Hi there~

Well, I have a couple of suggestions. First I would try to leave air space at the bottom of the tub by putting in some sort of screen--either use some of those wire thingies that you can buy to put your dishes on or make a screen with a wooden or metal frame and legs to make the "planting bed" more shallow. Then I would put gravel in the bottom (assuming that you never want to move this heavy bad boy!), then I would put in my potting soil, etc. You could leave the plants in pots, but I know around here, they dry out much faster when they're in pots. I've planted a couple of large planters in the past and this method has worked pretty well. Good luck with your project!

ooh, a clawfoot tub! That will be pretty. Please come back and post some photos here so we can all enjoy your tub planter. :)
I like your idea of including some buckets inside to take up space. And all of Marlene's ideas sound good too.
I can't keep any plants in pots here. They always dry up so quickly.
Make sure the drain end of the tub is slightly lower than the other end. Raising the non-drain end just a tiny bit will make a difference.
~JoAnn

In my tub, I put a piece of screen over the drain hole at the bottom. Then I took the cheap plastic pots that annuals come in, crushed them and put them in the bottom of the tub. My DH insisted on putting a piece of out door grade wood (don't know what kind) over that, so the dirt wouldn't get into the pots, but I don't think we needed it. On top of it all we added the soil. It drains very well. Too well, because my tub is in the sun and sometimes gets too dry.

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shysue-----I think it is beautyful , The blue really sets it off. great job!

I was going to suggest putting in small pallet pieces to give you the drainage room on the bottom and then put the screening on top of that. Those who have the claw foot tubs planted already know better than I do though.

Sue, I love your planted tub, it's simply gorgous. I need to ask - on your yellow BB there in the left corner of the pic, did you use beer can pop tabs and then put the half marble on top of them? It really looks cute, great job!!

Sal

I have a clawfoot tub that is planted as well. Instead of filling it up with potting soil, I put LARGE pieces of styrofoam (as in from boxes that held electronics equipment) on the bottom first. I just chopped it into large pieces and layered on the bottom - then my soil, then my plants.

I don't leave the plants in the pots but I do plant annuals. My tub is on the north side of my house so I plant begonias, impatiens and/or coleus each year. I'm sure I have a picture hanging around somewhere....

Looks like I have no pictures of the tub from this year but I do have some from prior years. Different plantings, different stages of neglect (LOL)

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The tubs look great!! I would do the same as the others mentioned. Sounds like it would work well(-:

wow! Those all look great!

Wow!! Both tubs look great. My DS had 1 in house he was renting & asked if he could paint it, it became almost that same blue with the claw feet in gold as in color of gold coins. Have to admit it was a lovely bathroom! The claw feet kind of stuck out (like they needed slippers) but the gold sure looked good!! She had white towels & floral arrangement with blues & white. The paint on the pink 1 looks metallic around top & love the decor on side!Jan

to each one of your that responded, a very big thank you, the pictures of your tubs were beautiful. i am ready to start working, i knew you all would give me the best ideas to help me think it through before i started. the ideas you all gave me had not even entered my head, the tub had already been painted a bright red, it will be in the shade so hopefully that will make it stand out, that was a v-8 moment for me when jo ann told me to make sure the drain was lower, i had not even thought to make sure, thanks to each one of you with your ideas, and pictures, hopefully my daughter can make pictures when we finish, happy gardening to each of you. hallngarden

Oh yes, one other note (in case you didn't think of it)
I put each of the tub legs on a paver stone - otherwise I'm afraid with the weight the entire thing would start sinking into the ground when it's wet!

And, I also took a piece of flexible downspout and put it in the drain and out away from the tub just to direct any "extra" water I might get from torrential rains!

You could use empty plastic bottles to take up space in your tub as you fill with soil. That way, you wouldn't need as much soil.
I made 3 dresser drawers into planters, stacked them one on top of the other. Using plastic water bottles to take up space will keep the drawers from being so heavy.
And, it saves the plastic from filling up the landfills!
Vickie

I have two antique claw footed tubs on my patio. I get so many comments on them. I covered the drain holes with screen. I then filled the bottom with a layer of gravel (3-4 inches deep), then filled the rest with soil. Drains very well.