Anyone who’s ever purchased a plant in a beautiful pot knows first-hand that gardening isn’t always a cheap hobby. However, you can focus on recycling and make all your garden ideas come to life with little to no cost.
The key to upcycling is to utilize what you already have fully. You don’t need to spend hours completely reinventing an item; even tiny changes can make a significant difference in its overall outlook.
From using old gardening tools to create beautiful flower gardens to crafting mystical fairy gardens from household items, let our recycled miniature junk garden ideas inspire your next upcycling garden project.
Take a look!
1. Make Use of Baskets
Even the tiniest of spaces can be transformed into a junk garden.
This miniature junk garden uses a woven basket to resemble a paved outdoor grilling area surrounded by landscaping pebbles, succulents, and foliage. You can always bring this out whenever you have a barbecue.
2. Upcycle Your Grill
All you need is a grill to make this incredible idea come to reality and become a garden-goodness grill master.
A grill gives you some increased height compared to a traditional planter, allowing you to incorporate cascading plants into your fairy garden, like in this design.
3. Cut a Wine Barrel in Half
With only a few easy-to-find items, you can turn a dull and ordinary wine barrel into a one-of-a-kind junk garden.
Here, white pot lids add color to this junk garden filled with pebbles, small flowers, and herbs. A cookie baking tray adds a succulent garden to the mix.
4. Use a Metal Pot
Instead of hiding them in a dark place, why not upcycle some of those beautiful vintage cups and plates?
The plates, cups, and flowers in this miniature junk garden add much-needed color, while some spoons and forks help create a complete, layered look.
5. Repurpose Your Sink
You can give those mismatched misfits of the utensil drawer a new place to call home using a miniature junk garden.
Salvage a few ceramics and utensils from your once-loved spoon, knife, and cup collection, and cleverly arrange them in an unused or old sink. The spilling flower garden using a jug adds more glam to this junk garden.
6. Turn Your Wheelbarrow into a Fairy Garden
This wheelbarrow finds new life as a capricious fairy garden in this yard.
Incorporate some nutrient-rich potting soil and put your landscaping skills to work. This miniature junk garden features a farmhouse-inspired home, with greenery and stepping stones defining the landscape.
7. Bring Glam with Succulents
This fanciful transformation of a metal basin into a succulent garden will add some grace and sparkle to your outdoor garden.
A large, white ceramic jug at the center draws the eye to this succulent garden and matches the basin’s color to create a cohesive look. Some wishbone flowers add color, making this junk garden stand out in its environment.
8. Bring the Desert to Your Yard
When your metal buckets become rusty, don’t fret! You can quickly turn them into trash-to-treasure pieces that will be welcomed by your garden with open arms.
This tipped metal bucket creates a beautiful rock garden with mini cacti to replicate a genuine garden for arid areas.
9. Embrace the Oceanside
Bring the serenity of the oceanside with some white rocks in your miniature junk garden.
The succulents in this junk garden add a contrasting color to the design, while small wooden pieces act as driftwood. The engraved metal bowl adds to the garden’s pristine quality.
10. Incorporate a Scent
Rusted pieces are excellent when trying to add unexpected beauty to a garden.
This miniature junk garden is filled with rustic pieces as well as a few vintage plates to bring some allure. Add some lavender to your setup for that sweet, refreshing scent.
11. Make it Tall
This incredible recycled junk garden will add height and girth to your outdoors and is visually appealing as well.
The tall metal bin brings rustic flair, while the customized sign and heart-shaped décor add character to the junk garden. A stone border on the ground separates this herb garden from the rest of the garden.
12. Upcycle a Tire
Tire treads are excellent for footwear, but the inside of a used tire also has a lot of life left after it has been used on the road.
This tire houses a mystical fairy garden, complete with miniature dinos and vibrant foliage. You can paint your tire or leave it as it is to make your fairy garden the focal point.
13. Paint Your Terracotta Pot
Terracotta pots are very beneficial when it comes to upcycled garden ideas, especially when you want to create a fairy garden.
To add extra interest, paint your terracotta pot a vibrant color to make your junk garden stand out as a focal point. The wooden fence and stone pathway add more character and depth.
14. Amaze with a Chair Planter
Before you toss that old chair to the curb for the next garbage collection, consider upcycling it into a new planter.
This miniature junk garden is well-defined by its rocky border and stepping stones for its pathway. Lush foliage adorns each side of the path, with the chair adding some texture and contrasting color to the design.
15. Introduce an Arbor
Channel your inner creative side and create this exquisite fairy garden with a wooden arbor for its entrance.
This upcycled miniature junk garden will be easy on the wallet, and you can place this fantastic centerpiece in the middle of your living room table to bring a lively feel to the space.
16. Utilize Multiple Planters
This wooden spool creates a wonderful foundation for all the other miniature junk gardens to take center stage.
An upcycled wooden door in the background adds rustic color and texture and supports hanging succulent gardens and other rustic décor pieces.
17. Focus on the Birds
Upcycle your bird bath into a whimsical fairy garden and welcome your feathered friends with simple elegance.
The birdbath adds height and depth to the miniature junk garden, with a cute figurine seated on the bench adding extra flair to the lush landscape.
18. Bring Your Bathtub Outside
If you have ample space in your yard, incorporate this fantastic idea of a bathtub fairy garden and watch it make your landscape even more special.
Colorful marbles create a tiny river with ducks swimming in it, with the greenery and fairy completing this work of garden art.
19. Inspire Your Kids
Foster your kids’ interest and connection with gardening with this upcycled wooden fairy garden.
The miniature junk garden is high above the ground, adding depth to this space. Colorful houses, banners, greenery, and other fairy garden essentials bring pops of color, while the wooden structure helps bring some balance to its natural texture.
20. Add Industrial Charm with a Metal Chair
This upcycled garden idea uses a thrifted patio chair to create a cool, industrial miniature junk garden that will grace any place it is placed.
The seat has been removed and replaced with a metal pot filled with small white stones. A colorful china collection draws the eye from afar, with a whimsical waterfall making this ingenious idea even more intriguing.
21. Keep it Rustic
Here’s another incredible idea for your rustic metal buckets. The small painted shovel and plates bring color without overwhelming the miniature junk garden, while the metal coil and spanner add more rustic elegance.
A small bee made from a colorful bulb hovers over this junk garden, making it even more magical.
22. Go for Tiered Designs
If you have a few old wooden crates or boxes lying around, you can repurpose them into this cute, tiered fairy garden.
Add fun fairy garden elements and colorful blooms, and arrange your boxes with an asymmetrical pattern for a relaxed and defined look.
23. Support Your Climbers
The miniature junk garden in this example is a good starter for a DIY garden project.
To make your design more unique, introduce a wire mesh for your climbing plants as well as other décor pieces.
24. Make it Portable
Evoke the spirit of nostalgia with this rustic wagon fairy garden.
A beautiful homestead with a cottage, pathway, tiny garden, banner, and fence gives this miniature junk garden a fun look. You can easily move the garden to a different space whenever you feel like it.
25. Use a Briefcase
The options are endless when it comes to fairy garden ideas; even your old briefcase can be upcycled into a fanciful fairy garden like the one in this example.
26. Vintage for the Win
Take a stroll in time and transform vintage décor into wonderful miniature junk gardens.
This recycled miniature junk garden idea uses an old alarm clock to create a small garden. The bench and topiaries on each side create a movie-like scene, with the vining plants further enhancing this picturesque setup.
27. Galvanized Buckets for a Tiered Fairy Garden
Breathe new life into those rustic, ready-to-trash, galvanized buckets by turning them into a visually attractive tiered fairy garden.
This miniature junk garden is filled with many magical creatures and a beautiful landscape that removes all dullness from the space.
28. Liven Up Your Mealtime
A recycled miniature junk garden is perfect for small spaces, including your dining table.
This miniature junk garden features a small alfresco dining set surrounded by foliage. A privacy screen with vining plants adds depth to the space, while a banner above the seating area brings pops of color.
29. Impress with a Terracotta Tiered Fairy Garden
Terracotta pots are well-known for their supremacy when making a tiered fairy garden, primarily due to their deep burnt orange hue.
Each terracotta pot in this example has a unique fairy garden design, with a red mushroom in each pot tying up the fabulous layered look.
30. Keep it Simple
A miniature junk garden doesn’t always have to be all showy and complicated.
A simple design, like the one in this example, will go a long way in infusing your space with vibrant colors and the charm of upcycled décor.
