In Australia, April is a great month to finish your deck. The weather is inviting and the sun doesn’t set until 6:30. Naturally, when you are enjoying your new NexGEN deck you will want to decorate your new space, and you will want the additions to be as creative as your deck. It wouldn’t hurt to also be good for the environment, either. So here are a few ideas for giving your deck some flair.

1. Upcycle Your Boots As Planters.

You can make anything into a vase, and old boots make very good ones. This is especially true of the colourful children’s boots that have developed holes in the toes. They just need a hole in the bottom for drainage, and they already have holes from use. Just fill the boots with soil and plant flowers in them. Putting the boots in a little group with rocks from around your yard will give the vases some whimsy.

As an added thought, old crates and tin tubs make classic-looking planters. Again, you only need a hole for drainage and you can plant vegetables and flowers all over your deck. They make excellent containers for bonsai trees.

2. DIY Fountains

For the price of a water fountain pump, you can make a fountain out of a large dish, bowl or basin. Resin or plastic containers work the longest, and a decorative planter that doesn’t have a hole can work, too.

Pick a place on your deck near an electrical outlet, put the water pump in the middle of the container, and drape the power cord out the back of the container. Decorate your basin however you like. You can put your basin in between your boot planters, bury it in the raised soil in the tin planter, surround it with rocks, or line the container with pottery shards. Add water to the container. Plug the pump in, and enjoy the soothing sound of water on your deck.

3. Glass Jar Lights

If you have coloured tissue paper left over from Christmas, you can take your leftover jars and make them into beautiful lamps. Clean the jars and dry them. Cut up the coloured tissue paper and glue it around the outside of the jars. If you would rather not bother with tissue paper, you can leave the jar alone or decorate it with some other see-through thing.

You can put LED lights or small candles inside the jars at night when you are dining out. Put these on the railings at the corners for an even distribution of light.