Adding antique rust from the farm to your garden

Anna Kittle says, “My hubby dragged this thing home years ago and set it beside the barn. There it stayed until I finally put it in gardens… I planted an old metal potful of flowers and set it on the seat.”

 

Dreama from The chicken coop says, “It was left by the last owners , I got 2 of them . plus, other things, they said was junk .. I love junk!”

 

D Diane Weiss says, “Old……..seed planter It has lantana planted around it and I’ll add some pots of mums further into Fall and probably a couple of pumpkins!”  How pretty leaning against this tree….and the color!  Gorgeous!

 

 

 

 

Some farm equipment needs a lot of space and becomes a feature in your entire garden, being seen from all angles.  Christine Cross  says, “This is another rusty garden find that was in the woods on my in-laws farm.”

 

Jeanne Sammons says, “This is what I call, ‘Grandpa’s Rake Garden.’  I bought this old rake that my Grandpa used more than twenty years ago and I love this garden!”  Jeanne’s community has a garden where they display several pieces of historical farm implements.  They look fantastic there and must mean so much to the local residents.  She and her husband sponsor the garden with seasonal decorations and other help through the year.

 

Farming, all in the family

When you live the farm life and are a gardener, finding decor for your planting beds can be as simple as looking through the barn.  Nancy K Meyer has a large mowed area of grass, several ‘hoses away’ from her home and she’s dotted her ‘park’ as s he calls it with treasured family history.  Plows, pumps and metal flowers her husband made from farm parts are skillfully arranged in flower beds surrounding each tree. Hosta fills in around them.

Nancy tells us, “My favorites wheels in the gardens, hubby brought it back from the farm I grew up on. From some rusty old farm equipment my dad or grandfather used, not sure what was on the wheels. Our best guess is a planter of some kind. This is in my park down by the road.  It is safely chained to the tree.”

“More rust from the farm. All family pieces. A before and after of the plow. “

Roadside Treasure!

Cindy Schroeder says, “Here’s what I found on a walk to our local high school’s cross country track. There was a pile of stuff waiting to be dumped. It’s about 3 feet tall to the top of the handle and 16 ” in diameter. It is very heavy and my poor husband grumbled as he lugged it about a quarter of a mile back to our house. It’s all rusted and has these neat metal straps going down the side.

Of course there are some dings, dents and holes. I will have to think about this one. I am thinking something trailing over the sides to contrast with the rust and maybe some type of flowering grass by the handle. Should be fun to plant! You just never know where you will find a treasure.”

 

It’s a rusty addiction…

Rita Michalaktells us, ” I was inspired by Rusty Rust Club*…when my dad told me he was cleaning out and tearing down an old shed on my grandparents farm (that hasn’t been a farm for over 45 years), I knew I had to go and check out the scrap pile.

My husband doesn’t see my “visions” but once I’ve added my items to the garden, he says nothing …which is his way of saying it looks better than he thought it would!   He has his own scrap pile, which he calls his ‘bone yard’, that I have raided more than once!  When he grumbles about it, I just tell him he knows where it’s at if he needs it and it’s not going to get any rustier in the flower beds than it does out in the woods!

Rita tells us, “This is what I managed to fit into my Trailblazer. There is a roll of rusty barb wire, an old frost free faucet (I can see it in a flower bed with a rusty bucket of flowers hanging from it), a couple of rusty buckets without bottoms, one with an item that my dad tells me is what’s left of a hay chopper, an old bed head or foot stand (I already have the other end in my flower garden) several old rusty coffee cans, a cross-cut saw blade, a bucket of old faucets, small tools, harness pieces, and other odds and ends.”

“Not sure what I’ll do with all of it, but I know where to go and get ideas!”   We say, stick with us here if you understand this.  Wink..

Finally….

Margaret Diggs says, “This is an old 1910 J&O corn planter I found up in the timber on our farm. I talked my husband into bringing it down and adding it to my flower bed. It took him two hours to dig it out it was so deeply embedded in the dirt.  I think it definitely belongs in the Rusty Rust Club!  I’ve found some other stuff just have to wait till all the foliage dies back this winter to be able to get it out of the timber. I love old tractors and plows.”

 

Wouldn’t you love a dinner bell like this and give it a good crank?  Sheron Olson tells us, “These are the Dinner bells that hubs found picking… It sounds great!  And FUN!”

 

Notes:

Produce a rich rust patina on iron and steel, safely and quickly here,  Aging pots and metal in the garden

Rusty Rust Club?  That’s our virtual ‘club’ you belong to if you love old rust in the garden.  It’s also the name of one of our Facebook Photo Albums, Rusty Rust Club.   It’s filled with ideas and examples!