We’re always excited to learn about new garden ideas that repurpose old stuff. Recycling something you already have handy is always more satisfying than buying it new from the store.
With that thought in mind, we bring you a collection of innovative garden ideas using old windows!
One of the coolest aspects of reusing windows in your garden is the often startling contrast and surprise they bring to the nominally green space. When glass, mirrors, or simply angular frames are juxtaposed with natural surroundings, the resulting imagery can be striking.
We gathered some of the most fun and DIY-able garden projects involving windows from around the web, keeping an eye out for the most novel ideas. First and foremost, we love the playful ways that we’ve seen windows integrated into gardens. Secondly, we can’t emphasize enough how simple yet effective of an idea this can be!
We encourage you to pore over this gallery and keep your own inspired ideas in mind while you see a little slice of what the web has to offer. Just as every garden is unique, every gardener will have her own ideas about what to add to them.
If you’re interested in working a little window magic, then take the inspiration gleaned here and run with it!
1. Mirrored Windows
Image Source: TheBrambleBerryCottage
This novel project is incredibly fun to make and to enjoy. Using mirrors outdoors is one of life’s strangely simple pleasures; the effect is both familiar and novel, and never ceases to impress. We love the idea of hanging them on a fence bordering the garden.
2. Transplanted Window Container Garden
Source: ByStephanieLynn
Here’s a super simple project that nonetheless reaps huge rewards. The idea is to transplant a familiar sight – the window container garden – to the actual garden, bringing the window with. The glass set against an exterior wall makes for a novel sight, while the hanging containers do the job they were always meant for.
3. Free Standing Window Hanging Garden
We love this idea because virtually any window frame can be used to create it. With a bit of work and some ingenuity, you can convert each cell of the frame into a small pocket for container gardening, then hang the entire thing against a wall, fence, or create a standing frame as pictured above.
4. Small Window Greenhouse
Source: Craftsalamode
Once you look at this gorgeous product, it seems almost self-evident. Of course, windows make a perfect little greenhouse! This idea might take a bit of elbow grease but it’s relatively simple to accomplish, so long as you have a few spare windows sitting around.
5. Tree Hung Picture Window
Source: Dishfunctionaldesigns
One of the most fascinating ways to reuse a window is to give it new life with a new context. There’s nothing more interesting than removing the context entirely from the window, letting it float in space beneath the branches of a tree. This project goes a step further, adding a few microscopic container gardens to the frame.
6. Window Coffee Table
Larger windows are ready-made to become the perfect vintage coffee table for your outdoor relaxing furniture set. This one takes a bit of work and requires that you’re handy with a hammer and a paintbrush, but the results speak for themselves.
7. Window As A Picture Frame
Source: EmpressOfDirt
Similar to the hanging window frame, this project removes the original context entirely, creating a fresh visual appeal. The image above shows the frame with a flower painting at center, a bit of a meta nod to the surrounding garden, but you can leave the frame empty, ready to showcase the garden beyond.
8. Ornate Fence Framing
Source: EmpressOfDirt
This project is for anyone who truly loves crafting. Leaving two of the glass panes in to be frost painted, the other panes leave a gap where you can see through and enjoy a bit of bespoke craftiness with whatever materials you see fit.
9. Low Garden Wall
Source: FlowerGardenGirl
Here’s a great project for anyone with a lot of uniform windows to use. The identical sets have been linked into a fence, encircling the garden and protecting it from wildlife. The glass allows for close-up views from the side and perfectly frames the greenery.
10. Window Gazebo
Source: Survivalsherpa
Sporting a pair of old doors and two large windows for a roof, this slim entrance gazebo makes for a beautiful, rustic styled greeting for the garden. It’s not only interesting, it’s extremely practical!
11. Window Patio Fence
Image Source: Hometalk
Similar to the project that turned sets of uniform windows into a garden fence, this one repurposes a large window as the center of a beautifully ornate patio fence. While it also wraps a garden, this project integrates the window frame into an existing fence, for a bit more sturdiness.
12. Window Frame Chickenwire Fence
Source: Trashbackwards
If you’ve got some great old window frames but the glass itself is no longer usable (or there at all) you can look for a DIY project like this. Inserting some cheap chicken wire, it makes for a handy trellis for vines to grow on or a simple fence to help frame the garden.
13. Tilted Water Can Garden Hanger
We absolutely adore this project! With a bit of hand paint and some cheap watering cans – plus an old window frame, of course – you can craft this bright and beautiful piece for your very own garden. It’s fun and simple but looks like a much more difficult project than it is.
14. Window Backed Gardening Tool Desk
Okay, so this project isn’t the simplest one on our list. But just look at it! It’s not only beautiful but incredibly useful. You probably already have a storage bench, shelf, or table where your garden supplies are kept, but maybe you’d like something truly personalized.
15. Mosaic Tile Window
The great part about this project is that it uses our familiarity with traditional stained glass windows to create the illusion of one right in your own backyard. This particular example is hung above another strangely satisfying recycled work: a bathroom sink planter!
16. Vertical Window Succulent Garden
Source: Houselogic
We couldn’t think of a more appropriate use of an old picture window frame than stuffing it with succulents. These plants are perfect for hanging and vertical gardens, as they’ll hang on for dear life. They look utterly fantastic framed in the white paint of an old window.
17. Window Box Fairy Garden
This idea truly gripped our imagination. The idea of combining one of our favorite gardening projects – fairy gardens – with recycled windows is a case of inspired genius. The window makes for a perfect skylight for the miniature village within.
Source: Unskinnyboppy
Source: Unskinnyboppy
As you can see with this close view, the intricately crafted world of the fairy garden is heightened by its framing within a bright box, topped with an old-fashioned window.
We hope you’ve enjoyed the selection of window gardening ideas. Recycling these utilitarian pieces into something vibrant and fun is one of the most rewarding gardening activities you can do today!
