Developing your backyard into a creative, funky oasis is one of the best ways to showcase your personality. The good news is that building your backyard doesn’t have to break the bank. You can easily craft unique planters and other backyard items from upcycled items in your basement, attic, or thrift store. It’s time to wear those crafty gloves and start your fun DIY weekend project!
Teacups & Saucers
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Small succulents or herbs look great in saucers and teacups. Even if your teacups are cracked and faded, they make great planters. You could even give them some life by painting them with different designs or colors to make them stand out. Place these on your backyard table or nestled on the edge of your garden.
Mason Jars
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Mason jars are one of the most versatile decorative pieces in your home. While they’re great for various things, they are ideal for windowsill herbs or hanging planters. You’ll be able to see the roots of plants as they grow in the mason jar. Use succulents, cacti, garlic, tomatoes, pothos, and snake plants in your mason jars. You’ll find tons of these at thrift stores.
Old Boots & Shoes
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Colorful flowers look great in old boots and shoes! It’s way better than throwing them away since you can use any shoe, even if it’s destroyed. Roses or tulips add a quirky touch. You can create drainage holes by cutting the shoe and filing them with a potting mix. Ensure you also coat the inside of the shoe with a sealant to keep the water and soil inside. Place these around your yard.
Colanders
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Colanders make great planters to hang; thanks to their holes, they’re also great for drainage! Spray paint these colanders bright colors to make them stand out in your backyard, or spray paint them neutral colors like silver, black, white, or gray so the flowers grab all the attention.
Broken Teapots
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Grab those teapots and start smashing them! This is a unique and whimsical way to create planters in your backyard. Broken teapots look like something from Alice in Wonderland, making them a fun, versatile addition, wildly if they’re patterned. Place them around your backyard to act as several focal points.
Worn-out Purses
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There’s nothing better than vintage planters! These create a unique design in your backyard that’s charming, rustic, and nostalgic. Add soil and hang the worn-out purses for a fun, vintage look. If you have purses from different eras, hang them beside each other to blend vintage and modern eras.
Kitchen Pots & Pans
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If you have many old pots and pans taking up space in your closet, use them as planters! These are large enough for deep-rooted plants. Fill them with soil and sealant, and place them around your backyard. Rusted pots and pans create a farmhouse look.
Old Coffee Tins
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These make great retro-style planters. Label herbs with bright colors for a timeless, classic look. Fill them with soil and colorful flowers and hang them around your house and backyard. For a more dynamic look, use different-sized tins.
Toilet Tanks
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This might seem strange, but old toilet tanks make excellent planters. Repurpose them into statement planters and place them in your backyard. You can display a row of herbs or use various flowers. Since they’re deep, these are great for plants and flowers that need more soil.
Lightbulbs
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Air plants love lightbulbs! Collect lightbulbs that are no longer working for an eco-friendly planter decoration. These make terrific, tiny terrariums for air plants. Hang a bunch of lightbulbs up by a string and hang them across your living room or back patio.
Rusty Wheelbarrows
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These are spacious enough for a mini garden, with tons of room for soil and larger plants. Fill the bottoms with soil and plant a row of herbs or plants across the wheelbarrow. Place it in the corner of your backyard for a rustic farmhouse decoration. You can go full out with this one and use many flowers overflowing down the wheelbarrow.
Tires
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Head to your local thrift store or discount tire shop and pick up a bunch of old, dysfunctional tires to decorate your backyard! These make incredible rustic decorations with ample space for plants. Paint and stack the tire’s unique planters across the fence in your backyard. You can also cut them in half and hang them.
Old Gutters
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Long gutters look great as wall-mounted planters for vertical gardening. Fill them with soil, herbs, and plants and hang them across the fence in your backyard. Use several gutters to create different rows. Fill them with colorful tulips, roses, and succulents to add texture and variety.
Birdcages
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Because of the thin material of bird cages and their open space, using vintage birdcages and turning them into flower planters is perfect for cascading flowers. You can use many flowing, colorful red, blue, pink, and purple flowers and hang the birdcage on your patio or living room. This is bohemian, chic, and vintage all together!
Old Bricks
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If you have many old bricks lying around in your backyard, use them as planters! The tiny crevices make rustic succulent homes. Squeeze small succulents into the tiny cracks throughout the brick to turn it into a thriving, varied succulent garden. Decorate your backyard with these bricks by displaying them across your lawn.
Wooden Drawers
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Instead of tossing an unused dresser, remove the wooden drawers and fill them with soil and flowers! This is a great way to be green and eco-friendly. Old furniture pieces can be used for a rustic, nostalgic touch. Line these next to each other in your backyard. They look great around sheds; you can also use them on your indoor patio.
Picture Frames
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Line a bunch of picture frames next to one another to create vertical succulent gardens in your backyard. Picture frames work well because they contain the flowers in a specific dimension. To change things up, head to your local thrift shop and get a variety of picture frames, like gold embroidered ones and silver ones.
Bathtubs
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Use old bathtubs if you have large plants and want to keep them around! These are large enough for a floral arrangement and look great as a statement piece in your backyard. Tuck them away to the side of your garden or use them in the center of your yard. Fill them with a colorful array of flowers to create texture.
Sinks
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If you want to revamp your space, tear out old sinks and replace them with new ones. Instead, consider keeping those old sinks and putting them to good use! Vintage sinks work beautifully for flower beds. Simply fill them with soil and flowers. Because there’s already a drain, it’s easy to monitor water levels and drain them.
Typewriters
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Even if you have a typewriter that no longer works properly, you can easily repurpose it and turn it into a cool, artsy planter for small plants. You can fill the typewriter with succulents and small paisley flowers. You’ll have to hollow out certain sections of the typewriter and fill it with soil across the top.
Candle Holders
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These tiny and stylish candle holders look fabulous at home since you can use glass for stylish indoor greenery. Plant tiny succulents or flowers inside the candle holders, then place them on your bookshelves and other smaller shelves. They also look fabulous on nightstands or bathroom counters.
Chandeliers
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Old, vintage chandeliers look great hanging above your dining room table in your living room and make wonderful and unique planters. Repurpose them into hanging flower baskets. Ensure the chandelier is secure on your ceiling, and then attach the hanging pots to each part. Make sure you also remove the wiring by cutting it with wire cutters.
Shutter Planters
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Shutters make wonderful hanging planters. To create vertical gardens, simply attach pots to old shutters. You can lean these against your home, place them near your shed, or hang them along your fence. Use various hanging plants, such as pothos, ivy, and ferns.
Bed Frames
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Instead of throwing away your old, unused bedframe, you can use headboards for trellises or garden dividers in your backyard. You’ll have to break apart your bedframe, but it’s an easy project. Then, lay them across your garden to separate different sections, such as plants, flowers, and vegetables. You can also use it as a trellis by leaning it against your home and hanging plants off of it.
Toy Trucks
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Succulents or small flowers look wonderful inside toy trucks! This is an easy DIY project because they have a back section you can fill with dirt. Head into your attic and grab those toy trucks in boxes your children have outgrown! You can display these as unique decor in your guest room, bathroom, or kitchen.
Old Books
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For a timeless, vintage aesthetic, hollow out old books and turn them into plant succulent holders. Display these on your bookshelf to change your decorations and create texture. Use older, vintage books with gold rims to give those planters a pop of personality!
Musical Instruments (Trumpet, Drum, Guitar)
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You might not think using musical instruments can act as planters, but you can quickly turn them into statement planters! This is a fun DIY project and a great way to repurpose those old instruments in your attic. Chances are, you or your kids were once in a band, so instead of having those instruments lying around collecting dust, put them on display again!
Suitcases
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If you have vintage suitcases in your attic or even plain old ones, you can recreate and repurpose them as planters! Simply line them with plastic to make a vintage planter, fill them with soil, and plant succulents or plants. Then, you can display them in your living room as vintage decor.
Skateboards
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If your kids have outgrown their skateboards, now is the time to put them to good use! Mount to your walls in your living room or bedroom for modern-style planters. Line them with different vases and holders and decorate using succulents, herbs, or small flowers. Make sure you use a wall mount that’s supportive and sturdy.
Hollowed-Out Logs
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For a more natural and rustic planter idea, use hollowed-out logs and fill them with soil and herbs. These logs look fabulous in your backyard since they blend into your surroundings without acting as focal points. This is also a great way to incorporate more natural elements into your backyard.
Doll Heads
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You can make a fun planter backyard using their old dolls’ heads if you have kids. This might sound quirky and strange, but it’s a unique way to plant flowers. If you have a ton of old dolls lying around that you’ve been meaning to get rid of, do some surgery, remove the heads, and fill them with soil and different herbs and flowers. Your kids can certainly help you with this project!
Vinyl Records
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You’ll need a little bit of heat for this one! Shape vinyl records into hanging planters by holding them to a heat source and shaping them into bowls as they slowly melt. You can make it as shallow or deep as you’d like! Melt vinyl records into a variety of shapes for variety.
Bicycle Baskets
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You don’t have to keep your planters in one place! This idea puts a chic twist on your traditional backyard planter. Using bicycle baskets, you can build a charming, mobile planter that’s easy to move around and easy to plant. These wicker baskets create a bohemian, chic, unique aesthetic and are easy to fill with soil, flowers, and herbs.
Computer Towers
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This is where tech unexpectedly meets nature. You might not think using computer towers makes excellent planters, but they do. They also create a feeling of nostalgia and a retro-futuristic design that’s pretty unique. You can place these computer towers along the fence in your backyard to act as a focal point. Hollow out the inside of the computers to fill them with soil.