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A couple weeks ago, we shared our garden bed planning for this summer and this week we brought our plans to life as well as added some color!! Being we haven’t gotten much sunshine in MN quite yet. And now today we’re back sharing our 5 garden DIY hacks to create a fun and colorful garden bed, and best part… cost effective!
Last year was our first year with a real garden and we learned so much. Greyson loved making his own food, watching his plants grow, and it was so much fun to watch him love on and take care of something so well. But we learned a few things… so we’re excited to improve on what we learned from last year and have an even better garden this year!
If you know me, you know I LOVE color and I can’t think of a better place to incorporate color than in the garden bed. Bright colors make me so happy and so does summer, so it’s the perfect combination. We had some pallets and a pergola from around the shop that we decided would be fun to use in our garden this year to hold our plants and display some fun pots.
But first, let’s rewind to what our garden once was…
And now the after…
Just waiting for our fruits, vegetables, and spices to bloom!
We started growing some of our seeds inside this past month, but we can’t quite transfer it all outdoors in MN quite yet as we still get frost. In just three hours one Saturday morning we were able to transform our garden and bring some life into the space! And that includes buying and planting these flowers too. We love that our garden is ready for them to go into here in a couple weeks.
For our garden bed, here are the colors we used:
- 4 cans of Krylon® Fusion All-In-One™ Metallic Black Stainless
- 4 cans of Krylon® Fusion All-In-One™ Gloss Sunbeam
- Almost a full can of Krylon® Fusion All-In-One™ Matte Vintage Blue
- Almost a full can of Krylon® COLORmaxx Gloss Watermelon
Besides the spray paint and buying plants… everything else was free.
The pergola we actually got as a wedding gift and we hadn’t found a home for it. Over the years all it’s accumulated is rust, and we knew it was something spray paint could easily fix. With the pallets and planters, we wanted them to stand out and add pops of color, and bring some sunshine into our garden!
Plant Markers
One of the most important lessons we learned from our garden last year is to have our plants clearly marked. Knowing where you planted everything makes a big difference when you’re waiting for fruits and vegetables to grow. It also helps to keep plants that need similar water and light amounts together, while plants that need less light in areas that are more shaded. These markers were part of an old fence that we took from our first home together as husband and wife, so they are pretty special to us.
We spray painted with the COLORmaxx Gloss Watermelon and then used a marker to write the names of the plants. When spray painting you’ll want to make sure you are either spray painting outside or in a well-ventilated area. Make sure to read the label for safety and application instructions. During the winter months, we spray paint in our shop which has an air ventilation system, but now that it’s summer, we’re able to spray outside!! Just make sure if you are spraying in your grass it’s in an area that doesn’t have a lot of traffic as it might take a few mow’s to get the paint out of the grass.
Vertical Pallet Garden
We love the look of vertical gardens and using a pallet was the perfect way to bring it into our own garden. It’s also an inexpensive option since you can find a pallet just about anywhere for free. This one was lying around our shop, so we spray painted it with Fusion All-In-One™ Gloss Sunbeam to bring in the sunshine color and added some terra cotta pots in between the slats to create the vertical garden look. It turned out awesome and we love how it is accented with the green plants.
We debated tilting it up against the shop or laying it flat down in the garden bed and planting within the spaces and using the pallets to write what was what within them. But in the end, being we have groundhogs, we decided to get it off the ground.
Recycled Can Pots
For a cost-effective and sturdy pot for your plants, find some cans in your recycling. To create these fun pots, we first cleaned out the cans we found in our recycling and then spray painted them with COLORmaxx Gloss Watermelon, Fusion All-In-One™ Metallic Black Stainless, and Fusion All-In-One™ Matte Vintage Blue. After the paint fully dried, we poked 2 holes in the sides of the can to create a spot where we could add twine for hanging the cans. In addition, we poked a hole in the bottom to allow excess water to filter through. Using twine, thread it through the holes in the cans and tie a knot to secure the twine. Hang the planters and add various flowers and pots for a fun addition to your garden.
A-Frame Hanging Garden
For this hanging garden, this actually came delivered with a shower glass door and the other pallet to make sure it wasn’t damaged. I thought it was a little aggressive, but now loved that we got to use it in our garden bed.
It’s probably rare that you’ll get a glass shower delivered with an A-frame pallet so if you need to make it, it would be pretty easy to do with some leftover wood scraps.
You can use extra wood from any previous projects to create this a-frame. Using the Fusion All-In-One™ Gloss Sunbeam color for paint, we sprayed the boards and then nailed them together to ensure the a-frame was sturdy and could handle the weight of the recycled can pots and plants. I sent Jamie a photo once I was done and he did not like how crooked it was, but to be honest, I like the character that the imperfections bring. You could always sand down before you spray if that’s your thing.
This is a great way to hang flowers so they can get ample sunshine and allow any rain or excess water to get out of the bottom as well.
Last year we also had a groundhog roaming around our yard, which made it’s way into the corn in our garden, so we knew this year we had to create a few different options to keep our plants and food off the ground. Ugh…. Got any tricks for groundhogs? We’re all ears. We have a feeling their babies will be back again this year…
Yard Art
And lastly, yard art! I love a good junk market and anytime I find a good piece I buy. Junk markets also have the best items that are perfect for a garden bed. Especially when you have some spray paint on hand.
We mentioned we got this pergola for our wedding, but we see them at flea markets all the time and they are the perfect art for any garden bed.
My mom actually got this butterfly for me from a junk market back when I was in high school. Prior to getting married it’s always hung on my wall in my bedroom but I thought it was time to bring it outside and with the outdoors comes… rust. So I was thankful that Krylon® Brand helped me bring this baby back to life! I sprayed it Fusion All-In-One™ Matte Vintage Blue, I wanted to keep it bright and light! And I thought it fit perfectly for where all our flowers will be. Another reason I love this paint so much is that Fusion All-In-One™ has maximum rust protection which is perfect for using on items outdoors!
I can’t wait to share once summer hits how this area will look once it’s filled with summer flowers!
And there it is, our 5 DIY tips to create your colorful garden bed this year! Only a few more weeks until we can officially bring our plants from their containers into the ground. We’ll be back with progress reports and how well we’re taking care of our garden bed this year.
