The Story Behind Barrel Rims

A while back, I inherited several nice half wine barrels and decided to make some water gardens. If you have ever put together a water garden in a barrel, you already know there are problems. If you don’t use a liner, the barrel may leak or it may leach toxins into the water that can kill fish. Since there is no truly standard sized barrel (they range from 25” to 29” in diameter), rigid liners may or may not fit and they rarely allow you to use the full volume of the barrel. You can avoid those problems by using a flexible liner, but the standard advice of “use a staple gun to fix the liner in place at the rim” leaves a lot to be desired. I decided there had to be a better solution.

With the Barrel Rim system that I have developed, putting together a water garden in a barrel becomes a lot easier and more rewarding because this system is able to adapt to different diameter barrels and irregularities in wall thickness while holding the liner in place. The capped rim beautifully frames your water garden. The tiles are easy to install. And should you change your mind and want to use them on another barrel, they are also easy to take off. They are made of high fired stoneware clay to be chip-resistant, giving years of enjoyment. Their use isn’t limited to water gardens, they’ll dress up a barrel planter just as nicely.

You won't find these rims sold by other people or companies: I have a patent pending on the invention, they are made in limited quantites in my pottery and I prefer to sell directly to individuals.