Welcome Rachel! Always glad to have new people join the group! I'm assuming that you're looking for ideas to junk up your deck, but I could be wrong about that. Several of us have Baker's racks on our porches or decks and there are lots of posts about those, so you can do a search. You could also do fairy gardens, gnome gardens, make totems to decorate your deck and also find salvaged items to create a screen for your deck and various items as decoration. Here is a link to our inspiration album for you to look through. Enjoy! Oh, and we LOVE pictures here, so don't be bashful about sharing your stuff!

Here is a link that might be useful: Garden Junk Inspiration

How about repurposing an old armoire as a potting bench/storage? Pallets to make more furniture. Old chairs and some wood to make a bench. Believe me this site is addictive. I just finished up 10 more glass plate flowers today ( and no I don't sell them, I just can't stop!!)

Welcome, rachel! As Marlene said, check out the Garden Junk Inspirations albums...our friend, purplemoon, puts them tog for many yrs & so many projects by so many GJers! It's great! Click on Marlene's link she shared.

Your deck sounds like a good place to start ... esp if you're renting...Bakers racks are so much fun ...I change mine out a couple times a yr for the seasons...see what you think...can you come up w/a garage sale or flea market one?

Main thing...just have fun & enjoy! & again, welcome...share pics...we love 'em! Jeanne S.

Here's my Baker's Rack from April...the flowers are still there & going strong!

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I think it was Marlene that just showed her sewing machine base that she added a top to, that might work if your deck isn't big enough for a backer's rack. Other ideas are remaking headboards into benches or planters, I think there are some on the GJ album. Old chairs with plants or baskets of plants on them are neat.Small stepladders are nice for plants. Few antique items like watering cans, scoops, old pottery jugs etc are interesting & help give deck cozy warm feeling. Jan

Thanks, everybody! Lots of good ideas. I need to get thinkin' and shoppin'! I'll definitely post pics once I get started junking up my deck and pots!

I started with the totems. They are fun to shop for the glass and it is cheap. You could use them to dress up your pots and put solar lights in them to light up you patio.

I would suggest;
mushrooms- either glass or concrete
birdbaths - hundreds of great ideas here
fairy gardens- great in containers and also fun to find little items and also lots of ideas for them here

My first suggestion is to figure out what you like or the look you like. Look at all your clippings, your bookmarks or however you've saved things that have caught your eye and see if there's a pattern or trend. Look around your house, what decor do you like? Getting a good grasp of what you really like will help you decide what kind of garden junk, or yard art as some like to call it, you prefer.
Examples:
Do you collect "little stuff" , figurines etc? You might like fairy gardens and garden figures.
Do you like rusty old stuff? Old gardening and farming stuff might interest you.
Are you more "natural", do you prefer rocks, bark, things with texture? You might be happier with things that will blend in with their surroundings.
Do you like shiny things/glass? Totems might be a good place for you to start.
Are you more of an eclectic? (Most of us are). Try to find a common thread that will hint through your garden junk. Otherwise you might wind up with a real "junky" look.
Second suggestion: You said you're renting so be sure whatever junk style you choose is portable and/or packable. It's hard to leave good garden junk behind.
Last suggestion and it's more of a question: What sources and resources do you have for junking? You can spend a lot of time and money "going junking" but, to me anyway, that's contrary to the true spirit of a "junker". In my mind anyway...
One more thing I almost forgot: You're renting, find out if your landlord will mind your junk.
Welcome to the Junk Yard!

Thanks again to everyone!

nmgirl: Thanks for your list of questions/suggestions! I'll need to print those out to put in my garden-inspiration scrapbook for when I'm brainstorming. Lots of good points there.

Our house decor has a beachy theme, since we got married at Myrtle Beach. I've decided that my first project will be a beach-themed pot for the deck. I don't want to give too much away as my design is still in progress. I hope to buy some paint this week and post a picture soon!

Crates! I LOVE LOVE LOVE old crates. And old fishing poles, nets, anchors...a lot of my junk was garbage finds. Oh, and you can put plastic pots inside the old clay ones as liners (since the clay ones draw moisture out like crazy). I also like old bottles, I planted some herbs in ball canning jars. My hose is coiled inside an old whiskey barrel.

I attached a montage of some of my junk for reference...