Ladder Gardening

Have an old ladder you cannot use laying around the house? Well, do not add it to the dump pile. Bring it back to life as part of your garden. If it is a wooden ladder, treat it with a preservative to prevent it from rotting; if it is a metal ladder, it can be painted any color to match your color scheme.

Using ladders in the garden can have a utilitarian effect, as well as adding an enchanting and beguiling ambiance. Ladders can be used as a hanger for potted plants, as a storage stand for gardening tools in the shed, or as a support for your climbing plants.

To use the ladder as a hanger for potted plants, hang the ladder parallel to the ground, assuring it is above head height so no one gets hurt. Add some wooden timbers across the ladder and you have a charming display stand for all your potted plants. Additionally, you could stand it up in your garden, along the wall of your home, patio, or anywhere you have some extra room. Add planks of wood across each set of steps, add your potted plants, and another unique display for your plants is born!

To use the ladder as a storage stand, hang the ladder parallel to the floor, about knee-high, in your shed, garage, or wherever you store your gardening tools, for a handy storage rack with dividers for bigger gardening tools, such as spade, rakes, hoes, stakes, and so much more. If hung parallel to the floor above head height, the ladder then becomes a storage rack for things like unused hanging pots, garden hoses, and watering cans.

Using ladders as climber frames will add a unique accent to your garden. They can be used as a freestanding ladder or you can mount it against a tree, pole, fence, shed, or house wall, vertically or horizontally. Either way, using the ladder this way will make an effective trellis for your climber plants. As your plants grow, you can wind them around the step rungs or the frame of the ladder, or you can use hooks on the ladder and support your climbers on the hooks. This will help to keep your climbers off the ground.

Once you have set up your ladder as a hanger, storage stand, or trellis, then you can use tree décor accents to further add a captivating and alluring appeal to your unique garden accent.

Another use for a ladder is in growing herbs in a narrow space. The ladder becomes your planting bed. Treat your soil with fertilizer, compose, sand, and/or manure. Once your soil is ready, lay the ladder down across your treated soil. Add planting soil between the rungs and plant your favorite herbs.

All of these uses of a ladder in your garden will lend a rustic charm to your favorite garden space and will become a wonderful focal point and a conversation piece for years of enjoyment for you and your family.