Vintage Watering Cans

Add these to your Rustic Garden Decor

One of the most often coveted and collected vintage garden finds are watering cans.

Find them in thrift stores, at garage sales and auctions, but be prepared to pay a pretty penny for them, or wrestle them out of the hands of other collectors.

They are often found without the rose on the end of the spout - those with the brass sprinkler end are most valued.

Keep in mind that two kinds of metal together can tend to fuse together.  If you prefer, you can unscrew the rose and display the two parts separately.

You can display these watering cans in a group of as many as you can find. There are lots of different styles, some from other countries, most showing their age.

It's important to empty them at the end of the gardening season as they will split at the seams if the water in them freezes hard.  I generally put them upside down for the winter where they'll drain out.

There are also zinc or galvanized copies or reproductions, sometimes hand painted, like this one;

Stubby little galvanized watering cans are often found in a display filled with meadow flowers, or dried seed heads.  Either way, they are very cute used for a vase...

Or just grouped in a vignette with other rustic items.

See more of my favorite vintage watering cans in imaginative displays on my Pinterest board;

The thing to remember with these old watering cans is that they're easy to damage.  Dropping them onto pavement can dent them, or wreck the rose completely. 

Keep them for display only, not for use. 

They are great to use for dried hydrangea flowers, twigs, or other natural decorations. Mix them with bulbs growing in terracotta pots topped with moss, a few pieces of driftwood or so, on a rustic potting bench on your porch.