Freshman gardeners sometimes think they need to do everything "correctly" — like buying new state-of-the-art tools, planters and soil. The secret that veteran gardeners know is that creative gardening can be done with a little humor, a little money and any sort of container you have lying around the house.

Luckily for us, inspiration abounds. Join me today as we celebrate weird and whimsical container garden creations that can be had for pennies. Amy Renea Some plants will grow just about anywhere. Succulents are probably the best of them. They require minimal care, grow slowly and do not need a large amount of root room or water. They are perfect for weird containers — which is why you can grow them in a boot. Amy Renea Succulents don't mind hanging out in cement blocks either. Why not go guerilla and spice up a construction site sometime? On second thought, you should probably stick to planting in your own cement blocks at home. Amy Renea You might think these succulents are hanging out in a traditional bowl planter ... Amy Renea ... but they have taken up residence in an old fountain in Barb Krasusk's Pennsylvania garden. Amy Renea Krasusk might be the queen of weird containers, filling teacups to tea kettles and everything in between with succulents, draping plants and other hardy growers. Amy Renea Here, Krasusk combined moss and succulents for a fun take on a duck's head. Amy Renea Next door to the Krasusks, neighbor Jo Vaughan filled a vintage washing machine with spinach. Some vegetables and herbs are surprisingly easy to grow in small and weird containers. Any type of leafy green, such as loose-leaf lettuces, basil and others will grow well in small pockets of soil.

Some herbs grown in desert climates can be planted in nontraditional containers too. These herbs, along with the tough-as-nails succulent family, grow with very little water, so be sure you have ample drainage. Drill a hole in the bottom of the container or use your container as an outer covering for a plastic nursery pot. Tough, unthirsty herbs and succulents are perfectly suited to grow out of just about anything — including old, broken-down head sculptures. Industrial pump housings for planters? Why not? Generate Design Haisui Planter by Nobuhiro Sato - $45 If you can't find anything in your backyard or the junkyard to use as a planter, try browsing for some playful premade planters, like this quirky container in the shape of a drain.

From head sculptures to cement blocks, everything is fair game for a creative gardener. If it can hold the smallest amount of soil, it can hold a plant. I've got my eyes on some old pool filters. They might make the perfect industrial chic planter for my backyard.

What will you plant today? Can you outquirk me? Share your photos of quirky and weird planting containers below!