Creative Old Wooden Ladder Garden Ideas 2023

Having a smaller space has become a matter of concern as it is tough to create a beautiful garden within a smaller space. Flower pots, ladders, and hanging pots are some techniques to adjust the plants despite having a tiny garden. People prefer old wooden ladder mostly as it looks aesthetic and has a large capacity to hold plants and creepers. It is also an affordable option and provides large room for the plants to grow up and allows more air and sunlight as we use it, usually placed vertically.

Choosing the Right Wooden Ladder

The ladders used for gardening should be more extendable with a foldable structure. Step ladders, extension ladders, combination ladders, tripod ladders, orchard ladders, and work platforms are the most used ladders while gardening.

Ladders can be helpful as well as can be the most dangerous thing present in your garden. Every year many people are injured falling from the ladders. So choosing a good ladder is essential.

Preparing the Old Wooden Ladder for Gardening

• Cleaning and treating: we can clean and treat the old, dusty, half-rotten wooden pieces by washing them and keeping them properly under the sun, and removing the rotten parts.

• Sanding and repainting: Sanding the wood will ensure an even piece of wood to get a plane platform. With the help of 60 to 180 grit sandpaper against the wood, you can evenly shape the uneven wood by rubbing. You must start from lower to higher grit to get a smooth texture and remove the sawdust using a vacuum cleaner. If you want, you can make it colorful as you want.

• Adding waterproof finishes: Polyurethane, varnish, and lacquer are widely used to give a smooth and glossy finish which will not only be rich to look at but also increases the durability of the wooden plank.

Vertical gardening with an old wood ladder

1. First, we have to cut off the side boards with the required measurements with the help of a jigsaw. And cut the other planks taking the measurements of the first one as if we are using the first one as a template for others. Following the template, try making the number of shelves you want on your ladder.

2. Make the self-placement at an angle of 30 degrees. As a result, the shelves will remain aligned with the backboard for proper sunlight and clean visual representation. The planters you keep will get more exposure.

3. Attach all the wooden pieces to the sideboard with a strong gum or use nails if needed. Then attach the other side of the board. Like this, you get the whole frame of the ladder, and the remaining task is connecting the back part of the ladder.

4. Finally, attach the backboard 3 to 4 inches thick to define its cover area. But in this case, leave ½ inch of space vacant for the airflow and removal of excess water.

5. Adding the base is the final step you can do after making the vertical garden. You can use 1x six boards to give the floor a proper shape and measure the width of the vertical garden. Now cut a piece of wood and place the ground at an angle of 45 degrees on each end.

Selecting Suitable Herbs for Vertical Gardening

Not all the herbs are suitable for the vertical garden due to the vertical gardens’ limited plant holding capacity. Herbs like-

• Basil
• Rosemary 
• Thyme
• Sorrel
• Lavender
• Mint

They’re preferable to use as the plants of a vertical garden. For the plants’ miniature structure, annual availability, variations, and medicinal usage, they are perfect for vertical gardens.

Flowering Vines and Climbers on the Ladder

Vine climbing is primarily popular among gardeners to add an extra aesthetic touch to your plain garden due to its colorful bloom and striking foliage. You can also grow it as it requires less effort and is affordable. Many people use vine climbing to add extra privacy to their homes. The most popular vines all over the world are-

• Boston Ivy

• Climbing Hydrangea Vine

• Trumpet vine

• Wisteria Vine

• Clematis Vine

• Coral Honeysuckle Vine

• Moonflower vine

• Chocolate vine

Due to their aesthetic appearance and low maintenance, they become more prevalent in vines on ladders.

Succulents and Air Plants Display

Tillandsia is known as air plants, where you mostly don’t need soil to grow the plant. They collect nutrients from the air, so proper air circulation is required to keep them fresh and alive. We can give them a water bath once a week, or occasional misting will be great for them. As there is no such requirement for soil, you don’t need to show that much effort to keep them alive.

Best Ways to Display Your Air Plants

Glass globe

Glass terrariums are primarily famous for their classy transparent 360-degree view. They are simple and elegant, and you can rearrange them the way you want by adding colorful pebbles, sand, or moss.

Natural containers

Nature has gifted us with so many resources that if we can utilize them properly, they can be game changer.Sea shells and urchins can be used as the container of air plants and add a beachy summer vibe to your home.

Cork Bark

Corks barks are readily available, and you can decorate them. Grow air plants to cork bark. And hang the dinghy attached to a string and display where the proper air ventilation and sunlight are available.

Sculpture display

You can utilize Sculptures as the planters rather than being only the showpiece. The most significant advantage is you can move the sculpture wherever you want. The plant will remain safe within the statue. 

Wall mounting

You can enhance the beauty of wall mounting by simply adding an air plant to it. You can try it, and all the guests are oblique to appreciate its beauty.

Decorative Display with Old Wooden Ladder

You can quickly get an old wooden ladder from garage sales, yard sales, estate sales, antique sales, flea markets, Craig’s List, and eBay. They are budget-friendly and valuable too. You can decorate the ladder in your way following some hacks.

1. Painting pastel

Pastel colors like pastel blue, pastel pink, and canary yellow can bring a youthfulness to your garden and look polished. Pastel color pops up in the park and becomes the center of attraction. You can also use bright colors like yellow, red, or orange, according to your choice and season.

2. Adding up your collection

You can keep your collections, like some bottles or statues, in the vacant spaces between the planters on the ladder. It will bring variety to your garden and fade away the flat, bland outlook. You can also add lamps to enhance the enchanted beauty of the evening aura.

3. Colorful containers

You can paint the regular planters and give them a new look. It is easier to do. You only need an acrylic color, brushes of different sizes, and a water pallet. You can use some stencils to add floral or geometric designs to your planter, which will look amazing.

4. Clematis ladder

Clematis vine on wooden ladder looks fantastic when they start to grow and reach the top. Often we took lightly the power of simplicity. This simple thing can change the attire of the whole garden. This simple yet unique feature can make your garden different from others.

5. Classic red-painted ladder

Red is the color of love. The bright color can take your garden to a different dimension due to its royalty. Usually, people try to avoid red due to its optimistic tone and contrast color with the greenery in their garden. But if you can paint the ladder red and decorate it with colorful planters and flowers, then it can change the whole scenario of your garden.

6. Birdhouse and bird feeder installation

 Keeping the birdhouse and bird feeder to your ladder will look versatile and invite the natural fauna to your home. You can be hung or keep the food inside the birdhouse or in the container so that they can come and collect food. It will look aesthetic, and birds will come whenever you give food. It is the best thing you can ever add to your garden.

7. Old wooden ladder garden using abandoned items

 Old Wooden Ladder as a Trellis or Privacy Screen

You can use the wooden ladders as trellis by making a cross-cross structure or even keeping them parallel to each other. Wooden ladders can be used as Pergola too. All you need is to have two similar stands or even two pillars, and on the top, you can attach the ladder with a string vertically.

The pergola will help you to make a gate for the garden as well as you can grow cucumber, pumpkin, and squash on it. The trellis will give support to the plants. You can use the framework for marking the boundaries also. It will beautify the garden and ensure privacy so that no one from outside can enter quickly.

For garden screening, you can –

• Prepare a sweet pea-covered wall
• The screen on the outdoor shower
• Increase the height of the boundary wall
• Create a bench with multiple ladders
• Include a movable privacy screen to have flexibility
• Add faux ivy to the ladder for instant result
• Incorporate fabric or the plants for added privacy

Maintenance and Safety Tips

Wooden ladders can be helpful and can lead to accidents and injuries. You can use wooden ladders as the shelf of the planters or even as displays. Again you can use it as a ladder whenever you need. For this reason, you have to take proper measures to safely use the ladder in your garden without any health hazards. Following safety measures can help you to avoid accidents and use them for a long time by maintenance. 

• Before keeping the planters or lamps, or even if you need to climb on a ladder, make sure the ladder is free of dust and oil. A slippery ladder can make you fall and cause severe injuries like fractures.
• Try your level best not to drop the ladder while you are moving with it from one place to another. Dropping the ladder will cause cracks in the old wooden ladder which may induce breakage in the future when you will try to use it.
• Regular inspection can help you to observe the condition. If you see anything wrong with the ladder, you can repair it before any accident happens. Regular cleaning, painting, and fixing the ladder are the foremost steps to maintain the quality of the ladder.
• Always be careful while you are climbing and decorating the ladder. Be careful about the angle and position of the ladder and secure it correctly. If you don’t place it adequately, keeping the planters will generate imbalance, and the ladder may fall upside down or even on you while moving through the garden. Even if you are planning to climb on the ladder, then the accident can be more dangerous as it will cause you to fall.
• Stop overloading your wooden ladder. It will be a burden more than the ladder’s holding capacity and cause the breakage of the ladder. As a result, the planters and other decorating items may fall upon you, and you may get injured.

Old wooden ladders are handy. But it is also necessary to use it wisely. Regular maintenance can help you to use it for a prolonged time. Old Wooden ladders tend to be in your store room or basement, but you can turn them into art by decorating them aesthetically and giving them a proper place in your garden. An old wooden ladder garden is the best to include due to its low maintenance, affordability, and classy, artistic appearance.