Repurposed Garden Hose into DIY Christmas Tree
Repurposed garden hose into DIY Chirstmas Tree
I am one of those people who can’t throw something away just because it gets broken without at least thinking about how I can possibly reuse, repurpose, and/or reimagine it.

Like this expandable garden hose that somehow sprung a couple of leaks this past summer. It did last a few years, but these fabric expanding hoses are not as durable as newer versions.
So we bought a new one for the garden, and I got this one for my stash.
I wanted to keep it because of the fabulous texture it has when it’s not expanded, and I put it aside for what I thought might be a wreath project.
But when I pulled it out of my stash it totally said tree to me.
Preparing the garden hose

These expandable hoses have a rubber inner tube that expands and contacts with water pressure, which the crinkled outer fabric allows for.
I cut off the attachments at each end of the hose, and tied the rubber inner tube to keep it from being pulled into the hose.
If you let that happen, or if you pull the tube out, the fabric hose becomes pretty much flat as a pancake.

So I can keep the fabric texture I sewed it to the tube with strong fishing line, which should be enough to hold it all together.
I did this to one end only, and I’ll sew up the other end when I’m done. You’ll see what I mean later.

Here’s the one end all sewed up, and the tube cut off.
Wrapping the garden hose around the cone

Now, to make my repurposed garden hose Christmas tree, all I had to do was grab my handy dandy glue gun and start gluing the hose to a styrofoam cone.
The hot glue will melt the styrofoam a bit, but just a bit.

Because of the ripply texture of the hose it’s important to hold it in place as you go.
You want to make sure you get a good glue connection between the hose and the cone.

And you just keep going, making your way up the cone.
Until you get to the top.

Here you have to guesstimate how much more hose you need, and then cut it while holding onto the inner tube.

Then you sew it up with strong fishing line just like the other end.

For the very top, I rolled some of the hose fabric, without the tube, into a rose-like shape.

And I glued it on the top.
This was to cover the styrofoam tip, but also to have something that I can glue a tree topper to.
Adding decorations to Repurposed Garden Hose Tree

Then I went into my Christmas stash to see what I could find to decorate the tree. I really wanted something fun and colorful, but also simple.
I found a thrifted faux mini strand of lights, and a gold foil light reflector.

The light size was a perfect fit for the light reflector so I pushed a red one through and glued it in place. Then I just wrapped the string of lights around the tree in a way that looked good to me.
The string of lights is glued at the beginning and end only.
I was going to use the jello mold that was in the first picture as a tree trunk, but when I was done my tree I decided I didn’t need it.
Supplies needed for Repurposed Garden Hose Christmas Tree
- expandable garden hose
- 10″ styrofoam cone
- hot glue gun and glue sticks
- scissors
- needle and fishing line
- mini faux lights
- vintage foil light reflector

The repurposed garden hose Christmas tree was super easy to make, and only took me about a half an hour.

I love how it looks with my Gift Bow Tree, and my Repurposed Strainer Parts Tree.
The hose texture is so prefect for a Christmas tree, and I still have some of the hose left to use for something else someday. Who knows what that will be!
I hope this project has inspired you to look at things a little differently. Even a leaky garden hose can be repurposed into something fun.
It would be greatly appreciated if you would pin this project to your favorite Pinterest board, and also share it with your friends.

Thanks so much for reading and until next time,
keep on keepin’ on!
XOX

Too cute, Tuula! What a fabulous idea to upcycle that hose. I’ve had a couple to spring leaks and always thought them useless after that. I should know better! Thanks for the inspiration!
Thanks very much Gail! This was a fun project. 🙂
If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times……I LOVE THIS!!!! I have an old one on my patio, but it’s not green! I think it’s black. I have a red one in my front yard. I think that would work. Ooooo! I want to make one. This is too great! Thanks for the idea! I have pinned.
Thanks very much Dona! I definitely think a red one would work. 🙂
Wow, I’m officially been amazed, I keep thinking that you won’t have a project much better than whatever you’ve done last but you keep amazing me! This garden hose tree is so cute!
Thanks Tania! I was so glad to be able to repurpose it. I thought it was just too pretty to throw away.
You always come up with the most unique ideas, Tuula. What a clever way to repurpose an expandable garden hose. Love it, Pinned it!
Thanks so much Marie! It had a great texture that was just too good to waste.
You are so clever with your ideas! This came out so cute, love it!
Thank you so much Debra!
Wow! that is really unique and that hose is really clean :). Great idea!! What is that pink mat you’re working on? It looks like a very handy tool.
Thanks Margo! The pink mat is a cutting mat. You can buy them at most craft stores.
Whaaaat in the world…. pure genius! I love them all I can’t even pick a fav! Ok well, that metal one speaks to my inner junker, but goodness… what unique twists for trees!
Thanks very much Donna! repurposed/upcycled trees are my favorite thing to make this time of year. There are just endless creative possibilities. 🙂