Inspiring DIY Garden Ideas That Are Cheap And Easy

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Today we share a collection of cheap and easy DIY garden ideas that will give your backyard an upgrade without breaking the bank. With these affordable and fun DIY garden projects, you can add fun and function to your outdoor space that you will enjoy for years to come.

DIY outdoor projects are the way to go if you like to have a beautiful backyard but have to work on a budget. There are so many ways to improve or add to your garden without going to the garden center and buying a ready-made product. With a bit of elbow grease and a lot of creativity you can built, repurpose, and upcycle the best garden projects. The projects I collected in this post will help get you started and they will give you lots of inspiration for your own backyard makeover. 

DIY Garden Decor Projects

Why not start, by adding a little extra charm to our garden. There are so many fun things that you can add to your garden design that will make your backyard more fun, and more pretty and that will elevate the natural beauty of your plants and flowers. So let’s check out some DIY garden decorations that we could be making.

Old ladders are wonderful garden accessories, there are many ways you can use an old ladder in your garden but this stepladder flower stand is one of my favorite ways to group a collection of small flowering plants together.

Let’s not forget about our front yards! This DIY mail box definitely adds a lot of curb appeal to the front garden. Follow the link for the full tutorial.

And while we are at it. Let’s stay out front for a while longer because the front door could use a little upgrade to. Give your home a personalized touch with this DIY doormat project, it is a perfect little project you can finish in an afternoon.

Hang this Chandelier Planter from your roof deck or somewhere on your patio. Either way it is a pretty and fun DIY project. And very easy to customize to your liking and personal style. Just go wild with your color choices.

On a blog called Songbird there has to be a project for the birds that live in our garden, agreed? This bird feeder is made from little pieces of scrap wood and totally a beginner woodworking project.

This garden lantern is another easy small project that will look great on your front porch or backyard terrace. Just imagine the candlelight-filled evenings this DIY project will encourage.

Another one for our feathered friends. This super cute bird house is not only functional but very cute as well. What little bird would not like to live in such a cool little potting shed.

DIY Garden Furniture

From small garden decorations we move on to DIY garden furniture. Making your own custom fit backyard furniture usually is a lot cheaper than buying it ready-made. And if a full on woodworking project is a bit much to bite off, don’t worry, we have added some easier upcycle ideas here too.

This upcycled potting bench is made from an old garden table by sawing it in pieces. Sounds complicated but was in fact pretty straightforward. A potting table like this is essential for the beginner gardener as well as for the more experienced ones among us.

A bit of skill and experience is required to make this DIY outdoor sectional but luckily full DIY instructions and plans are included in the post linked here.

If building from scratch is too intimidating one can always simply upcycle. A kitchen table turned garden table is a fun DIY project that guarantees many alfresco dining opportunities.

I love a good build that has double-duty functionality. This DIY storage bench provides extra seating opportunities as well as a place to put all those extra garden paraphernalia away.

This wonderful porch swing is easier to make than you might think. You need some wood, some time and a sturdy porch roof to hang your swing.

Another fun upcycle. Secondhand bed frames are easy to find, and they are perfect for an upcycle project. Find out how to build this garden bench from bedframe in the post linked.

Many garden benches are extremely simple in their design. But this showstopping garden bench has that little something extra.

If you find yourself inspired to tackle some DIY garden furniture of your own, then you might want to start with building yourself a proper work table. I have my eye on these free workbench plans, and hope to start building our own proper workbench for our workshop soon.

Related reading: DIY Outdoor Table Top Ideas

DIY Garden Path Ideas and Fence Gates

Designing your garden with landscaping fundamentals like pathways, fences and doorways is important for the overall look and functionality of your garden. But those garden elements can get pricy fast. So why not add some DIY landscaping?

There are many ways to construct a garden path. This rustic pallet wood garden path is definitely one of my favorites.

Keep the chickens out of your vegetable garden with a proper fence. And then enter yourself through this DIY garden fence, after all the work still needs to be done.

A long-lasting garden path is per definition cheaper than one that needs to be maintained continuously. Which is why I love the tutorial for making this budget-friendly gravel path.

Add a bit of whimsy and fun in your borders with these stenciled stepping stones. Stepping stones are so handy as they keep your shoes clean and prevent the soil hardening from walking on it at the same time.

This pea gravel path looks wonderful and a little bit rustic. I love the use of the pavers and rocks in combination with the gravel in this walkway.

When possible reuse and upcycle when you are looking to stay on budget. Maybe you will be lucky too, and your neighbors are tearing down a wall and you can collect their bricks, so you can build a reclaimed brick garden path.

With a big fence comes the need for a big gate. This wooden fence gate is a DIY project that will last for years.

More landscaping ideas: Front Yard Design Ideas

DIY Garden Trellis Ideas

We gardeners love to use all surfaces for adding more blooms to our garden. Vertical surfaces like walls are no exception. But most climbers will need a little support to be able to grow upward. In come DIY trellis ideas. From vintage inspired, to modern and from fun and quirky to free standing, I love all of these trellis ideas and I want them all.

How beautiful is this vintage style trellis? I love that while the fruit trees are young the trellis itself is such a pretty decorations for the garden.

If you are new to building trellis than this DIY wood trellis is a fantastic starter project. Just imagine it covered in vines and you’ll see the beauty too.

An obelisk is a kind of trellis too, it helps plants to grow up in the middle of a low border. This DIY obelisk trellis has fantastic rustic touches.

A modern pattern like chevron can work wonderfully in the garden as well. The chevron trellis shows that it pays off to come up with an interesting design for your trellis.

How fun is this upcycled trellis idea? Old rakes and shovels are repurposed into a garden tools trellis. And the rose loves it!

This modern freestanding trellis is to the garden what a room divider is to a living room. It creates a ‘wall’ that ads definition and privacy while at the same time providing lots of growing space for greenery.

This honeycomb trellis is not for the impatient DIY-er but the result of all that hard work is stunning. I love the originality of this trellis design.

DIY Plant Pots and Garden Planters

Now that our climbing plants have a place to grow up and up, let’s create some pretty containers for our annual flowers and perennials too. Garden planters are easy to find in all shapes, sizes and colors. The budget-friendly way for gardeners is of course to reuse and upcycle and to built our own custom garden planters.

A very boring old wooden toolbox got a pretty new life in the garden as a planter on the patio table. Find the details of the wooden toolbox to planter makeover here.

Build a rustic DIY planter window box yourself and make it even more personal and pretty with a garden stencil.

Functional and pretty in one design. This planter with hose storage keeps the practical but ugly garden hose out of sight while keeping it handy to water the plants in the planter. Brilliant!

Not much water is need for this fountain. An old plastic (indoor) fountain is repurposed into a stunning succulent fountain planter.

DIY raised garden beds have become very popular now that no-dig gardening has become a hit. I found the tutorial in the post linked most helpful when building my own raised beds.

Of course sometimes you don’t even need to built anything, you can simply reuse something old and leftover. This bathtub planter is great way to grow some veggies like lettuce, or as a place to contain a plant like mint that tends to take over the garden if planted in a border.

From roadside find to upcycled chair planter. If you know how to look you can see possibility in almost anything.

More DIY planter ideas: 19 Creative Outdoor Planter Ideas

DIY Vertical Garden Ideas

I think there is never enough planting space in a garden. Especially for those of us that have to garden on terraces and balconies a vertical garden is the way to go. Please enjoy some creative ways to add some extra height to our garden design.

Looking for a place to grow some rosemary, chives and basil? Look no more, this vertical herb garden can fit on any garden wall and is perfect for growing some kitchen herbs.

This tiered garden planter combines raised garden beds with trellis and it is perfect for growing tomatoes and peppers who need a little extra care and support.

If you want to make your vertical garden fit into a particular spot than you will love this DIY vertical planter (with building plans) as you can adapt it perfectly to your garden.

This Copper Pipe Vertical Garden is a great focal point on the garden wall. It doesn’t require extensive building skills but it still looks like a million bucks.

This pallet planter idea has Mediterranean vibes and it takes me right back to our last vacation in Spain. The combination of the terra-cotta pots with the ’tiled’ background brings color and fun to any garden.

This vertical garden with drip water system is so genius. I love container gardening but keeping up with the watering is definitely my weak spot. If the drip watering system is built in to the container that problem is solved immediately. I am sure the strawberries are happy to grown in this vertical garden.

When you love color then you will love this colorful vertical garden. The design of this garden wall with box planters is so fun and you can totally color match the planters with the flowers inside.

This easy DIY vertical garden idea is for those of us who are simply too busy to build anything or do any intricate garden project. If you find the right ready-made or secondhand shoe organizer, you can turn it into a vertical garden wall in an instant.

Don’t forget to save this post about DIY outdoor ideas to your Pinterest boards so can you refer to it later!!

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