12 Ways to Perk Up Your Garden Shed

The ever-versatile, Pinterest-beloved shipping pallet also comes in handy for organizing gardening odds and ends, with the help of a rake head that corrals tools, butcher’s hooks to hold twine, and a mounted enamelware bucket that stores gloves and a hose. Note: Check for the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) logo, which certifies that a pallet has been treated to prevent the spread of insects or plant diseases.

With their fun colors and shapes, outdoor metal faucet handles are perfect for a wreath. Start by loosely wrapping a wire wreath form in burlap ribbon. Bend 4-inch lengths of green floral wire into U shapes. Thread both ends of a wire piece through a handle and poke through the ribbon, wrapping the wire ends firmly around themselves to secure handles.

Reuse rusty or wobbly handled garden tools as plant identification markers. To make, drill a small hole in the wood handles and tie hand-penned wooden tags* through the holes with twine. Insert the pointy tips into the soil so the markers stand upright. *Coat wood with clear varnish to protect the handwriting from the elements.

A salvaged window proves the perfect support for a climbing vine. Remove the glass panes, hang on a wall (or rest on your worktable), and set a potted plant such as Asiatic jasmine (pictured) or clematis next to it. As the vine grows, tie it to the window’s framework using twine.

Reclaimed wood boards and an assortment of aged pots stack up to create makeshift shelving for gardening goods. To keep shelves stable, place bigger pots toward the bottom and smaller containers at the top.

Vintage shutters add instant architectural oomph to a plain gardening room.

Plastic storage bins just don't have the same, every-piece-tells-a-story charm. This rough-hewn item (a cheese locker in a past life!) has 28 compact drawers, making it an ideal spot for stashing twine, seeds, and other gardening essentials.

The owner of this Connecticut home borrowed from kitchen design, outfitting one corner of her shed with lower cabinets, a granite countertop, and an apron-front sink to create a zone for cutting blooms and washing muddy hands. Up top, ornate iron brackets give painted lumber shelves a lift.

Photocopied vintage seed packets—enlarged to fit standard 8" x 10" barnwood frames—add a wilt-proof pop of color.

These classic pots are more than an affordable gardening standby. When stored on an antique bottle drying rack, they add earthy style to the room.

Keeping seeds well organized is an essential exercise for any good gardener. A vintage recipe box makes it easy to sort them by season or alphabetically.