Quaint, bloomin’ bicycles for the garden

15 vintage garden bike ideas!

Give a vintage old bike a second chance in your garden.  When bicycles break down or the children outgrow them, Fleaa Market Gardeners find good uses in the garden for these sometimes beloved old relics. If the bike was yours as a child, it becomes part of your story in the garden. If you discover a funky old bike with original paint, it’s your lucky day.

You can create a bicycle vignette like Cindy’s by choosing a neutral background so your Flea market finds stand out, Anchor the bike with a rebar stake, if it needs more support than leaning. Then assemble a few more flower containers and items of various heights like Cindy’s plant stand and old spreader filled with petunias. A flag adds a festive touch!

Cindy Trubisky says  “This is my old childhood bike,…fifty years old. I got it for my seventh birthday and I was never allowed to leave it outside. I hope my daddy is okay with me using it for this display.”

 

Barbara Stanley says, “I don’t have a bicycle garden, but I do have a tricycle planter! This one was a discard from a local elementary school, and the wire basket on the seat platform is an old gym basket. We have stacks of them that were being sent to the dump many years ago.”   Barbara placed her trike between the rhododendron and the matching pink tulips.

 

Bridget Borchert‎ “To paint or not to paint….that is the question.”  If your bike is uniformly rusted like this, you may just want to use that in the color scheme.   Bridget has chives or alliums planted behind the bike, which has training wheels to hold it up and a plant stand, a dish flower and a sparkling aqua insulator on a rod to add detail to the scene.

 

Christy Morrow‎ says, “I thought you might like to see one of my favorites treasures. We found this old bike at a flea market for a great price.  I love the colors on it  and so now, depending on the season, I fill the basket with different flowers or decorations. It proudly greets visitors as they come up our driveway.”  Red and yellow flowers along with the blue bicycle create a primary color scheme.

 

 

Jessica’s garden is over flowing with Black eyed Susan’s, Meadow Sage, hot pink Petunias, daisies and sunflowers.  Can you still see the bike? Or the kitty?

 

How to find a garden bike

If you didn’t happen to save your own bicycle, they can be found at Flea Markets and yard sales.  The favored type is the old style ‘beach cruiser,’ the one speed! Ask your friends and neighbors….one man’s trash, you know.  It always amazes me what folks will let go!

 

Nancy K. Meyer‎ says, “My daughter rides bikes, can you tell by the garden art on the corner of her house?” Nancy’s daughter is growing a Cardinal vine up a trellis of three bike wheels, secured with rerod (rebar) and hosta fills in at ground level.  In the basket looks like Catmint.

 

GiGi Thornton‎ says, “Oh yes, you all inspired me a few years ago and now look! I can’t wait for the blooming to start…a red climbing rose!

 

Jenni Brown says, “I added this to my garden about 6 years ago and it has been my favorite piece that I decorate for every season. This is Spring and Summer, with red Geraniums and Petunias.

 

Dawn from Sun Baked Treasures tells us, “This is an old “sun baked” bike I have and I just planted a ‘Mailbox Mandevilla’ beside it.”

 

Garden bike planting tips

• Look for a bike with a basket,…these are very useful and authentic. If there’s no basket, use a recycled hanging basket in its place.
• Decide whether to paint or not to paint. Rust can be decorative, as well as chippy paint, but you may want a fresh painted look.

• Think abut where in your garden will show off your bike, along a fence or in front of some shrubbery.
• Make your bike stand securely by chaining it to a tree or using pipe or rebar pounded into the ground as an anchor.

• Plant around your bicycle with colorful flowers and include it in your drip or irrigation system so it’s easy care.

 

Marie Niemann says, “Here’s my old bike in the vegetable garden, rusty of course!”  There’s blue lobelia in the bike basket and veggies and flowers in the raised bed.

See Marie’s garden, all from seed

 

 

 

Tina Garrison says, “In Summer 2011, I planted this bike with Purple Petunias for my Mother…in remembrance of her..”