The New Garden Club

Gardening shouldn't be all work and no play. Take a break from the digging, transplanting and watering to host an outing with friends. This combo lunch and potting party will let you catch up with fellow green thumbs, or introduce gardening newbies to the joys of planting and growing. The decorating inspiration? Old metal lunch boxes. They score points for practicality by holding sandwiches for the lunch and herbs for the potting part of the party—plus they'll spark fun conversation and a trip down memory lane. After the meal, have guests choose their favorite lunch boxes and turn them into mini herb gardens.

TABLES FOR TWO. This outdoor gathering is a two-table affair—one table for dining and the other for potting plants in vintage lunch boxes.

CENTERS OF ATTENTION. Vintage seed sacks and thermoses team up to create a pattern-happy dining table. Old (and cleaned) lunch boxes take the place of plates. Pack them with wrapped sandwiches and other wrapped foods the night before the party, and just grab them from the fridge as guests are taking their seats.

ALFRESCO APPROACH. Place colorful seed (or flour or grain) sacks down the center of the table to form a runner. For casual centerpieces, fill thermoses with Queen Anne’s lace or wildflowers. Windy day? Clip clothespins to the ends of a runner (or tablecloth) to keep it from blowing. Garden-theme party favors are decorative and functional. A seed packet dresses up a pair of leather garden gloves. Succulents such as echeveria planted in thermos cups can be sent home with guests or simply serve as table decorations.

SURPRISE INSIDE. Open the lid and lunch is served! A vintage cloth calendar tucked inside the lunch box serves as a napkin and makes a pretty presentation.

DIG IT. Outfit the potting table with everything guests need to get growing. Offer a choice of vintage lunch boxes or small terra-cotta pots for planting herbs. A vintage cooler is an easy—and stylish—way for guests to scoop out potting soil.

MARVELOUS MINI GARDENS. An old picnic tin is a welcome addition on the potting table. Use it to hold trowels or tools and plants waiting to be potted. By the 1950s, metal lunch boxes with characters, such as Roy Rogers’ horse Trigger, were a must-have for school kids. Score deals on lunch boxes that are missing their thermoses or are a bit beat up ($10 and up on Etsy). If you plan wayyyyy ahead, you can grow herbs from seed, but otherwise pick up potted specimens that are already hale and hardy and ready to start harvesting.

HERBS TO GO. Planted with rosemary, basil, and curly parsley, a plaid lunch box is a sweet herb garden. For drainage, layer the bottom with pea gravel (ideally topped with landscape fabric) before adding potting soil.

PHOTOS Adam Albright
STYLING Scott Johnson