Do you have some old garden furniture that you want to throw away? Instead of going to the dump, it is possible to get a bit more use out of your pre-loved furniture.
Why not try turning your old garden furniture into beautiful raised garden beds instead? Raised garden beds have a lot of benefits such as reducing weeds, lessening the strain on your back and being able to adjust the soil as you please to suit the type of plant you want.
As another plus, you can get some extra use out of your old furniture if you don’t mind a bit of DIY. If this sounds great to you, here are a few ways to change your garden furniture into beautiful raised beds.
From old dresser to raised garden in a few simple steps. Credit: Shutterstock
Old tables to raised beds
If you have a few old tables standing around that just don’t look that great anymore, you can easily turn them into raised beds filled with flowers and other types of plants. All you have to do is create one or two holes on the tabletop or remove the whole top until only the frame remains. If you created holes, make sure you have pots that will fit snugly inside these holes.
From old table to stylish planter. Credit: Refreshliving
If you removed the top, you can cut it up to create sides and a bottom for your table. Once that’s done, make sure to seal the inside it if it’s wood. Fill it with soil and plant whichever plants you desire.
From chair to flower pot
Chairs are another handy piece of furniture that can easily be turned into a planter. Simply remove the seating area or create a hole big enough to fit your pot or basket snugly. Place your pot inside the chair seat and fill it with the plant of your choice.
Sitting pretty with upcycled chairs. Credit: Simphome
Chairs are a great choice if you have too many hanging baskets. Simply place a hanging basket in the chair and watch your colourful seat grow.
You can place your chairs alongside your planted table or you can place them strategically around your patio or garden for extra visual effect.
Day bed to flower bed
Day beds are also great for turning into flower beds. You can stack a collection of plant pots on top of the day bed or you can create a frame to plant in. If you create a frame, leave the bed exactly like it is and just add wooden sides to the bed part. This way you can fill up the seating area with soil and plant a variety of plants in it.
A flower bed in an old day bed. Credit: Ideaswood.selbermachendeko
As many daybeds have wheels, it’s easy to move your plants where you want them if you feel like changing up your layout.
Animal feeder/drinker to plant pot
Do you have an old chicken drinker or feeder lying around? You can easily turn it into a quirky flower pot. Simply remove the lid, fill it with soil and place your favourite flowering plant inside.
An animal feeder can easily be upcycled into a quirky planter. Credit: Inspiredbycharm
You can do the same with any cribs you may have lying around. Simply fill them with soil and plant what you want. Just make sure to create some drainage holes at the bottom to prevent your plants from drowning.
Garden parasol to trellis
If you have an old, broken garden parasol lying around, you can easily turn it into a trellis for climbing plants or use it as a frame to attach some more hanging baskets to.
If you want to use it as a trellis, simply remove the fabric and place the frame in an open position. Take some wire and fill up the umbrella part of the frame with wire the same way the fabric would’ve filled it. Once that’s done, wind some wire down the pole so the climbing plant has something to hold on to.
Place a climber such as English ivy or honeysuckle in a pot at the base of the parasol. As your plant grows, gently guide the vines up the pole and onto the wire frame you created. In time your plant will fill up the whole parasol in the form of the original umbrella.
If you want to use your parasol as extra hanging space for your hanging baskets, you can create a frame in the same way as the trellis. Instead of growing a vine up the parasol, however, you will be filling the frame with hanging baskets instead.
Simply attach a hanging basket wherever there’s a spot. You can hang them at different heights to get a more appealing visual effect as well and fill the rest of the empty frame with hanging lights. This should create quite a stunning visual effect, especially at night.
Fire pit to flower pot
If you have an old fire pit standing around, you can easily turn it into a great looking flower pot. It can even still look like it’s on fire if you plant a bunch of flaming red, orange and yellow flowers in it.
Credit: Hometalk
Simply move your fire pit where you want it, make sure there is drainage at the bottom and fill it with soil and the flowers of your choice.
If you have a permanent fire pit, simply fill it with soil and plant the flower of your choice in there. You can even create a triangular trellis for your flowering plant to climb on to create a fiery effect. Just make sure the plant you use is capable of climbing if you’ll be attempting the use of a trellis.
FAQs
What is the cheapest way of creating raised beds?
If you have some old furniture available, the cheapest way to create a raised bed is to use that furniture. If you don’t have any, use cheap wood like cedar or something similar. Just make sure the wood is treated to avoid premature rot due to water damage.
What can I line my raised garden bed with?
If you want to protect the wood you used as the frame against the wet soil, use something plastic. Just make sure that the plastic has holes in at the bottom so that the water can still drain away. If you don’t want to use plastic, you can also use fabric that will retain some water.
Should you fill raised garden beds to the top?
If you have enough soil, it is a great idea to fill your raised bed all the way to the top. This isn’t necessary, but it looks much better if you’re planning on planting small annuals or perennials that grow along the soil surface instead of up towards the sky.
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