Our Rustic Gazebo

Years ago, way before we all had fabulous camera phones in our pocket and blogged about such projects, we rescued a gazebo from a trash ditch. Actually, we helped rescue two. Our friend had spotted two gazebos, rolled over on their side in a trash ditch, so he stopped and ask the owner if he could have them. Joey called Jeff and ask if we would help pull off the rescue, in exchange for one of them. We took a truck, tractor, and trailer and loaded them both up!

Well, over the next year or so, we completed a makeover on ours and it became the focal point of our yard. By this time, we were blogging all the time and took pictures of the process! We got featured by several blogs at the time, it's been all over Pinterest, and usually gets featured by a few garden pages each spring (that I see).

In January of this year, I was ironically enough out junkin', when I got an email that said "Country Living Feature." A staff writer was asking permission to feature my junk gazebo on CountryLiving.com in a round up of DIY Gazebos. Of course I said yes and they would link back to us here on our blog. (I love features, when permission is ask and credit given.)

I checked this weekend and discovered the article had been published a few weeks ago!

15 DIY Gazebo Ideas to Bring an Outdoor Oasis to Your Backyard

Have your gazebo match your style.

We are included at slide # 8. 

So for all of you who don't know the story or seen the past pictures of my gazebo, I'll provide a few links back to the original post for you to catch up on (or you can use the search feature and type in gazebo to see even more.)


Here's the original makeover with paint and a scrap metal roof can be seen
at https://www.gypsyfarmgirl.net/2011/08/gazebo-reveal.html
(please forgive the collage pages / pictures - I was also an unsuccessful affiliate for a digital scrapbooking website at the time and trying to use their products with my pictures.)

The first spring after the makeover and the unveiling of the Junk Yard can be viewed at
https://www.gypsyfarmgirl.net/2012/03/welcome-to-junk-yard.html
This is when I decided to only use upcycled, repurosed containers and you wouldn't see plastic or store bought planters. Some of favorite gazebo pictures reside here!

The Rusty Bottomless Bucket tutorial was also created around the same time. Find the instructions at https://www.gypsyfarmgirl.net/2012/03/bottomless-rusty-flower-bucket.html

We also have fun decorating it for Christmas

https://www.gypsyfarmgirl.net/2017/12/christmas-in-gazebo.html

As you can see in the 

 2019 spring gazebo reveal, https://www.gypsyfarmgirl.net/2019/04/spring-in-gazebo.html, the shrubs and trees have sure grown a lot in the last few years. The bushes have almost overtaken the bicycle and now it's in need of rescuing! 

We've certainly enjoyed our Junk Yard and planting and decorating the gazebo throughout the different seasons. Thank you Country Living for including our gazebo in your round up! 

Please stay tuned, because the 2020 Spring Reveal will be coming soon! I've started planting in more unique containers. 

P.S. Want to feature or use our pics? Please ask like Country Living did and always link back to my blog. Also, please do not remove our watermarks! (I recently discovered some stolen pics with my watermarks cropped out and this does not make us happy.)

Spring Garden Tour - Junk Yard Style

Welcome to the Spring Garden Tour, Junk Yard Style! 

Where we love everything rusty, chippy, rustic and almost everything in my garden is recycled, found at garage / estate sales or found in the trash and repurposed! 

I've finally had a chance to clean up the yard  and plant more pretty flowers this week and couldn't wait to share with you! So pull up a chair and I'll show you around. 

I love my bucket planters. Several years ago, I made a vow to not buy new containers and that you would not see plastic flower pots in my yard. The hanging buckets have rusted out bottoms and I have tied in plastic pots inside the buckets to hold the flowers.

For all the new followers here, even the gazebo was pulled out of a trash ditch and brought to our yard. I have been looking for chair cushions for my other chairs, but can't find any that aren't hideous. I mean, tropical Hawaiian print does not go with my vintage look and that's the only option available at our local store. I guess I should attempt to make some, but until then these old wooden chairs will do the job just fine!

I love alyssum and the pretty little lacy flowers they have. It seems to pair well with the begonias and they are usually pretty hardy with our hot summers. 

Crocks and galvanized buckets of blooms! The large wash tub actually has 4 separate containers in it, so that I can change them out seasonally. Add mulch around the edges and you would never know my  little secret, if I didn't tell you! 

A gym locker basket holds another bucket of flowers. The lanterns are solar powered, so they automatically light up at night. 

A rusty old can is turned on its side and has coleus and alyssum planted in it.

This antique lawn mower came from my great grandparents house! 

A hollowed out stump serves as a vase for these sweet little things. 

I love spending spring evenings in the yard and the light from the sun setting behind the trees.

I have a shirt that says:

For the love of JUNK

Reuse ♥ Repurpose ♥ Rescue 

I guess you can say that's the motto for my yard! 

That lily, planted in front of the bike, was a gift from my mail lady. Rural route carriers are the best! She takes such good care of all my packages and she shares plants from her yard with me. Can't wait to see what color it will bloom! 

Many of the plants in my yard have been shared by friends and family. I have one large flower bed (partially seen in next two pics) in the center of the yard and everything in it was free. If I ever buy a plant and add it to this flower bed, it will surely die. Seriously, they won't live with the shared! Not much is blooming in this flower bed yet, but the day lilies will be starting their show soon. There's lots of daffodils that have already had there time, 4:00 will come later, along with the phlox, larkspur, some iris, and more. 

An old push plow has become surrounded by alstromerias. I sure hope a lot of them bloom this year, since they didn't have a good show last year. 

This is a tub from a washing machine and I set my plastic planter down inside it and added mulch to hide it. By the end of the summer, the springeri fern will be really full. 

Some of my herbs are in the little rusty wagon near the front door, for easy picking, while cooking. I can't tell you how long I've had the chives and they come back every year in the same container. The mint came back from last year. 

The climbing roses are blooming! 

An old blue chair holds a pot of oregano. 

Marigolds - by the end of summer, my yard seems to take on a very pink look, so I'm trying hard to include a little more yellow, in hopes of still having more color in late summer and fall.

The iris started blooming this week as well!

So tell me, what's your favorite part of my junk yard?