Garden Art Anyone Can Create

Highlight small garden art pieces—homemade, recycled or purchased—by setting them in a container. This galvanized tub contains two sculptures, petunias and other plants in a graceful arrangement.

Enliven a landscape with recycled materials. Check garden centers, salvage shops—even garbage bins and construction sites. Use materials just as you find them, or give them a fresh coat of paint so they stand out in the garden.

A coat of paint turns an old chair into a colorful perch for a flower container.

This old wagon adorns the backyard of Jill Dubbeldee Kuhn and Tom Kuhn, who live with their three children west of St. Cloud, Minnesota. "We try to make our gardens inviting, filled with whimsy and historical stuff," says Jill, a regional artist and book illustrator.

Creative placement transforms almost any salvaged material garden art. Jill painted an old door robin's egg blue and stood it in a bed of blue bellflowers, pink phlox, purple Russian sage, orange Oriental lilies and yellow black-eyed Susans. "I like the symbolism of windows and doors, seeing through to the other side," Jill says.

To inspire your garden art, collect images you like from magazines, newspapers or greeting cards. "A theme might come through," Jill says. "Maybe you create a cat garden with cattails and a cat sculpture and things dear to your heart." Jill's favorite idea-starters: farm equipment, children's shoes and boots, bikes and wagons.

An antique wood headboard, trimmed to fit, becomes a gate between the front and back yards.

You'll garner grins from both kids and adults by adding whimsical elements. In this Lincoln, Nebraska, garden an imp nestles in the crook of a tree above a grapevine wreath nest of plastic dinosaur eggs.

Nestle vintage newels throughout flowerbeds for vertical accents to balance a horizontal landscape.

A checkerboard painted on an old stump sits ready for action next to twig chairs.

A painted column gives height to an old weather vane. A hole drilled in the column secures the rod.

Recycle an old ceiling tin by cutting an initial from it. Half-depth columns frame an M on this toolshed door.

A whimsical fairy painting in blues and purples on a garden shed forms a pretty backdrop to the many colors of lilies in a Janesville, Wisconsin, garden.

Mosaic pots, stepping-stones, benches and other projects are easier to create than you may think (click below for our how-to slideshow). Tile and pebble embellishments sparkle in shallow birdbaths. Match the grout to the color of the bowl to show off your mosaic work.

Learn how to create mosaic garden art.

A collection of old birdhouses and a vintage shutter dress up the side of a shed.

Go to nature for simple (and super low-cost) ideas. Sticks and stones become unusual garden posts at a farmyard in west-central Wisconsin. Bundle sticks to create a decorative post, top it with a flat rock and place a round rock on top of that.

Just as you arrange garden plants to grow at different heights, you'll want garden art to appear at different levels, too. Try placing something high, such as in the trees, at eye level and down low item to await discovery. In this garden, an old birdcage stand elevates a hanging plant. Even simpler: Hang a painted birdhouse from the stand.

Found items and decorative planters dress up the wall of an old building at Northwind Perennial Farm in Burlington, Wisconsin. You can adapt the same idea for a garage, shed, or other wall at your home. 

Try using the shape and design of your garden art to accent plants. In this South Haven, Michigan, garden, the fanciful, delicate curls of an old iron chair look just right with the profusion of tiny white flowers from sweet autumn clematis and alyssum.

Make an eye-catching vignette just by turning a pot on its side. This Troy, Kansas, garden features 'Sikes Dwarf' oakleaf hydrangea at left, 'Glauca Globosa' Colorado spruce behind the pot, 'Blue Spruce' sedum inside the pot and spiky Hakonechloa macra 'All Gold' in front.

One small item may not catch your eye, but a collection of them can be striking. Here, children's antique watering cans provide a colorful display on a ledge in an herb garden in Troy, Kansas.

Damaged and broken items may no longer be useful for their original purpose, but they make great art. A damaged birdbath becomes a succulent garden. Add a base of soilless potting mix, plant with succulents and finish with a mulch of Spanish moss. Decorate with your choice of accessories, such as this candy dish planter, compass and spoon.

Turn a short stepladder into a focal point with a coat of bright paint, then decorate the steps with your favorite potted combinations. Look for old ladders at garage and estate sales, thrift stores and flea markets.

Don't overlook buildings bordering the yard in your decorating plans. At this Suffield, Ohio, home, vintage watering cans, garden tools, sap buckets and terra-cotta pots dress up the side of a garage covered in Virginia creeper.

Personal touches can make a big difference. A simple hand-painted sign welcomes visitors to this St. Cloud, Minnesota, garden.