11 adorable ideas for decorating your garden with creatively recycled, wooden ladders

Everyone has to use a ladder at times to do some work in the house or in the garden. And especially in older houses, it may be the case that somewhere there is an older style ladder laying around, which may no longer be safe to use - but which could become turned into piece of eye-catching garden furniture.

In fact, when they become old and unsafe - especially wooden ones of a bygone era - it is best to avoid climbing on them, since they may no longer be able to support the weight of a person. But most likely they are still sturdy enough to support the weight of a few flower pots, or perhaps a couple of birdhouses. Take a look at the images below to find the right idea to recycle your old work ladder.

Step ladders, which have a vertical side, become perfect supports to be equipped with box planters instead of individual pots. They are almost custom-made to furnish balconies, porches and terraces!

All it takes is an old wooden ladder and a few pot plants on each rung (if they are wide enough) to give a lovely rustic and interesting feel to the garden.

When recycling these ladders to make them suitable for outdoor use - to resist humidity, the sun and the climate in general - you can also try different combinations. Try painting parts of the ladder in different colors, or remove a few rungs to make more room for taller plants.

A bit like shelves in the house, the rungs of these adapted ladders are an ideal place to place not only succulent plants, but also those with drooping foiliage (like ivy).

If the ladder has narrow rungs, you can use them as supports to hook the handles of metal buckets onto: these will be the pots you can then fill with plants!

And if you really like a rustic look, then why not plant your flowers in recycled containers, like old, tin cans?

The more you effort you put into doing them up, the more adorable they can become - moving from being less rustic and perhaps closer to the shabby chic style.

The rungs can also be used as a support for long shelves: much more space to arrange pots and planters!

And think about how much space you will get by using two ladders together, joined by together by long, wooden boards.

And don't forget that you can decorate these ladders / planters with strings of LED lights, making your outdoor corners truly magical!

Have you ever recycled a ladder to decorate your garden?