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25 Creative Garden Fence Art & Decor Ideas

Published on August 9, 2020Last updated October 5, 2021 ♛ By Melissa J. Will

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These garden fence decorations show all sorts of creative ways to dress up your outdoor space. Discover how to transform a plain fence with outdoor wall hangings, art, and decor.

Want more privacy? See 20 Ideas for Better Backyard Privacy.

Garden art on fence including old window with shutters and funny face.

Creative Art & Decor for Garden Fences

Garden art on fences including old tools, a funny face, and an old window frame.

I go on local garden tours to gather creative and inexpensive ideas for my garden. Sure, there all all kinds of wonderful but expensive garden art items you can buy these days but my favorites are still the ones that are upcycled, repurposed, and unique. Things that look one-of-a-kind and suit the gardener’s personality.

When we see ideas we like, it’s easy to get fixated, thinking we must have the same thing. But—speaking as much to myself as you—I encourage you to use these ideas as a starting point and let serendipity do its thing.

Explore yard sales and thrift shops and keep an open mind. Let one idea lead to another and when you find items you like, work with them! That’s a sure way to have garden art that is as unique as you are. And that’s how many of the ideas you’ll see here came to be.

If you prefer mail order, Etsy and eBay can also be good sources.

Now let’s explore some ideas.

Related: 24 More Creative Fence Decor Ideas


1Rustic Stars

Wooden star fence art.

Create your own unique star with reclaimed wood slats, a grape vine wreath, rustic metal star, and a raffia bow.

Rustic Metal Star | Amazon

2Plates and Dishes

Blue and white dishes used as fence art.

Have your plates and dishes seen better days? Let them live on outdoors. Here a collection of blue plates is combined with some metal art pieces and blue orbs.

Metal Garden Art | Amazon

3Salvaged Metal and Wood

Assorted fence decorations.

Several of these pieces might be kind of bland on their own, but arranged together on this fence they look quite wonderful.

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4Rusty Old Tools

Shed wall decorating with old garden and woodworking tools.

I often see boxes of rusty old tools at auctions. They’re filthy and there’s probably some useless junk in the box too, but if you’re willing to lug them home and clean them up, you can get a display like this for a real deal.

Also see this Gallery of Tool Art Ideas.

5More Rusty Tools

Wood-stained shed with old tools as wall art.

The side of this shed is used to display old garden tools, a cast iron frying pan, and more. So what works? I think it’s a simple of choosing items you like. If it appeals to you—hang it up. You can always switch things around later.

Want to make your own decor? See how to make garden art alliums.

6Old Gate and Metal Word Sign

Repurposed garden art and sign reading believe.

Everybirdy Welcome | Amazon


Old gates, headboards, shelves—they all work. Add your own touch with a favorite metal sign. 

Check thrift shops and yard sales to find ones in your area.

7Shelves and Decor

Patio with wall decor and bistro table and chairs.

If you have some favorite items you want to display but find them difficult to hang, add shelves. It’s a great way to show off bulkier items that you don’t want to keep on the ground.

This tutorial shows how to make a wall-mounted outdoor plant shelf.

8Window Frame with Shutters

Old window frame on fence with shutters.

This is from my garden. An old window frame matched perfectly with some junk shutters to create a focal point in the garden.

See the gallery of repurposed door and windows for more garden ideas.

9Framed Succulents

Succulent frame on fence

Framed succulents became popular some years ago. For some of us, succulents are not cheap but you can learn to propagate your own to get more if you’re willing to be patient.

The project (above) is from the book Gardening on a Shoestring and you can see the entire tutorial here: How to Make Framed Succulents.

The next photo is from a garden tour. I thought it was interesting that they used a screen window and threaded the succulents through it.

Succulents framed in old window on fence.

10Galvanized Buckets

Mini succulent wall planter on fence.

Along with some very sweet framed succulents, this garden has a series of galvanized buckets mounted on the fence.

Simply drop potted plants in to change things up through the growing season.

11Candle Holders and Kitchen Trivets

Metal art planters on brick wall.

This is also at my house. I added the hanging planters to add interest to the long brick wall but it still looked too plain. The addition of metal candle holders and kitchen trivets added the artistic touch I wanted.

12Garden Tools

Old shovel hanging on fence as garden art.

I hung these garden tools on the fence after realizing I was never going to use them but didn’t really want to get rid of them.

While some love the look of rust, in this case I opted to spray paint the ends silver.

13Plants With Character

Donkey tail succulents in fence-mounted planter.

The succulents chosen for this fence-mounted planter are a perfect choice for the ornate style. Plus anything long or cascading tends to kick it up a notch.

Related: Creative Ways to Display Succulents

14Outdoor Art Gallery

Shed with mirror and metal art.

Display collections of similar items that work together likes these hanging metal sculptures.

15Pick A Theme

Cat-themed art on fence.

Here the gardener picked a theme—cats—and displayed the related items together. Meow!

16Fence and Gate Inserts

Garden gate with metal inset.

In the old days we used old floor grates for this but today you can buy metal or plastic inserts that do a good job of adding interest to a plain gate or fence.

17Giant Bug Art

Giant metal dragonfly garden art decoration.

This giant dragonfly is from a shop but you can also make your own from an old ceiling fan.

  • How to Make Dragonfly Garden Art
  • How To Welcome Dragonflies To Your Garden

18Repetition Repetition

Flower gaskets hanging along garden fence.

This unusual fence is between two houses where they wanted privacy and creativity. The “roof” up top is a smart way to add height to a fence without having a tall, plain wall. The repeated hanging baskets definitely bling it up.

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19Old Frames and Mirrors

Old tools and mirror on garden fence.

Along with broken garden tools, I started hanging old wooden picture frames and mirrors as well. This is a great way to add interest to a long fence while you’re waiting for the plants to grow up.

This tells you which mirrors to choose and how to keep it safe:
How to Safely Use Mirrors in the Garden

20Color

Metal hayrack on wall planted with lobelia.

There’s nothing like a zing of color to grab attention. These brilliant blues are a great distraction from a long, boring wall. When in doubt, choose a bright blue lobelia.

21Indoor Decorating Style Outdoors

Decorations on fence next to patio sitting area.

This sitting area is set up the same way you’d do it indoors. The table and chairs set the stage, and the various plants and decorations on the wall accent the setting.

22Simple Can Be Very Good

Black-stained fence and gate.

This little mask works perfectly on this expanse of black fence and gate. Simple touches like this are my favorite.

23Living Art and Perennial Favorites

Purple clematis growing on fence.

Train a clematis or other vine up a fence. Here some annuals and birdhouses add to the living art.

New to growing clematis: See Clematis 101 For Beginners.

24Natural Materials and Matching Textures

Neatly-stacked wood pile and wicker baskets.

Stacked firewood and hanging wicker baskets look gorgeous together. Think about grouping items with similar colors and textures for an eye-catching display.

25Add Some Humor

Funny garden art face.

Tree Face Kit | Amazon

I’m a big proponent of having your garden your way. Forget what anyone else has to say and follow your muse. If you like goofy faces like this or anything else that adds some fun, go for it.

I hope you got some ideas you can use.

There are a whole bunch more fence decor ideas here.

~Melissa the Empress of Dirt ♛

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Garden art on fences including old tools, a funny face, and an old window frame.
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