Garden art from junque - pictures

I love to "curb shop" the day before trash pickup. You would be amazed at the good stuff people just throw away. Thrift store shopping is another way to find things to use in a different way in the garden.


This plant stand is made from a brass plate on the bottom, a brass candle stand and topped with a brass tray that my husband soldered together for me.
They are not the shiny brass color anymore but have a nice patina.


The trellis is part of a white/gold painted metal day bed. Found it in a trash pile on the curb, but it now has a Sweet Autumn Clematis climbing all over it.


The sides and top for the cucumber trellis are parts from the swing set that my oldest daughter was getting rid of. I will post a picture later this spring when the cucumber vines have the chicken wire covered.


Beginning growth in the first bed I made 4 years ago...the birdbath is made from three clay flower pots in graduating sizes and topped with a large clay tray. And the glass coffee percolator on the left is a "water garden" it has a black water iris in it, but it hasn't started growing yet.


My daylillies are planted in front of an old picket fence section my sister-in-law was getting rid of.


The parts for this arbor were originally in our side room as part of a set of shelves. We built a new bookcase and had these just hanging around. If the chocolate vine planted on the right side of it doesn't start climbing soon, it may be replaced with a moonflower vine.


On the far left is one of two birdbaths made from old strawberry pots my mother-in-law was throwing out, turned upside down and a clay tray glued to what is now the top.
On the right are the headboard and footboard of a metal bed given to me by a friend who knows about my garden "art". They have sweetpeas climbing on them.


This is another picket fence panel that was missing several pickets. It will be used this summer as a trellis for cypress vines. I painted it purple.


I found the stand that this pot of geraniums is in on a trash pile. It was a small table until the glass top broke and the lady threw it away. It is out by the front porch.


I found this old wooden filing cabinet drawer at a thrift store. The bottom was gone, so it is now a flower pot for zinnias in the front yard.


I have two of these chairs that didn't have seats, my husband cut me two wood rounds that I painted up and now they are plant stands by the front porch.

 

Toni you are an inspiration!!! I won't be able to look at a bit of 'junk' now without seeing it as part of the garden.

I've already decided that two old posts and a battered fence panel will make a screen to hide the compost bins. I think I'll attach the sheets of mirrored plastic that my eldest son gave me to the panel which should give the garden another dimension.

I dug up some strange carved stones when I was making my flower beds and now one is a planter (may end up as a sundial though later on), one is ideal for the top of the waterfall as it has a tubing sized hole in it and the other two are placed either side of the waterfall as soil retainers. The lasr one is used for drying muddy shoes on. I must remember to take some piccies to let you see.

Thanks for taking the time to let us all see your wonderful photographs - I especially like the bird baths and planters.

 

Eileen, please post pictures of the stones. They sound like they will make really cool garden art.
The mirrored plastic on the fence panel will look neat. You could get some Sharpie markers and do some drawing on it too.

I don't have an official potting shed, but I was given some old fence panels last year and used three of them to make an enclosure to store old pots, an old stereo cabinet that I use for shelf space/potting table and some garden art that I haven't figured out what to do with yet. In fact that's the sorta junky area behind the large birdbath.
Many years ago, my Dad was really into woodworking, when he died we found a box of different bird figures that he had cut out but never painted. I am going to decorate them and attach them to the fence panels so I can enjoy them.

 

Stratsmom
Thanks, I love looking at things and coming up with other uses for them.

Do you have a picture of the old gate and the morning glories? I would really like to see it, I love old gates but haven't found any I can afford, it seems the sellers really "love" them too :'(