How to “Grow” Whimsical Garden Flower Stakes From Metal Wall Art

7 Materials
$25
2 Days
Easy

Learn how to “grow” flowers from metal wall art to plant a little whimsy with flower garden stakes! An easy DIY and way to add instant blooms and a whimsical addition to your garden.

It’s peak gardening season here in North Carolina and I have a fun DIY to help you “grow” flowers!

These flower garden stakes add a little whimsy in the garden! I “planted” them for some instant flowers, in front of the Limelight hydrangeas that won’t bloom until early to mid-July.

If you’re looking for an easy-to-grow, low maintenance shrub for your garden that will provide you with beautiful cut and dried flowers too, see my public service announcement:  Plant a Limelight Hydrangea…or Five.

I started with these metal flowers I found at Hobby Lobby. All the wall decor was 50% off the day I was there. In addition to metal flowers, here are the supplies I used:


  • Rebar (3/8 inch diameter) available in assorted lengths
  • Metal Conduit (1/2 inch diameter) about 4 – 6 inches per flower
  • Tube / pipe cutter
  • Drill
  • 2 screws
  • E6000 adhesive
  • Clear spray sealer, optional


To make the metal flowers into garden stakes, we used rebar that we already had. If you’re not familiar with rebar, it’s used for concrete reinforcement and commonly used for stakes in the garden. You can find it with the building supplies near the concrete at the home improvement store. It comes in various lengths and in 3/8-inch and 1/2-inch diameter widths. Rebar will acquire a rusty patina over time which I prefer. :)

We purchased a 5 foot length of 1/2 inch metal conduit for $2.68, found in the electrical department at Lowe’s. You’ll only need a foot or less for two stakes so you’ll have some leftover for another project. You’ll also need a tube or pipe / tube cutter which my hubby already had from making Blooming Door Knob Hose Guards.

A tube cutter costs about $15 at the home improvement store and is easy and safe for anyone to use, rotating the cutter and scoring the pipe until it breaks, about 6 rotations for the conduit.

Next, drill a hole for a screw to fit, about a half an inch of down from one end of your cut piece of conduit. Tip: A piece of tape on your conduit will help prevent your drill bit from slipping on the metal surface of the conduit while drilling. 

Add your screws to your cut pieces of conduit. The screws will serve as a “stop” to hold the conduit on the end of your rebar garden stake.

Now you’re ready to glue your conduit to your flowers. I used E6000 for a permanent, waterproof bond. E6000 will bond to metal, glass, fiberglass, wood, ceramics, masonry and concrete, as well as many plastics. You can find it at the craft store or home improvement store.

Add plenty of adhesive so you have good contact to bond the round surface of the conduit to the flat surface of the metal flower. I used a piece of tape to hold the conduit in place and prevent it from rolling until it was set. E6000 begins setting in approximately 10 minutes with a full cure time between 24 and 72 hours, depending on the temperature and humidity.

I waited a day and half before “planting” my flowers to make sure the adhesive was cured and the conduit would hold.


Your metal flowers may fade or acquire a rusty patina over time. To protect the finish of the flower, you can give them a couple of coats clear spray sealer, matte or gloss, whatever you prefer.

This flower garden stake with solar light, is one I’ve had for about 5 years. I hadn’t realized how sad it was looking until I photographed it recently. I decided it needed a makeover, so I picked up some spray paint at Lowe’s to give it a refresh and similar look to the galvanized finish of the other flowers. I found Rust-Oleum Universal All Surface Flat Antique Nickel and gave it a couple of light coats.

When dry, I did some dry brushing and light pouncing of my brush using some brown acrylic craft paint I had, so it blended with the other flowers. I allowed it to dry and gave it a couple of coats of clear matte spray sealer that I had.

These flower garden stakes are an easy and fun project to "plant" some garden whimsy!

Click the "go" button below for more photos, details and DIYs for garden season, including Blooming Door Knob Hose Guards, DIY Mosaic Flower Pots, Hand Stamped Garden Markers, Gardener’s Sugar Scrub and more!

Suggested materials:
  • Rebar (3/8 inch diameter) available in assorted lengths   (had, home improvement store)
  • Metal Conduit (1/2 inch diameter) about 4 – 6 inches per flower   (Lowe's)
  • Tube / pipe cutter   (had, home improvement store)
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Mary @ Home is Where the Boat Is
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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 2 comments
  • Nicole P Nicole P on May 30, 2021

    Love this idea!

  • Becky Becky on May 31, 2021

    My neighbor or did something similar but added another twist! She put them all in front of a blank exterior wall with a solar spotlight up close to each one. They ended up casting HUGE shadows in the wall behind them. Almost looked a little Alice in Wonderland-esque with the ‘Giant’ flowers. Pretty cool.

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