After a comprehensive and highly sophisticated poll, we’ve drilled down on the 10 recycled treasures Flea Market gardeners especially love and collect in their gardens.  How many on this list do you have?

2016 Top Ten!

 1.  Old rusted wheelbarrow planter

An old contractor’s wheelbarrow was my first ‘ junk’ gardening item and one that got me started eyeing the large items set out on trash day.  Here it is today, filled with Dragon’s Blood sedum, Yellow Ball sedum and Sedum Blue Spruce:

Elegant greens of the succilents fill my old wheelbarrow

For how to see this: “How to plant a rusty wheelbarrow for the garden“

Darlene Danielson loves planting in wheelbarrows. This one has African Daisy, Nasturtium, pansies and lavender Lobelia

2.  A small watering can collection

Be cautious here….collecting even a few watering cans can become an obsession…they are that much of a gardening icon!

Majella Maas collects watering cans

“Small, medium, and large.  A few watering cans…” Majella Maas says.

See many, many wonderous watering cans here: Wishing for watering cans: A gallery

3.  Glass or sparkle

Garden Bling!  We love this! What’s is more fun…collecting the pieces, or actually making garden totems? I don’t know! Just visit any glass section of a thrift shop and you’ll get inspired by what you fid.  It’s something we can’t explain,…but understand.

A little sparkle of cobalt I keep on a garden shelf

Cobalt blue goes very well with terracotta and rust…

Cindy Trubisky used green glass she found on a recent thrift shopping trip

“Flea Market Glass Garden Totem: Step by Step”

“What to do with recycled dishes and china in the garden?”

Linda Gladman’s sunny plate glass sunflower.  She loves yellow, she says.

4.  Galvanized tubs and bucket planters

Galvanized metal is simply steel in some form that has received a thin coating of zinc oxide, which simply prevents containers from rusting when exposed to the elements. This makes it perfect as a planter for bright succulents or spring annuals on the patio.

Arlene Brenneman’s pink petunias compliment her galvanized tub

Arlene Brenneman says, “Here’s a massive hanging basket I bought recently and potted in my mop bucket. I repot them so they don’t dry out so quickly. Those hanging baskets are always dry!”

“Getting galvanized…in the garden“

Jill Ruskamp’s tank garden

Jill Ruskamp‎ says, “My tank garden is all from flea market types of buys or finds!”

5.  A quaint chippy chair ‘plant stand’

Marie Niemann’s garden chair created a sensation! With a simple enamel bowl filled with flowers on the seat, it’s a charmer, but she’s upped the ante by adding the heart with its key. Now look what else there is here for inspiration and then see what YOU can do!  Just an old chair….plus your imagination.

Marie Niemann is sitting pretty with her shabby chic plant stand

Marie Niemann says, “I love how my garden chair turned out last year, now if only I could remember what I planted! Purple and yellow are my two of my favorite colors together. I mainly plant containers so I change them up every year and move them around for a new fresh look.”

“Sitting pretty in the garden”

6.  Upcycled Bicycle

A discarded or dilapidated bicycle can anchor a flower bed, looking as if the rider has stopped for tea and will be back any minute to pedal off! It’s such a quaint, ‘All American Summer’ look.

Jessica Eiss-Healthcoach’s garden bike

Jessica Eiss-Healthcoach says, “Summer bike being swallowed up by the perennials, with our cat Jack.”

“Pedals and Petals: Old bikes in the garden”

Nancy K. Meyer received this from an anonymous neighbor

Nancy K. Meyer received this from an anonymous neighbor. She says, “This special “trike” just showed up in my park one winter. When people know you like flea gardening –they leave gifts!”

7.  Bowling balls

Who can explain why we decorate heavy bowling balls for garden art?  It may come from the desire for expensive glass gazing balls and the pure fun of embellishing them in various ways,…with pennies, or sparkly gems or crushed glass.  Here’s how to make a Penny Ball.

Marie Niemann painted her bowling ball copper

Marie Niemann says, “Here’s my first penny bowling ball and t was a great winter activity!  It was a fun project that didn’t involve any thought process, so it was very calming and serene to work on.  Right behind it is a wonderful old copper boiler I plant every year. I used GE Silicone ll Clear that can be found at most hardware stores.

I really don’t know how many pennies it took, about $10 dollars worth, but. I cleaned out my piggy bank, too.  I spread some glue over a small area with a knife and towards the end I’d just dab a bit on each penny to stick on for the second layer. Just think… they eventually will turn BLUE!”

“Glossy garden art using bowling balls”

Fast forward a few months…

Marie Niemann’s penny ball, with a verdigris patina

Marie now says, “Here’s my penny bowling ball after one year.. I sped up the aging process by spraying it with a mixture of hydrogen peroxide, vinegar and a little salt. And of course Mother Nature helped too! the pennies glued on with GE Silicone ll waterproof have held up very well outdoors, only one penny fell off. I made this using a double layer of pennies so the black ball didn’t show through, but some like to keep it bright and shiny and have painted their bowling ball first in a copper paint to hide the original color.”

8.  Rust is a Must, in the Flea Market garden

Marie Niemann says Rust is a Must,…a LOT

This rusty relic will make a great planter, with extra iron to grow healthy flowers!

“‘Rust is a Must’ in the garden”

“Join the garden ‘Rusty Rust Club’”

Rusty buckets, wheelbarrow and galvanized tub make a quaint and colorful display

My bucket along with several other Flea Market and trash day finds

Jeanne Sammons’s rusty pump looks as if it was really used to fill this vintage claw-foot tub

9.  Old garden tools

Funky tools and a tool box tray make a cute tablescape

My old tools on a rake head

 How to display vintage tools in the garden

10.  A vintage door or window

Cherrie Carine created a gate from a door

Cherrie Carine tells us, “I love old doors in the garden…photo is of my arbor “Door to the Garden”.. door opens to my back lawn gardens.”

For how to use old doors, see  “The garden door to ‘nowhere’”

Angi Thornton upcycled windows

Angi Thornton says, “This is my Frank Lloyd Wright inspired painted window.”

For more see “Winsome window mosaics, for the garden”

Bonus Item!  Something unusual and U-Neek!

You’ll know if you find one,…something so different, one-of-a-kind, something, after some experience searching, you have never seen before.  Kathy Engel found this unique item, a vintage sink, just covered in a fine rusty patina.

Kathy Engel’s one-of-a-kind find

I set this mailbox on a stump, who would ever think to convert this to a planter?

See “Marvelous mailboxes in the garden” for how to do this project.

Myra Glandon‎ “My funnel planters this year.”