Every garden needs a bench or two or three!  These gardeners have found interesting ways to make or adapt benches with a Flea Market Gardening  spin. Two fun how-tos!

How to make garden benches in Flea Market style!

From Twig

Jeanne Malaby’s twig bench. She says, “I love the way the morning sunshine makes Libby just glow!”

Jean’s bench is made from similar sized branches, with pilot holes drilled and screwed together.

Myra Glandon’s twig and log bench

Myra Glandon says, “This is a very rustic sturdy bench hubby and I made a few years ago, from limbs that came down in a big storm. We have a stand of pine trees out back near our pond and circular patio. We used long spikes to attach them between two trees. We made sure the seat fit snug, and was comfy. It’s one of my favorite things we’ve made and reminds me of something you might have seen at an rustic lodge or park from the 1920s.”

From Fencing

June Barnett’s conventional bench, jazzed up with old fence boards

Dean McCall says, “This old bench has been there, done that, & now doing it again!”

Dean McCall’s bench is backed with recycled fence pickets and when set against another picket fence and left to weather makes a fetching vignette.  When a bench can no longer hold the weight of a person, it can be charmingly used as a plant holder.

From Chairs or bedframes

Chairs and other furniture can be used even in pieces. In the next two examples cahair have been melded into one fabulous bench:

Sandra Hogan’ delightful bench from furniture pieces

Valerie Haws classy rocker bench from a bedframe

 Valerie Haws says, ” My porch rocker bench. Most have the bench out of beds, but this one has a part from a truck as the rocker. The Cedar boards were from my parent-in-laws old fence.”

Sandra Hogan says, ‘Here is one of my benches…two chair backs, a twin headboard piece, and old oak flooring for the seat. I made it to sell at my garden sale….but then just couldn’t part with it. I’m keeping it!”

Dedra Kirchner’s recycled chairs become a bench with wood planks screwed in from the bottom

From Stone

Lisa Collier says, “My favorite rocks, the base for a bench, were the cornerstone to the fireplace to the old mansion that once stood where our house now stands.”

Kathy Hardin’s mossy stone bench

Kathy Hardin has a great place for just daydreaming in her garden! Her husband used a tractor to place the stone for this bench he had in his yard as a boy. When his parents passed away they moved it to their garden.  Family memories!

From Pallets

Donna Williams’s sofa-like bench

Donna Williams, from Funky Junk Interiors says, “This is an outdoor sofa bench I created out of pallet wood and reclaimed lumber. The mattress was a whoppin’ $10 dollars which I used as the cushion. Pretty cozy sit for overlooking that garden!”

How To: Bench or chair from recycled wood

Cheryl Farley says, “I built this chair from old scraps of lumber and barn boards I had laying around…My goal this summer was to re-use and do everything as close to FREE as I could get. This chair cost me my time only……and it’s comfy!

Cheryl Farley’ chair can easily be translated to a longer bench

• It’s mostly 2×4’s and the slats are 1×51/2 barn boards. Same with the boards along the front of the seat….
• I used deck screws…and pre-sanded everything before putting it together.
• I used the measurements from my hubby’s favorite lawn chair.
• Make sure to allow for the 1 1/2″ 2×4 because if you measure them they aren’t really 2×4 they are smaller….

This was done totally free hand on my part…  Totally free…

I’m planning to make a change on the slats on the back rest. I want to cut them in half and fill in the spaces a little more….How would you stain it?”

From Bed frames

Bed frames can be found almost every time you visit a thrift store, junk shop, or Goodwill. They are very common at yard sales, sometimes for the only reason that the hardware to assemble it has been lost as one seller told me.

Jodi Mihelich’s re-purposed garden bench. “This is a bench I made out of an old waterbed that was my Grandpa’s.” she says.

Shannon Smit made this planter out of an old bed headboard

Sue Gerdes‘ old bedframe bench outside her door.

Sue’s bench frame is welded and recycled wood used as slats.  A variety of weathered wood birdhouses find a home here, making a winning combination.

Now, see how cute these benches can be inside or outdoors:

Kim Kick-Leifheit says, “A bench my husband made from an old wooden twin bed I purchased at an estate sale.”

Bedframe bench How To

See Ann Elais”s Bedframe bench, below, How To, see   How to make a bench and planter from old bed frames

Ann Elias’ bed bench and planter