Clever Garden and Outdoor DIY Ideas

In the warmer months everyone wants to spend more time outdoors, after all, we need to make the most of the beautiful summer sunshine. Don’t let a drab outdoor space prevent you from whiling away the time outside. Try some of these clever outdoor DIY ideas to create a garden space that will make you wish that you lived outside!

Vegetable garden markers

If you’ve worked hard to tend to your vegetable patch, the chances are that you want it to look good too. When planting new seedlings, you needn’t have to stick unsightly markers in the ground that indicate which type of vegetable is growing there. Buy some round stones and paint them in colours of your choice (acrylic paints work well). Use a bold colour to write the names of each vegetable on them. Voila! You have colourful DIY vegetable patch name tags.

Wall pot herbs and flowers

If you’re stuck for space in your garden, but want to add a touch of fresh-growing herbs to your green thumb repertoire, or even some flowers for a pop of colour, you can create a ‘growing wall.’ Simply choose a solid, uncluttered wall in your garden and use affordable but sturdy brackets to mount up some old metal tins or empty pots. Each pot can be used to grow a different herb or type of flower. Get creative and paint each pot a different colour.

Extra Tip: Old rusted wheelbarrows also work well as a giant feature potter for growing herbs or flowers.

Bird Watching

What could be more therapeutic than sitting in the garden and watching tiny birds twittering and flying about? Entice birds into your garden with a DIY bird feeder. Create an adorable bird feeder using an old teacup and saucer. Simply squeeze a good dollop of industrial-strength superglue onto the side of the saucer and secure the teacup on its side onto the patch of glue. Leave overnight to set, tie a strong piece of rope through the handle of the teacup and hang from a tree branch. All that’s left is to fill the teacup and saucer with bird seed and sit back and watch. Your cats will enjoy the show too.

Decorative lighting

Add a touch of sparkle to your garden with night lighting and daytime dazzle. Fill empty glass jars with solar-powered fairy lights or candles and string them up in the branches of a tree. At night you will have beautiful lights in your garden. Fill empty mason glass jars with rice or beach sand and affix a candle in the centre to have beautiful DIY light pieces for your patio table at night. These nifty jars can even be used to dot a walkway at night.

Patio Furniture

Last but not least, don’t forget to spruce up your outdoor furniture for a whole new look. Repaint old wooden patio furniture and even get creative with stencilling patterns.

Now that you’ve given your garden a makeover, all that’s left is to plan those lazy summer afternoon lunches.

For all the glues, hardware, ropes and goodies that you will need for your garden DIY adventure, visit your nearest Jack’s Paint & Hardware store.