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This Enchanting 'Junk Garden' Is Filled with Genius Ways to Repurpose Your Old Stuff

Why plant in flower pots when you can use rusty milk cans, chicken feeders, or galvanized mop buckets?

Headshot of Taysha MurtaughBy Taysha Murtaugh
Shrub, Plant, Garden, Flower, Petal, Groundcover, Flowering plant, Wildflower, Landscaping, Spring, pinterest icon
Organized Clutter

It might be filled with junk, but this gorgeous garden is anything but "junky." Blogger Carlene Blair has created quite the oasis for herself right outside her door—and it perfectly embodies the name of her blog, Organized Clutter.

It all started when Blair discovered Mary Randolph Carter's book, Garden Junk.

"I loved the look of junk with beautiful flowers," Blair tells CountryLiving.com. "As the seasons and years passed, I found better and and more unusual junk, and I started making signs and repurposing old junk into planters! It's a great hobby combining my love of flower gardening with junking. I try to outdo myself every year!"

We're not sure how she's going to top this! Take a tour of her junk garden, and find out just how she created it.

1

Northern Exposure

junk gardening tour
Organized Clutter

"Since my house faces north, I have shade lovers like hosta, Solomon's seal, and impatiens planted under my bay window," Blair wrote on her blog.

GET THE LOOK: Shop similar barnstars at Amazon.

2

Wheelbarrow Plant Stand

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Organized Clutter

Blair's very first junk garden piece? This old wheelbarrow, which serves as a stand for a laundry tub bursting with Marguerite daisies and nicotiana.

RELATED: 20 Favorite Container Plants for Your Potted Garden Oasis

3

Blooming Collection

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Organized Clutter

In her front yard, perennials and annuals spill out of watering cans and funnels and off the steps of a ladder. She says old wooden signs add "vertical interest."

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4

DIY Flower Market Sign

junk gardening tour
Organized Clutter

We're obsessed with this "Flower Market" sign made of two spindle legs and a weathered piece of barn siding.

RELATED: 54 Spring Crafts That Will Instantly Brighten Your Home and Garden

5

Stenciled Shovel

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Organized Clutter

With a bit of stenciling, an old shovel head makes adorable garden decor.

6

"Garden Swing"

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Organized Clutter

Here, Blair repurposed a children's swing into a whimsical flower pot holder.

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7

DIY Potting Shed Sign and Tool Rack

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Organized Clutter

What was once a gun rack is now attached to an old barn door and used to hold vintage garden tools. Blair even stenciled a cute "Potting Shed" sign for the piece.

8

DIY Staked Coffee Pot Planters

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Organized Clutter

Scavenged coffee pots became charming raised planters when Blair mounted them on stakes.

9

Antique Water Pump

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Organized Clutter

An old water pump accents a container spilling over with blooms.

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10

Vintage Typewriter Turned Garden Statue

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Organized Clutter

We love the wild, abandoned look of this old typewriter in Blair's bed of succulents.

11

A Tree to Lean on

junk gardening tour
Organized Clutter

Collections of vintage birdhouses and old metal wheel rims line the deck beside a tree-shaded bed where begonias and impatiens, two favorite annual flowers that do well in the dappled light, add a bright pop of red.

12

Antique Potting Sink

junk gardening tour
Organized Clutter

This antique potting sink is the perfect place to display a pair of black eyed Susan vines growing up trellises in galvanized tubs. And that monogrammed cabinet door is so creative.

RELATED: 20 Gorgeous Flowering Vines to Add Vertical Color to Your Yard and Garden

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13

Seasonal Window Display

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Organized Clutter

During the winter, Blair displayed this weathered frame inside as Christmas decor, but come spring, it was repurposed outside as a planter. Genius!

14

Genius Repurposing

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Organized Clutter

Hey, a hook is a hook. Here, a "chick starter" hangs from a thrifted banana tree.

15

Enamored with Enamelware

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Organized Clutter

An enamelware coffee pot is the clever focal point of this flower bed.

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16

Whitewashed Bench

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Organized Clutter

A whitewashed bench holds galvanized buckets and a toolbox, which Blair (of course) adorably stenciled.

17

Bicycle Planter

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Organized Clutter

Even a bike can be a beautiful planter, as Blair proves here. The shade-loving bloomer hanging out in the basket is dicentra (aka bleeding heart).

RELATED: 25 Best Shade Perennials That Thrive Out of the Sun

18

Galvanized Design

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Organized Clutter

Have you ever seen such an assortment of trash-to-treasure planters?

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19

From the Farm

plant, flowerpot, flower, petal, floristry, shrub, flower arranging, floral design, houseplant, groundcover,
Organized Clutter

Rusty milk cans, chicken feeders, and galvanized mop buckets were given new life as (what else?) planters.

Next Up: Step Inside Three Dreamy Backyard Retreats

green garden retreat made of salvaged windows
Erica George Dines, styling by Thea Beasley

Move over "she-shed." Filled with vintage collections and eclectic junking finds, these sophisticated chic sheds take the garden house to a whole new level.

TOUR CHIC SHEDS

Headshot of Taysha Murtaugh
Taysha Murtaugh
Lifestyle Editor

Taysha Murtaugh was the Lifestyle Editor at CountryLiving.com.

Guide to Spring Gardening

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