I have a thing for using headboards in the garden. It started quite innocently. I was driving somewhere and spotted a white headboard, part of a metal daybed, kicked to the curb. I couldn’t resist! Ideas were flying around in my head on how to use it. The woman who’d discarded it was quite amused as I excitedly loaded it in my car. My first headboard! No turning back!

There are so many ways to use headboards in the garden, as I soon discovered. They can be propped or planted into the ground, left in their original state or painted. They add character, charm and whimsy to any garden.

Headboards create a beautiful view with flowers planted in front of or behind them. They look especially wonderful in the midst of a garden too. It’s quite charming when flowers peek through the bars, and vines wrap around them.

Headboards aren’t just lovely in flower beds. They work beautifully in vegetable beds as well, adding a bit of decor to a space that isn’t usually considered as pretty as a bed of flowers.

If one headboard looks beautiful, why not add more?! I was so thrilled with how this headboard looked in front of our tiered beds that I decided to frame all four tiers with metal headboards, creating a fence.

To create fencing all around the perimeter, I collected 10 headboards in total. I purchased all 10 from the ReStore, Habitat for Humanities thrift store. I set a budget of $5 per headboard and waited patiently for sales. It took about a year to gather all ten.

I decided to paint all ten beds with matching paint. Even though the headboard styles were varied and unique, matching paint created a cohesive look. Painting was easy: clean, scuff up, wipe down and spray. I used Rust-Oleum’s Wildflower Blue, one of my favorite blues.

Wooden and wicker headboards also look beautiful in the garden. Lots of paint and clear coat will help protect them, unless you prefer a worn and weathered look. I like both.

Enough with the pictures and inspiration! Now it’s your turn. Time to make your bed… garden bed… using a repurposed headboard. A word of warning, such creativity will draw more than butterflies and bees to your garden. Onlookers will stop and stare, but there’s nothing wrong with creating a buzz in the garden. This project is guaranteed to make others smile.