The Art of the Flea Market Garden

Flea Market Garden: Garden Design Series

There’s a peculiar fascination with the Flea Market garden. It’s continued popularity has stumped a lot of those ‘experts’ in garden design and decor. The next-door neighbor peeks over the fence with raised eyebrows. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, as the saying goes.

Yet, there is definite artistry to all this funkiness that isn’t always all that obvious. Things that appear to be randomly strewn about the yard or garden is nothing short of meticulous staging. It may look like chaos, but it’s coordinated chaos.

The most attractive flea market gardens succeed in making it look like that old piece of equipment has been sitting out there in the yard, right where the farmer left it in 1964. But now, bright stalks of Russell’s lupine have grown up all around it.

The common term used to describe the flea market ‘theme’ or style is “junk garden“. That always hits a nerve in me. You see, I don’t care for the word “junk”. Why? Because if it’s in the garden, it’s not junk, it’s art!

What’s to love about a flea market garden?

One thing’s for sure, we adore our flea market gardens. And what’s not to love? There’s plenty of room to play around and experiment, the same as any other hobby. But I think there may be more to it than that. If you’ve ever wondered ‘what’s the appeal?’ or ‘how did this become a huge trend?’ I’ll offer up a few of my personal observations.

For one, it’s the nostalgia factor. All this old stuff sparks memories, reminiscent of childhood. Or maybe even your mother’s childhood. There’s something about ‘vintage’ that feels warm and comfortable and familiar. Something that harkens back to simpler times. And you gotta admit, that’s refreshing in today’s world.

When you spend a lot of time in your yard or garden tending your flowers or veggies, you want something that whisks you away from modernism and it’s technologies. It’s like stepping into another era so that you can refocus or re-group.

Another factor is that “flea market” is one of the most affordable garden styles to do. And that’s attractive to those on a smaller budget. People love to shop, and garage sales and thrift stores have the items perfectly suited for garden decor at bargain prices.

The joy of creating

Then, those items are brought home and subjected to a little personal touch. Sanding, painting, re-purposing–that’s part of the fun, too! If you didn’t have much on your plate before, now you’ve got projects. Lots of ’em. And we learn how to do things.

From a psychological standpoint, flea market gardens with their whimsical, “this-into-that” type crafts, work wonders to help us stretch our imagination. It uses a portion of the brain designed for creativity. The more we use it, the better we get at it. And the more we enjoy it.

It’s “how can I put this old ladder to good use?” Or, “what can I do with a rusty farm tool? A chippy window shutter? An antique iron headboard?” There’s a certain satisfaction when ‘the look’ you’re after is finally beginning to come together. And all it took was an old, pedestal sink in just the right spot, overflowing with petunias and trailing lobelias.

The artistry of a flea market garden

How to make it work

All that said, the Flea Market garden–in my opinion– is also one of the most difficult garden designs to get right. While it’s fairly inexpensive to accumulate the decor, it’s not always easy to arrange it in such a way as to convey the essence of random clutter.

Despite how it may look in a magazine or Pinterest image, there’s more to it than plopping down an old washtub somewhere.

This writer is learning as I go along, too. My problem, is that I like a little bit of everything. As I work to develop a little scene around my new garden shed, I had a bunch of stuff that didn’t really go together as well as I thought they might.

I shuffled things around a few times and still, nothing stood out. Bottom line, what I really need to do is settle on a theme.

1) Choose a theme

The keys to good results

A theme helps a flea market garden make sense. It pulls everything together for cohesiveness. So choose one that’s meaningful to you. Because there’s flea market finds for every style. Are you farmhouse or woodland? Shabby Chic or country cottage? Despite what some people think, a theme it’s not as limiting as you make think. There’s plenty of good junk to go around and no shortage of rust either.

A theme is beneficial in more ways than one. It also helps your pocketbook by helping you make good choices when shopping for your decor. For example, if you know you’re going with a vintage beach theme, you’re more likely to pass up a draft horse and opt for a seahorse instead.

You’re only collecting those pieces that go with your theme so you don’t end up with a little bit of everything as I did.

When it comes to expert advice, I’m indebted to Flea Market Garden Design. In fact, I borrowed a few of their nifty ideas here: https://sierranewsonline.com/a-flea-market-garden-art-or-junk/

2) Artfully arranging the decor

Once you’ve chosen your theme, start adding pieces slowly, a few at a time. One of the “keys” is to put collections of similar things together.

Vignette:

If you’re making a vignette, place tall items in the back and smaller ones in front. A collection of watering cans, oil cans or small pails can be grouped together because they are similar in size and appearance.

Group furniture like you would in the living room. Even if it’s too frail to actually sit on, it still suggests a warm friendly place.

Use only three items on any one surface so that they stand out and communicate your design effectively. If you use planters, make sure they’re the same colors or have a pattern that carries the main color. If you find something while shopping that has an interesting shape or texture, remember that most everything can be spray-painted.

The Garden Chick has some great ideas on items that are “staples” for the flea market garden: https://gardenchick.com/flea-market-gardens/

Using salvage in a vignette

Choose salvage very carefully. This can’t be emphasized enough. This is the place where some people get a bit carried away. An effective display with a larger piece of salvage requires some smaller accent pieces to go with it. For instance, a vignette made with a pedestal sink might have a mirror or just an empty frame that calls to mind a mirror. It might include a little sign that says “ye olde wash tub”.

That’s part of what makes using salvage work. Not just setting a bunch of stuff around in the yard. As you position them, think of how those things will look in winter, after the greenery dies back.

Starting from Scratch? Flea Market Gardening has some inspiration for you on their Facebook page. SEE “Garden Vignettes” for some good ideas.

2) Flower Power

When you look at vignettes (artistic groupings) in pictures, you’ll see a lot of flowers in the scene, too. Believe it or not, sometimes the flowers get overlooked in our enthusiasm to get a new idea for using flea market decor.

What’s seldom mentioned about this specific garden theme is that it requires a lot of flowers to soften the effect. Its a big part of its charm. You have to combine things with flowers, especially large pieces of salvage.

Plant a garden around it, so that it becomes a centerpiece. Plant tall ornamental grasses or perennials around it so that the flowers and grasses grow up between the salvage. It softens the look and makes the “abandoned” piece of salvage look like it’s always been there like an old friend.

TIP: Use plastic flowers

But flowers can get expensive. With that in mind, here’s a tip from a friend of mine who is super good at this stuff: fake flowers. That’s right, go plastic! You can make your greenhouse dollars go a lot further by blending in a few fake ones from the thrift store.

Think about a sweet, chippy vaseful of cheerful daisies. From a distance, you won’t be able to tell the difference and it makes the effect go a little further.

Funky ways to display flowers

The flea market style is big on container gardens. Consider galvanized metal buckets, washtubs, an old ceramic crockpot, colander funnels, literally anything that can hold dirt (or plastic flowers). You’ll find the cheapest prices at garage sales and thrift stores. Beyond that, check out your local antique shops or even your local “picker”.

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Wrapping it up

Flea Market gardens are popular because they are relatively inexpensive to do. Then there’s the undeniable nostalgia factor. All this old stuff calls to mind simpler times of a by-gone era. And the whimsical nature of re-purposing always brings a smile.

Personally, I love this style and want to incorporate some of it into my own garden. But I also want it to look right, so it brings out the charm.

Let’s review the basics:

• Choose a theme (and stick with it)
• Group similar items for a cohesive look
• Be selective with salvage
• include lots of flowers

I hope this has been helpful. I’m learning as I go too. I’ve settled on a theme and have my basic colors picked out. I’ll be planting my wheelbarrow soon and am trying to figure out how to coax my garden scarecrow, Ms. Emily to make an appearance. Most dear to me are my mom’s old gardening tools that I’ll hang up somewhere.

Just remember, if it’s in the garden, it’s not junk, it’s art!

More related topics from Make it a Garden

Turn an old wheelbarrow into a planter

How to Find Garden Decor at the Thrift Store

Re-Build Stores Have Bargains for the Garden