Junk Gardening

 

I am so excited to be joining 13 other vintage loving bloggers for this Vintage Gardens Blog Hop!

 

A big thanks to my sweet friend, Amber from

Follow the Yellow Brick Home for putting this together for us!

 

If you are hopping over from Shannons from Belle Bleu Interiors I know that you have already enjoyed lots of garden eye candy!



 

There is no place I would rather be than in my garden.  Unless of course, it's in a thrift or antique shop searching for vintage junk.  :)

 

This post contains my love for both.

 

Not only how to use found treasures as planters, but also how to incorporate junk into your garden without overdoing it.

  

Something as simple as an old birdcage tucked in amongst flowers adds interest and draws you in.  Last year I had a fairy garden in it.  This year it filled up with a sedum ground cover and I just

 left it as is.

 

 

My newest found treasures are my bee boxes.  I planted them with sedums and succulents and placed a thrift find metal beehive on top. You can see that my Strawberry Vanilla Hydrangea next to it is just starting to bloom.

 

 

Just to the right of the bee boxes is an old metal basket hanging from an Elm tree.  I lined it with moss and planted Impatiens, Creeping Charlie, and fern.  I'm not sure what it was used for.  It has large hooks on the bottom of both sides and smaller ones in the middle.  My mind has gone from thinking laundry, to mining, to whatever.  :)

 

 

An old windmill placed in the vegetable garden is a great place to grow Hyacinth beans.  The birds are loving the pretty orange blooms.

 

One thing that is so fun about junk container gardening is that it can be moved around.  This old breadbox sat next to a wicker chair under our pergola.

 

 

After purchasing this red pump at a barn sale, it found a new home.  An old gate sits to the left of it.  I cut the spent Salvia to the ground a couple weeks ago.  It's coming back and blooming again.

 

I hang a watering can from this hook all season.  The view changes often, depending on what's blooming.  Right now, it's the Hot Wings Maple that is the star of the show.  Phlox will be

 blooming next.

 

 

Junk mushrooms are nestled in amongst the creeping thyme.  It will be blooming soon as well.  Plumbango is just budding out.

 

 

I've had this garden canvas for years.  It was all faded, so I repainted it a couple years ago.  I'm hoping to create and add more mushrooms.



Junk gardening does not need to jump out at you.  A simple iron gate will draw your attention beyond the pretty Anemones.

 

I love surprises in the garden.  Like this Morning Glory that just happened to seed and grow up one of my old mowers.  It is just starting to bloom.

 

 

 

A vine growing on a ladder has also traveled over to another push mower.  I have 3.  I can never pass up a cute one.  :)

 

I love using old iron planters.  They are usually full of much more color.  Things are struggling a bit in this heat.

 

 

A simple Holly hock is blooming in front of an old birdhouse perched on a shovel.  It was a gift from one of my sisters, years ago.

 

I have twin tub planters up on the hill by Hilltop Cottage.  I bought a couple of hanging baskets to go inside of them.  They were so root bound that I replanted them right into the tubs.  Some of the plants didn't make it, so I've sprinkled Marigold seeds into the bare spots.  They've come up and will be blooming for fall.

 

This old scale hangs next to the twin tubs.  It was a gift from our middle daughter and her hubby.  Love it!

 

 The bottom is rotted out of this old pink urn.  One year I lined it with burlap.  This year I just stuck a Geranium in it.  I made the mosaic shovel with one of my sisters and a friend out of broken dishes.  It was such a fun and easy project.

 



 

 I loved it so much that later I decided to do the same thing to one of my birdhouses in the garden, as well as a small dresser inside of hilltop cottage.  Don't toss those broken dishes.  (wink)

 

 

 

An old milk crate sitting on a wooden dolly adds interest to a shade garden on the East side of our home.

 

There's also an iron footboard and a gazing ball sitting on a pedestal.

A month ago the garden was bursting with color.  Now it's in transition mode.  Bits of color here and there, but when it cools down a little it will be more colorful.

 

I've shared my plate flowers before, but had to include them in this post.

 

I use junk in my garden until it rots away.  I had two of these wooden whiskey barrels for years.  One eventually fell apart, but I brought this one from my previous home.  It's been out in the elements over 20 years and still going strong.  

 

More garden junk that elevates the eye.

Hubby mounted a birdhouse I brought home from a yard sale onto an old pillar I had in the garage.

 

This area is where I use to have my potting bench.  Now it's up behind Hilltop cottage.  It was filled with feverfew, but I just pulled it out because it was spent.

 

Up on the deck I have a few vintage items.  This is an old metal bucket.  It has handles and great patina, but it's hard to see once the flowers spill over the edges.

 

 

This planter is made from an old bus seat.  I bought it from a flea market.  I just loved the chippy paint. I'm always picking up old shovels.  I have them here and there throughout the garden.  I just bought the tall galvanized can at the barn sale where I got the pump.  He said he thought it had something to do with milk.  I thought it was unique and of course, I love the color on the spout! I just pinched back the pansy in my gnome bucket.

 

 

It's been so very hot here.  Luckily this begonia in an old chicken feeder has found some reprieve in the shade.

 

 

 

I hope you enjoyed my Junk Gardening.

and

that you are staying cool!

 

Next up is Michelle at the The Painted Hinge.  She will delight you with her vintage farmhouse garden style!

 

hugs,

 

Have fun visiting all of the inspiring vintage garden posts.

 

 

Follow The Yellow Brick Home | Panoply | ​​​Decor to Adore

 

My Thrift Store Addiction | Petite Haus | Poofing The Pillows

 

Art and Sand| Belle Bleu Interiors | Have A Daily Cup Of Mrs. Olson

The Painted Hinge | White Arrows Home | County Road 407

 

Lora B. Create and Ponder | Beauty For Ashes

 

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