Turning Old Furniture into Planters! Repurposing Containers in the Garden.

Stop! Before you drag that broken, bedraggled piece of furniture to the curb or worse, pay to have it hauled to the landfill, consider giving it new life in your garden!

With a bit of reinforcing and some holes drilled for drainage, all kinds of furniture can be repurposed into containers.

In a previous post we turned an old wooden chair into a container. Click on the image for more ideas on using chairs in your garden!

A dresser can be quickly converted into a container/plant stand by simply staggering the opening of the drawers and setting pots of plants inside. The top of the dresser offers even more space for more pots of plants.

Positioned in a garden or on a deck at the entrance to the home, you have a whimsical (and free!) addition to your garden space. Add a few knick knacks or beads or things you might normally find on a dresser to make the display even more charming.

In the dresser shown below the the worn surface was covered with ceramic tiles to protect the already aged wood and extend its newfound life in the garden.

In the picture below, an old scuffed up end table whose glass top had broken was repurposed in the garden by dropping an old sink in where the glass used to be. Drainage was built in and the vessel was perfect for simply adding soil and plants!

Bed frames are often made into “garden beds” with the head and foot board positioned directly in the garden so a bed of flowers can bloom in-between.

Head boards from beds also make sturdy trellises

The imaginative gardener from the photo below, used pallets, a bed frame and a bunch of buckets to create her own version of a “raised garden bed”! Some chicken wire has been attached to the headboard in anticipation of the plants scrambling skyward as they grow. As this garden bed matures and fills in it will become more and more wonderful and whimsical. Note the old wringer washing machine in the background that has also been turned into a planter.

Once you start down the path of repurposing both your wallet and your garden will be fuller!

Have you repurposed something for your garden? Please share! We would love to see your project.

Check back frequently for “add ons” as I come across more “furniture-to-garden” examples!

The cheerful yellow desk and chair are the perfect companions for lush green plants. Note the pencils and the lamp tying the desk theme together. It’s these little touches that always bring big whimsy to any garden display.

An old barrel just needed a glass top to make it into a unique side table. The glass protects this vintage piece from spills and the elements while giving it new life in the garden.

A baby cradle gets all dolled up by filling it with flowers!