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I drive a big SUV. Â I know, I know..it’s a gas hog, it’s a polluter, it’s totally uncool, but I need it’s size to carry the zillions of plants I buy for my clients. A Prius just won’t cut it. Â As soon as I can I’ll buy a really cool hybrid SUV or something like that….I promise. Â But in the meantime, this is what I drive and these are some things I keep in the back of it – PERFECT for those nursery visits when I go a little crazy…
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Problem: What to do when you buy a lot of plants at the nursery and need to get them home without them tipping over, breaking stems and dumping dirt in your car?
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Solution:  Cram them into Thule’s flexible ‘plant holder’ (it actually holds groceries really well, too, along with any other item you can imagine).
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This is something that I can’t live without. Â Well, actually, I lived without this for most of my life, but ever since I bought this two years ago my life has been a TON easier..
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It’s super flexible so I’m able to squeeze in 9 Â 1-gallons, 2 6-packs and 5 Â 4″ pots with NO TIPPING OVER! Â Plus it’s got these handy pockets on the ends to store extra gardening gloves, pruners, etc. Â And did I mention that it’s COLLAPSIBLE? Â It doesn’t get any better than this!
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Next to my Thule thing-y I keep my collapsible, lightweight hand-truck.  It only weighs about 9 pounds so it doesn’t hurt my back to lift it in and out of my car and it takes up almost no room at all.
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It was a Christmas present last year from my husband – and I love it! Yes, diamonds are nice, but this thing is fabulous!! It’s called ‘Insta Truck’ by Best Wheels, and it was purchased at Lowe’s.  However, here’s an update:  apparently they’re hard to come by at Lowe’s, so The Magna-Cart Folding Hand-Truck is another (suggested by Kerry at Container Garden), and have since had 3 clients purchase this and LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!
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And this baby can MOVE MOUNTAINS! Â Or a recently watered, heavy-as-heck 5-gallon Anigozanthos with ease…..
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I must admit, I love being self-sufficient and feel like such a stud when I whip this out of my car and start moving super heavy things around my garden.
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Remember…Christmas is only 10 weeks away! Â …tick, tick, tick….. Â Â (sorry to instill that bit of panic)
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21 Comments
I am right there with you. I too have an suv that is so great for those nursery visits. More times than I can count my friend and i have loaded it up to the max with plants and shrubs. I love it. And I am only doing it for us, not clients.
Hi Rebecca,
Actually I was looking for info on the Thule Cargo carrier, not the handtruck. Can’t seem to find it on the Thule Website or Amazon- ideas?
Thanks!
hmmm…it seems Thule is making it difficult to find the exact carrier that I have. Here’s a link to a similar one, made by Thule…http://tinyurl.com/y9mxajn. I think they may have discontinued the exact one I have. I just now found another one, made by Creekside, which looks pretty good…http://tinyurl.com/ykrcrwt. I hope these help!
Rebecca,
Awesome post. I want to put the Thule Cargo thingy on my Christmas List this year. Can you give any more details. I can’t seem to find it on the Thule website.
Thanks!
Christina
Thanks Christina! Kerry from Container Gardening said the same thing, and found a similar product which she just received a few days ago and LOVES. I’ll quote her ‘tweet’ to me…It’s from Handtrucks.com Magna Cart Folding Hand Truck-around $40 and weighs around 7 lbs. >there you go!
That’s the smartest thing I’ve seen on the internet ever for us garden bloggers. Both, the container and the hand truck. I think your SUV is just the ticket. You need it.
Your gift tonight to Operation Christmas Child was so uplifting to me and thank you more than words can express.
That Insta-Truck looks great! Now I know what I want for Christmas. Though I beg to differ on the SUV. I know a contractor who uses a Prius, having the long pieces of wood stick out in the back. And they are hatchbacks, so you can actually fit a lot. But otherwise, how about a Ford Escape Hybrid (for Christmas)?
My awesome hand truck arrived. Who knew there was such a thing as a glamorous hand truck…It is more fabu than I had even hoped.
Do you think my family will think I have slipped a gear when they see me waltzing with it around the yard, a la Fred Astair (or was it Gene Kelley) with a broom?
I’ve never owned anything other than a Toyota pick up truck, except my first high school car.
You would be horrified by the smell and dirt inside the back king cab. Years of bromeliads spilling out their tank water, compost leaking out of containers onto the carpet flooring, lubricant oil spooged out from the legs of my surveying tri-pod along with impregnated dog hair that just will not come out with an industrial strength typhoon level vacuum.
It’s just downright disgusting but I can fit over 80 one gallon containers in the back bed of the pick up and another dozen or so in the king cab, depending on their size and tenderness.
And along with the plants that I can haul it is a great bonus to be able to pick up a yard of compost at any time and be able to hose out the back of the bed .
I’ve been conditioned to have a truck for so long that I don’t know how I could operate without one.
I think if I had a SUV I would take a welding torch to it and slice off the back end.
I give you high praise for making your SUV working for you.
I don’t think I could ever be tamed into that kind of domestication.
I sometimes look longingly at those pretty SUV’s humming down the highway.
But then the smell of aged bromeliad tank water wakes me up to reality and I notice a dozen leucadendrons, several flats of succulents and a few bags of colored tumbled glass mulch packed tightly into the back bed.
Sigh……..
Michelle – you always make me laugh. Yes, I make my SUV work for me – though it pales in comparison to your pick-up’s talents. What I wouldn’t give to be able to hose out the back of my car! Unfortunately, it’s illegal to carpool with a bunch of kids riding in the back of a pickup truck, otherwise I’d drive one in a New York minute…..
And that is precisely why I own a pickup truck…just chuck those plants in the back and go. A duct tape adorned pitch fork is a constant companion for the stray mulch pile.
Liz on the other hand rolls in the Denali mega SUV.
Scott
I always keep a trowel in my trunk. And a tarp. You know. For the dead bodies 😉
So smart….you never know, right?? 😉
Quien es mas macha? Wheel that hand truck!
I’m macha as long as the hand truck is under 10 pounds. Otherwise I’m mas ‘wimpy’…..
I also drive a BIG SUV, but I drive it because I love it…because….it hauls a ton of stuff, and/or lots of people!
I also carry a little shovel, pruning shears, an ice chest, paper towels, and distilled water. You never know when you will find something that is crying out to be cloned.
Welcome to Blotanical. You are gonna love it here!
GREAT suggestions about the cloning equipment! I’m going out today to add those to my trunk!!
Love those suggestions Rebecca- great idea for a post. You’re always so darn creative!
Oh Rebecca, your post made me laugh, especially about the SUV guilt. At least you fill it up with work stuff and don’t just use it to drive to the mall… Thanks for all the good tips for saving your back too. Teresa
Yay!! My back thanks you! I’ve been procrastinating (I know, what a surprise) about buying a wheelie thing to help move my heavy containers around. I tried to get the one you suggested at Lowes, but alas, the website said they didn’t carry them locally. I did a search and found one that looks just like the one in your blog. Here’s the link if others want to check it out. Lightweight. I think 7 lbs. I tried to get yours, but lowes didn’t have it. $41.98 with free shipping. I figure that it’s way cheaper than going to the chiropractor.
http://www.handtrucks.com/hand-trucks/compact-luggage-hand-trucks/magnacartfoldinghandtruck1.cfm
Thanks so much for the alternative site – yours looks even lighter! And I couldn’t agree more – it’s SO much cheaper than a trip to the chiropractor…..