14 Projects That Will Inspire You To Get Outside

It's March, and that means you have less than 20 days until the first day of spring. You might not be able to plant anything yet, but you can still plan...and dream.

A Few Notes on Gardening

Because growing seasons vary depending on which part of the country (or which country) you live, have a chat with your local garden store to figure out what the best plants are for your climate. It's still a little cold up here in New York to plant much, but down in Texas you can probably start going all out in your garden, whether you use potted plants or have a big plot of land.

1. Before you plant anything, cover your pots with moss.

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Even better, you get to use beer as part of the mixture. So you can drink the cans you don't use. Directions here.

2. Paint some naughty garden gnomes while you wait for the weather to warm up.

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The antique brass really makes these gnomes special. Find the mooning gnome here and the directions here.

3. Head to an antique store and find some teacups to use for mini planters.

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So it looks like the fairies left mid-tea party. Directions here.

4. Speaking of fairies, make them their own little stacked garden.

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Browse eBay, Amazon, your local resale shop, or Wine Pine to buy crates online, or call up a local winery to see if they have extras. Look for butterfly plants to attract the pretty bugs. Directions (more like guidelines) here.

5. Hang up some window garden boxes and plant veggies.

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Depending on where you live, you can plant spring onions, carrots, chard, peas, cucumbers and shallots in March. Directions here.

6. Get off of Twitter and feed the birds.

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This simple, acorn-shaped bird feeder can hang anywhere and costs $30 or less to make. Directions here. Option 2: put out a plate and dump loose birdseed in it.

7. Forget the plants and customize a table with leaves.

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Then you can put it outside and pretend it's a garden. Be warned: this will take more effort than planting. Directions here.

8. Plant a portable box garden...

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Aspiring chefs can plant basil, rosemary, oregano, mint, and other herbs to use in recipes. Directions here.

9. ...and make reusable plant markers to go with it.

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Yet another reason why chalkboard paint is awesome. Directions here.

10. Build moveable, colorful, upcycled planters.

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Option 2: just paint them. Directions here.

11. Drink lots of beer. Then stick green stuff in the empties.

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This one's brilliant, because the plants are self-watering. No more dead things (unless you drunkenly water them with beer). Directions here.

12. Another one for those of us without green thumbs: a succulent garden.

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This can go indoors or outdoors, and you only have to water once a month. Directions here.

13. Pull out the drill and hang up some gutters.

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Just make sure to plant seasonal things. Directions here.

14. Build a fire pit so you can make s'mores all spring and summer.

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Who needs to watch late night TV when you could be stuffing your face with gooey marshmallows? Just look at how happy these people are! Directions here.