I was lucky to acquire two, old, wooden ladders from a friend, last week, which I greedily snapped up without any particular plans in mind, but with the certainty that I could find a use for a ladder somewhere in my garden.
A quick browse on Pinterest gave me lots of ideas, most of which wouldn’t work for me. The ladders have round rungs, rather than flat ones, so I can’t use them as plant stands. I have nowhere to hang a ladder, to create a kind of dolly rack. I wondered about using them in the veg patch, for growing beans of sweet peas up, but I expect they will just rot away at the base in time if I do, as the wood isn’t treated.
Then I realised I could create a pretty plant display using hooks or hanging pots. I ordered a cheap, colourful set of enamel pots (just £15), bought a tray of pansies (£3.50), propped the ladder against a wall, and voila… A quick, simple way to create a flowering display that I can change whenever the plants stop performing. I’m thrilled with it, and my son says it’s quite cool, which is high praise indeed!
I still have one ladder left, so if you have any bright ideas for how I could upcycle it in the garden, please do let me know. x
