5 Ways Shutters Can Spruce Up Your Garden

Those colorful blooming buds in your garden look gorgeous, but do you just feel like your garden could use a little extra oomph?

You can salvage old shutters from flea markets, garage sales and architectural salvage yards. Check out these five ways to use vintage shutters to add eco-style to your garden.

1. Hang on a fence or wall

Add fun layers to a bland wooden fence by suspending various old shutters in an interesting display. Repaint the shutters in bold colors to create eye-catching “shutter art,” or keep their weather-beaten look for an antique feel.

2. Make a screen

Attach three or four shutters of the same size using hinges to fashion a screen—like the old-timey kind that women changed behind. Use your new shutter screen to hide an ugly air conditioning unit or other eyesore that’s been seriously messing with your garden’s vibe.

3. Construct planter boxes

If you’re pretty handy with the tools, try building a planter box using old shutters instead of boards. The little details in the shutters will add easy embellishment to your garden patches.

4. Lean it

This is the lazy gal (and guys) decorating method. Simply lean an attractive shutter near a collection of flowers or plants. If you like the slightly wild, overgrown look in a garden, rest a distressed shutter any old place for a “that’s been sitting there for ages” feel. Old metal watering cans, washtubs, dresser drawers or other eroded metal elements will also contribute to this look.

5. Fashion a gate

Use two pretty shutters to mark the entrance to your garden instead of a conventional gate. It may take a bit of digging to find shutters in a size that will work, but entering your “secret garden” every day through a gate fashioned with shutters will make it totally worth the wait.

image: David’s digits

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This article was originally published on Organic Authority, an organic living online magazine. View the original article.