Celebrate Earth Day 2022 With A Collectors’ Garden

Let’s call this week’s Earth Day — Friday, April 22 — what it really is: a national celebration of collectors! Antiques and collectibles are the ultimate examples of recycling. Collectors know that it is better to save and use already existing furniture, clothes, jewelry and other items than to throw them away.

Earth Day was started in 1970 to raise awareness of the environment. It was triggered by numerous disasters like a bad oil spill near Santa Barbara, Calif., and the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland, Ohio, catching fire. Each Earth Day has a specific theme. The Earth Day 2022 theme is “Invest In Our Planet.” Collectors know all about investing — at least in things that they love and that bring them happiness, which should be the root of all collecting!

A home garden is a great place to start celebrating the planet. Here are some garden decor ideas from a collector’s point of view to help reinforce the message of recycling, reusing and repurposing:

1.  Find bird baths made from recycled materials. Flea markets and antiques malls are full of repurposed plates, bowls and cups made into bird baths, or sometimes just decorative elements. Talk about fun!

2.  Is your garage full of old, dusty license plates, or do you like the ones found in stalls at flea markets? Find ones with interesting colors and pictures and hang them on your garden fence.

3.  Instead of buying new planters, go to a thrift store, Goodwill or consignment store. There are shelves and shelves of old ceramic pots for only a few dollars each. They give your garden a unique look with different colors and shapes.

4.  Old wooden wheelbarrows and galvanized tubs also can be used as planters, although they may be more pricey.

5.  More expensive garden recycling can be architectural remnants, cast-iron or wire furniture, figural lawn sprinklers and large gates, fences, trellises and urns. Antique urns can be used as planters.

6.  Have five or six old trowels you never use anymore? Old garden tools can be used decoratively.

7.  One of our favorite tips? Instead of sending that old grill to a landfill … use it as a planter.

After reading this, go out to your garage. Look at the things sitting in the corners, in bins and on the shelves with a new eye. Can they be repurposed as garden decorations? We bet the answer is yes. And here are a few examples to give you some ideas.

Happy Earth Day 2022!