Liz O'd
very pretty! I'd love to have that decorating my back yard.
What a pretty barrel - of course, it would highlight the fact that my house needs painting, but maybe that's the kick in the pants I need!
Sharp looking rainbarrel. Giveaways are great! Thanks.
I have a "no crank" hose that uses the water to power the wind. I HATE watching all the water splash out and always wished I had a rain barrel to fill with it. I really need this! You are too cool with your giveaways!!!
Needing one for my garden this year! I love the look of this one. :)
I love this idea! And I would love a rain barrel... we started a raised bed garden last year (which was a bit of an epic failure), but we don't have much space, and this is so cute!
would love this!
we definitely need a rain barrel! it will go nicely with the new gutters and downspouts we're getting this year, too.
Oh, your timing couldn't be more perfect.
Please sign me up!
Elizabeth
How neat is that!
I really want rain barrels, I have already installed raingutters to pour to them thanks for the chance
I LOVE that rain barrel. The only hard part would be deciding where to keep it!
What a beautiful rain barrel! I would love to be entered in your drawing. It would be perfect for watering my greenhouse plants :)
Thank you1
My neighbor has one of these - I've been coveting it. It's so lovely in her garden. Want, want, want...
Enter me, Thanks!
i was just thinking about rain barrels this morning...how i need a more atractive one than a converted garbage can for the front of ny house.
Would really love this!
Would love a rainbarrel!
Nice looking rain barrel! Would love to add this to my landscape!
Peace!
Please enter me!
So much wasted rain water with the gullywashers here in South GA. I would love it!!!
Would be a great addition to our garden.
That is gorgeous. Would love a rainbarrel for our garden!
great rainbarrel!
Fancy! Yay for rain barrels!
Awesome! Would love to have this to use for my raised bed!
whoah! Even my nitpicky gardens-are for-flowers-not-food mother would apporve of that one!
Pick me! I am starting a raised bed garden at my parents and it is right out side their living room window, she isn't one for the electric blue barrels we have in our regular garden.
Oooooh....so much nicer looking than what we have.
Stylish!
Would love to have one of these to help when we are on water restriction!
Oh - enter me! I've never seen such a pretty (and sneaky) looking rain barrel!
I would love to have this rain barrel. It is the best looking one I've seen. Thanks for holding the giveaway.
You might think I wouldn't need a rain barrel in Seattle, but that simply isn't true! Thanks for giving away such a lovely one!
Nice rainbarrel! Very chic...beats the heck out of my plastic trashcan! LOL!
We've been needing one of these for our front yard!
I've been looking for a good rain barrel. I would love to be entered.
Farmer Fanny here...
thanks for the chance to win! this would really get us going...
That is the neatest rainbarrel. Finally one that doesn't look like a garbage can.
better than my milk and juice jugs!
I need one for the front gutter spout.
We could always use another rain barrel, especially such a stylish one. Love it.
I could really use a rain barrel!
One of these showing up on the doorstep means that DBF will have to let me install it on the house. Thank you for doing so many giveaways.
COOL!!!
livesalone502@yahoo.com
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