Free Outdoor Decor

I love cool and trendy outdoor decor as much as the next person and will be sharing some of my prior purchases and finds in an upcoming post. However, yard and garden decor can get a bit pricey and too much of it can make your property go from classy to trashy (O.K. that's harsh but it rhymes!)

Try to go frugal and introduce some free "decor" to your yard. Old, rusty elements of some sort make unique, sculptural displays. They also tend to coordinate seamlessly with natural surroundings. See what items people are throwing away. You may be able to repurpose them.

Shapely branches, limbs, tree roots and tree bark add a nice, organic touch to your landscaping. A grouping of rocks also adds interest and demands attention among any store bought elements you may elect to add. Creating vignettes outdoors isn't much different than indoors. You just have a bit more space to play with. Thoughtful groupings of elements will create a bigger impact than spacing things separately here and there. So, grab a neat branch or two, a few rocks and place them as a back drop or accompaniment to that mosaic snail or turtle sculpture.

Reclaimed Rusty Objects Become Outdoor Decor

Old rusty metal hoops (at right) along with a paint can make a unique statement.
Random sections of old stove pipe are grouped together (left).

The stove pipe collar collection.  Industrial-organic chic?

Numerous sized paint and coffee cans create a tower of rusty coolness.

A large barrel will later become a great base for a large potted plant or perhaps a bar height table.

A unified look of common elements.

Old hollowed and dried branches group nicely.  A repurposed stair rail post is topped with a
carved dragonfly from a craft show I attended numerous years ago.

A lot of free elements from trees are seen here.
Bark, branches, root and log sections  provide form and function.

Bark adds interest and helps keep mulch in place on steep landscaped areas.

An interesting, inverted tree root is joined by a couple of varying-style rocks to create this focal point.

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Monday
Sumo's Sweet Stuff - Market Yourself Monday
Keeping It Simple - Motivate Me Monday

Tuesday
Coastal Charm - Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

Free Landscape Border

I recently posted about using cut sections of a tree trunk to create a border around a few of my landscape beds. Another easy idea is to use found tree branches from the woods.  I especially love finding really old pieces that have begun to hollow out and have a lot of neat characteristics to them such as moss or lichen growing on them.

I recently did a quick landscaped area behind my garage to tie it in with other areas of my property.  Free mulch from the township was also used.  I am fortunate that our township accepts tree limbs and branches once a month during the Spring and Summer which they grind down for township residence use.  Since I have such a large property with many landscaped areas and beds, the free mulch helps me build up the foundation layers which I later may cover with nicer mulch.  I'm leaving this area a bit more natural with a woodlands look.  Allowing native plants and flowers to fill in, such asiatic dayflowers.

A natural, woodland approach

Blue Asiatic Dayflower

Ajuga and Spirea will fill fill this bank with purple and pink color next year.

Another area behind the garage which I did months ago is bordered with found rocks and field stone from my property.  I also used some cool, old branches as well, to define areas and add some interest.  I transplanted some ajuga groundcover which is taking off nicely already. I always get pieces of it popping up in my gravel driveway so now they have a better home. To the right are other little guys that always grow from my gravel near their parent Spirea. These pink spireas are quite prolific. I have them everywhere and have lately begun massing them together to see if I can create entire banks of color (such as in the bed above.)

Purple/Blue Ajuga.  An excellent groundcover with wonderful colored green and red-purple leaves.

So, landscaping does not have to cost a fortune.  All of the items above were free from my property.  I'm sure you can create a similar landscaped area of your own with branches, rocks and plants found around your property.  You may even be able to get free mulch from your township or municipality.

A Decorative Landscaping Border

A natural landscape border provides a unique look.

In light of yesterday's post, I decided to share a picture of the tree trunk border created from my lost tree.  Like I mentioned, although the tree is gone, it continues to benefit the property in a new way.  I really love the look of this border over the black bendable border used to originally define the area.  Although the black border is visible, it is a bit less noticeable as your eye is drawn to the "logs" instead.  I have placed small stones under the front of the trunk pieces to keep their weight off of the plastic border (or to keep them from rolling forward).  Excess weight pushing against plastic borders, especially on slopes such as this, can cause them to misshapen, bend or pull free from the ground.  Just a tip if you elect to do this.

I have also seen logs or large branches cut up in this manner but placed upright so that they are standing on end. Placing them side-by-side like a mini-wall, produces a cool look reminiscent of a pier and is good for a nautical theme.  Consider either idea to give your property some unique, natural flavor.  I have even seen the pier look used to define walkways to front doors or around pathways.  Another neat idea.