10 Genius Garden Hacks with Rusted Metal
There is something sinister about a landscape of rusted metal: a corroded car off the highway, a forgotten Midwestern town, or a decaying seaport. The visceral response to the rambling, dark red oxide could come from its resemblance to blood or from the reminder of our own inevitable oxidation. Or maybe it's just a fear of tetanus.
Rusted metal is often cast into junkyards as an unusable, unsightly material but that's too bad. There's a certain charm in rust. Borrowed from the designs of landscape architects, here are 10 genius garden hacks using rusted metal (Corten steel included).
Weave a Fence
Above: The facade of the Kunsthaus Art House Extension in Switzerland was braided with raw 5/100mm steel stripes by Ssm Architekten Ag, who allowed the oxidation process of the steel to slowly set in. Photograph via Arch Daily.
Above: In Edinburgh, Scotland, architects Groves-Raines used traditional Scottish willow weaving techniques to create a rusty barrier around a custom composting shed from A New World Composting Shed in Edinburgh.
Build a Fence
Above: Landscape architect Filip van Damme built a sculptural, Richard Serra-like slatted wall on part of a property's perimeter in Belgium.
Above: A ribbon-like fence at the Ávila Hospital in Spain by EACSN architects via Arch Daily.
Above: A Corten steel wall from Steal This Look: Designer Faye Toogood's Artful London Patio.
A Entry Gate
Above: A rusted gate on the side of landscape architect Christine Ten Eyck's own house in Austin, Texas. Photograph by Matthew Williams for Gardenista.
Above: Another gate at Ten Eyck's Austin house. Photograph by Matthew Williams for Gardenista.
Above: A Corten steel gate in a Grecian key pattern by architect Teresa Rosano in Tucson, Arizona via Custom Home Online.
Sculptural Interest
Above: A row of sculpture in Corten steel at Quirijn Park in Tilburg, Netherlands by Karres en Brands Landscape Architecture via Landezine.
Above: Rusted Iron Spheres can be strategically placed around the garden to encourage vines to grow around them, or clustered in a corner as they are. From our post An Orb to Ornament the Garden.
Above: A circular rusty metal sculpture on the side of a garden path by landscape designer Anthony Paul from A Glamorous Black and White Cottage Garden.
A Rusted Deck
Above: A rusted iron walkway by Hugo Bugg at Chelsea in London is from Expert Advice: 10 White Garden Ideas from Petersham Nurseries.
Retaining Walls
Above: Andrea Cochran Landscape Architecture installed Corten steel as retaining walls in a San Francisco garden from Rust Never Sleeps: 8 Surprising Ways to Use Steel in the Garden.
Garden Beds Defined
Above: Seesteel edging with a rusted patina in Hardscaping 101: Metal Landscape Edging.
A Fire Pit for Entertaining
Above: A simple rusted metal fire pit is at Glen Oaks Cabin in Big Sur, California.
Above: Corton steel chairs and a fire pit are in the backyard of a Hudson River house by Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects.
Above: The Corton steel Geometric Fire Pit by Plodes Studio is $1,195 from Geometric Fire Pit: Do the Math.
Unexpected Curb Appeal
Above: Pre-weathered Corten steel and raw concrete sheathes the exterior of a house in Sitges, Spain by Olson Kundig Architects. The warm color of the rusted steel is a modern, industrial take on the traditional terra cotta Spanish tiles of the region.
Above: A colorful home on Avoca Street in Yarraville, Victoria in Australia includes a Corten steel wall on part of the exterior by AlterEco.
See more Corten steel in Before and After: A Music Studio Rises from Its Victorian Ruins and Rust Never Sleeps: 8 Surprising Ways to Use Steel in the Garden. And for more garden hacks visit:
