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20 Creative Ways to Repurpose Kitchen Junk into Garden Decor

Published on April 16, 2024 ♛ By Melissa J. Will

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Turn kitchen junk into DIY garden art with these crafty ideas. Explore creative ways to repurpose common items for charming outdoor décor.

If you enjoy unique garden projects, also see these creative decor ideas.

Garden art created from old kitchen items.

DIY Garden Decorations From Junk

Garden art made from repurposed kitchen items including a chandelier and kettle.

Unless you’re a real minimalist, you probably have stuff lurking in your kitchen cabinets that you have not used in years.

If they don’t have some special sentimental (or other) value, why not turn some of it into garden decor? And yes, donating useful items is always a good option as well.

These ideas are all simple, probably pretty obvious, and do-able in an afternoon.

Instead of shopping, declutter for supplies!

1Bundt Pans

Bundt pan patio planter.
Bundt pan planted with succulents on a patio table

Bundt pans make excellent patio table planters. And muffin tins are fun for smaller succulents. Drill holes in the base for drainage.

2Spoons

Vintage spoon fish by NevaStarr on Etsy
Old spoons repurposed as fish-shaped windchimes

Vintage silver-plated fish windchime by NevaStarr Etsy Shop.

Buy some or get a metal drill bit and make your own.

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3Ceiling Fan

Garden art dragonfly made from old ceiling fan blades.
Old ceiling fan made into a garden art dragonfly

DIY Garden Art Dragonfly: The blades from an old ceiling fan make perfect wings. Many other parts of the fan can be used as well.

Want the real thing? See how to welcome dragonflies in your garden.

4Chandelier

Chandelier used as an oriole bird orange feeder.
Chandelier repurposed as an oriole feeder

This old light fixture doesn’t require any DIY. Just hang it up and add orange slices.

5Colander

Old kitchen colander turned into a garden art chandelier.
Kitchen colander repurposed as a faux chandelier

Garden Art Chandelier: Use a mish-mash of old treasures for a shabby chic look. Colanders and other metal containers work great.

I’ve had this one in my garden for years.


Bathtub used as a planter for giant agave plants and old sink holding succulents.

Related: DIY Creative Garden Planters (Upcycled)


6Cutlery

Clear glass birdbath filled with kitchen utensils.
DIY birdbath filled with old kitchen utensils

Make a See-Through Garden Birdbath or Totem: Pick a theme and fill the containers.


DIY garden art totem

Related: How to Make Garden Art Totems


Here’s another version that I filled with seashells.

Clear glass birdbath filled with seashells and starfish.
Clear birdbath filled with seashells and starfish

and this one is filled with burlap scraps. I love the texture!

Clear glass birdbath filled with burlap.
Clear birdbath filled with burlap (hessian) fabric

7Dishes

Blue and white kitchen plates hanging on fence above ferns.
Blue and white plates on garden fence

Here’s my low-cost plate hanger tutorial. Makes it easy to hang them where you want them (indoors or outdoors).

Two dish art flowers in garden.
Old dishes and platters made into garden art flowers

Garden Art Dish Flowers: Use plates and other small dishes from the thrift store or your kitchen cabinets.

Blue and white dish art in garden.
Blue-themed bottles and plates in flower planter

I like to use garden art to fill in the spaces while waiting for the flowers to grow.

This shows more blue and white themed garden art ideas.


Blue-themed garden decor including plates, cushions, art, and doors.

Related: Blue-Themed Garden Art & Decor Ideas


8 Doors

Old door painted medium blue.
Kitchen door repurposed as garden art

Not that I’m suggestion to tear off your kitchen door, but, if you’re updating your kitchen, see if anything would work in the garden.


Old doors and windows used as garden decor.

Related: Gallery of Doors and Windows in the Garden


9Drawer Pulls

Hose guards made from drawer pulls and copper pipe.
Drawer pulls and copper pipe repurposed as hose guards

Kitchen Drawer Pull Hose Guards: protect your plants in style. I use these to keep the garden hose out of the flower beds.

10Knick Knack Shelf

Turn a knick-knack shelf into a hobbit house for the garden.
Kitchen spice cabinet repurposed as fairy house

Any little cabinet with doors can convert into a little fairy or hobbit house. This one was a spice jar shelf.

11Lazy Susan

Lazy susan mounted on garden fence with chickadee
Lazy Susan

A lazy susan makes a good garden mirror because they tend to have a frame for extra weather protection.


Framed white mirrors on garden fence.

Related: How to Safely Use Mirrors in the Garden


12Mason Jars

Sweet potato vine cuttings.
Rooting sweet potato cuttings in mason jars

Two methods for propagating sweet potato slips.

Related: How to Grow Sweet Potato Vine from Cuttings


Mason jar vase with cut flowers
Mason jar vase with cut flowers

I keep a jar handy while cleaning up the garden: great way to display flowers.

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13Pie Plate

Plain grass lawn and an area of low-growing wildflowers.
Butterfly feeder made from repurposed pie plate

A strong, shallow pie dish is perfect for creating a water feeder. I placed mine in an old grape vine wreath.


Homemade butterfly feeder hanging from a tree branch in the garden.

Related: Make a Water Feeder for Butterflies and Bees
Easy project, much-used by wild things.


14Teacups and Saucers

Blue and white teacup on rock in garden
Blue and white teacup and saucer in garden

This teacup is beautiful all on its own. But you could plant some pansies in it too. Or succulents.

Polka dot tipsy pots.
Stacked teacup planter in garden

Tipsy pots with flowers in the garden.

Related: How to Make Tipsy Pots


15Trivets and Candle Holders

Metal art planters on brick wall.
Kitchen trivets and candle holders on garden wall

Hang up metal candle holders or trivets and you have instant wall art. For a unified look, spray paint them all the same color.

16Whisks and Mixer Blades

Garden art flowers mounted on wall with whisks for leaves
Garden art flowers with whisk leaves

Can you see the mixer beaters and whisk? They make good leaves in a garden-junk kind of way.

17Wooden Bowls

Garden art toadstools made from wooden bowls.
Garden art toadstools made from old wooden bowls

I used old wooden salad bowls for this project.


Homemade toadstool garden art and gnome.

Related: DIY Garden Art Toadstools
Give the gnomes a some shade!


18Wooden Spoons

Wooden spoon plant markers
Plant markers made from wooden spoons

Good idea if you have burned your wooden spoons. Use any acrylic craft paint and paint pens to turn them into plant markers or garden art.

Plants tags and markers for keeping tracks of plants in the garden.
Creative DIY plant tags and markers

There are lots more creative DIY plant tag and marker ideas here.

19Cake Pans

Garden art coneflower
Giant garden art coneflower made from kitchen junk

The top of this giant coneflower (Echinacea) garden art is a deep cake pan from the kitchen.


Giant homemade garden art coneflower.

Related: How to Make Coneflower Garden Art Flowers


20Soda Pop Cans

Crafting with soda can metal.
Decorative butterfly made from soda can metal

The metal from soda pop cans can be used to create all sorts of art including plant markers, trinkets, and tramp art.


Butterfly soda can charm.

Related: How to Make Soda Can Charms


I hope you’ve found some repurposing ideas you want to try for your garden.

When it comes to garden junk, if you love it, it works.

Resources

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25 Garden Art Projects & Ideas

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~Melissa the Empress of Dirt ♛

Garden art made from repurposed kitchen items including a chandelier and kettle.
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Melissa J. Will - Empress of DirtWelcome!
I’m Melissa J. Will a.k.a. the Empress of Dirt (Ontario, Canada).
Join me as I share creative + frugal home & garden ideas with a dash of humor.
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