I’ve been looking to do a bit of work on my garden lately – it’s one of the areas of our house that gets largely neglected with weeds and trees running rampant everywhere (shh, don’t tell anyone; we don’t even have any garden furniture!).
And since I started researching garden DIYs, I noticed there were a lot of really clever ways to repurpose old unwanted items and give them new life as planters, furniture or general garden decoration. Curious to know more? See below for some of my top picks!
1. Cinderblocks as planters and furniture
If you live near a construction site or somewhere there are cinderblocks handy, grab a bunch for your garden – they’re so useful! You can make them into stacked planters, outdoor furniture or perhaps try creating an outdoor bar with them and fill the gaps with plants like this gorgeous bar on Design Sponge.
2. Old spoons as plant markers
For some reason I have a lot of excess cutlery (weird problem, I know) so I’m definitely going to try out this DIY. It’s worth noting that you’ll need a metal stamping kit, but I’m happy to invest in one of those as I’ll definitely use it again in other crafts. If you’re the same, head on over to Lovely Indeed for the full tutorial.
3. Colanders as hanging planters
Why have I never thought of this before? Not only do colanders look super pretty with a lick of paint and plants in them, they also have built in holes for water drainage! Creative Savings has a great tutorial on how to make these hanging beauties so grab those old colanders and head on over.
4. Tires as planters or furniture
If you’d told me that tires could look good repurposed as garden decor I probably would have laughed at you. But just look at that – wrapped in rope or with a good coat of paint, they end up looking very nice indeed! If your tire has had a puncture, don’t throw it away – keep it and make a table, an ottoman or a house for your plants. Addicted 2 DIY and DIY Show Off have a couple of great tutorials on how to give those tires a new lease on life.
5. Drawers as planters
I’m super keen to try out this DIY – we have a few drawers lying about that would look great in the garden with a good coat of paint! Don’t let yourself be limited by the type of drawer either… there are plenty of tutorials on how to make standing plant stands and stacked planters with one, two or three larger drawers. Or you can try making yourself these super cute mini succulent storage boxes from Liz Marie Blog.
6. Windows as a mini greenhouse
This one is a real genius idea – if you’ve recently renovated and have old spare windows, make a miniature greenhouse! Your plants will love you for it and the kids will probably get a kick out of it too. For a great tutorial, you can’t go past this one by Empress of Dirt – just look at how cute that greenhouse is!
7. Pallets as vertical gardens
Ah, you didn’t think I’d get through this list without a pallet DIY in there somewhere did you? Pallets are probably one of the most versatile items to repurpose for the garden. You can make rustic chairs and tables out of them, large box planters, or try going down the vertical garden route with this easy-to-follow tutorial on Design Sponge.
8. Tree stumps as side tables
Okay I’ll be honest, this one was a DIY for the indoors, but with the addition of some exterior stain there’s no reason why you couldn’t rework this for use on your outdoor deck! I love the natural raw quality of these side tables by A Beautiful Mess and they’d fit perfectly into pretty much any garden setting.
