If you’re a gardener, you probably love a good DIY challenge. But it is sometimes hard to justify a project when you come away from the Lowes garden center with a bill way over $100. But did you know you can spend a fraction of the cost of gardening tools and outdoor décor with just a little know how of where to shop? Here are easy to find 70 best garden and outdoor items to buy at garage sales (or estate sales).
I use the term garage sales, but you can find these garden and outdoor items just as easily (if not easier) at estate sales. These 70 best garden and outdoor items to buy at garage sales are things I see almost every week of garage sale and estate sale shopping. So with one morning of effort and time, you can stock up on tools, garden décor and even plants and have a great time treasure hunting along the way! All at a much lower price than any big box store!
If you’re like me, you forget what gardening supplies you need once you’re out shopping. “If I only had a brain!” Download my FREE garage sale shopping list below for your mobile phone so you can make out your “need” list and never wonder again!
Gardening Tools
You can almost be assured that during one morning of shopping garage sales, you will find numerous gardening tools for your collection. Yes, there might be some useless rusty old stuff, but I have found plenty of name brand, high quality gardening tools in good condition like Fiskar brand that have served me well. And when I forget a hand shovel in the garden and it gets rusted, I’m not too sad as it only cost me a dollar!
Best Place To Find Gardening Tools: Estate sales (but garage sales have plenty too)
Average Price (in my Midwest location): $1 – $2 for hand tools; $5 – $10 for large tools like shovels; $12 – $15 for items like long handled garden loppers/shears
1. Hand Tools
2. Hand Garden Shears (Hand Pruners)
3. Long Handled Garden Loppers (Clippers)
4. Shovels of All Kinds
5. Leaf and Garden Rakes
6. Hoe
7. Kneeling Pad
8. Garden Seat
Gardening Clothing
There are not too many special items of gardening clothing, but it is important to have a few key pieces to make yourself more comfortable and protected. I have always found rain boots, muck boots and garden shoes for the kids and myself second hand. There have been multiple times I’ve even found name brand clothing like Hunter brand rain boots in great condition!
Gardening gloves and sun hats of all styles are also common and cheap to pick up. And who doesn’t love a vintage apron with pockets to gather all the gardening produce in real retro style?!
Best Place to Find: Garage Sales generally; estate sales for vintage aprons
Average Price: $5 – $10 for women’s and kids’ boots; $1 – $5 for gloves and hats
9. Garden Shoes, Rain or Muck Boots
10. Garden Apron
11. Garden Gloves
12. Straw Sun Hats
Power Lawn Equipment
Gas and electric powered lawn equipment takes a little extra care in buying second hand, but if you take the time and have a little power tools knowledge, this is a great way to save a lot of money. Make sure you ask the owner if there are any problems with the item and power it up and test it (or have them start it if you’re unsure how). And don’t forget to keep a lookout for a good, heavy duty extension cord if you’re buying electric powered equipment.
Best Place to Find: Both Yard Sales and Estate Sales
13. Snow Blower
14. Lawn Mowers
15. Rototiller
16. Weed Eater
17. Edger
18. Hedge Trimmer
19. Gas or Electric Pole Saw
20. Extension Cord
Live Plants
Live plants are a great item to buy at garage sales! There are some people who hold a dedicated “plant sale” where they have grown seeds into young plants or divided their established plants with the purpose of making extra cash selling them. I have purchased grape vines, raspberry bushes, trees, house plants and outdoor plants of all kinds. It is especially great to buy new plants locally because often these varieties are native to your area and will grow particularly well.
And check out my blog post How To Sell Plants at a Garage Sale if you want to know how to make some money off your green thumb!
Best Place to Find: Garage Sales or “Plant Sales.” Estate sales for houseplants. The local county extension office usually holds an annual plant and gardening sale where the members donate items. Local botanical gardens sell their bulbs and plants after blooming season for literal pennies!
Average Price: $0.10 – $0.25 per bulb; $0.50 – $3 for small plants; $5 – $20 for established house plants
21. Tree Seedlings
22. Fruit Vines, Trees and Bushes
23. Succulents and House Plants
24. Annual and Perennial Flowers
25. Vegetable Plants
26. Flowering Bushes
Potting Supplies
I needed a specific size plant pot for my fiddle leaf fig and was impatient. So I traipsed off to Lowes to find the perfect pot…and it hurt my heart a bit to spend what I did. Not that it was outrageous, but it was far more expensive that I could have found it at a garage sale if I had been a little patient. Small, large, new, vintage, clay or plastic flower pots abound at so many estate and yard sales and at very good prices.
Best Places to Find: Estate and garage sales
Average Price: $0.50 – $3.00 for small pots, flower vases and seed trays; $5.00 – $10.00 for medium to large planters and watering cans
27. New and Vintage Plant Pots
28. Large Planters
29. Plastic Seed Trays
30. Potting Soil
31. Flower Gathering Basket
32. Flower Vases and Jars
33. Watering Can
Garden Hardscaping
The last couple years I’ve added a vegetable garden to our farm. Since our soil is hard clay and I wanted to avoid weeding as much as possible, I opted for a semi-raised bed vegetable garden. But we are funneling most of our extra money into the farmhouse renovation and not into vegetable gardens, so I had to get creative to find garden bed supplies on a budget. Browsing Facebook Marketplace a couple times was the perfect place to find enough free cinder blocks to outline all my raised beds.
Best Place to Find: Facebook Marketplace is a great place for finding landscaping and fencing supplies; garage sales and estate sales often have smaller hardscaping items such as plastic edging and stepping stones.
34. Garden Plastic Edging
35. Garden Fencing
36. T Posts
37. Bricks
38. Cinder Blocks
39. Landscape Edging Stones
40. Building Supplies for Raised Beds (2 x 4 lumber, corrugated metal, etc)
41. Stock Tanks for Raised Beds
42. Bags of Gravel
Vegetable Garden Supplies
A couple weeks of shopping estate sales and garage sales got me enough soaker hoses, regular hoses, sprinklers and sprayers to set up my own gardens. Do a quick check on the hoses to make sure they have all the connectors necessary and don’t have holes or significant wear. The garden hoses I buy are all in like-new condition, and the soaker hoses I’ve purchased have almost always had the new tags still on them, and at such a great price!
Best Place to Find: Estate and garage sales for hoses, sprinklers and sprayers; Facebook Marketplace for larger items
Average Price: $3.00 – $5.00 for soaker or garden hoses in like new condition
43. Buckets for Raised Garden Plants
44. Soaker Hose
45. Regular Hose
46. Sprinklers
47. Sprayers
48. Rain Barrel
49. Compost Bin
50. Wood Pallets for DIY Compost Bins
Yard and Garden Care Supplies
I purchased a very large garden wagon at a garage sale, and it has been one of the most used tools around our farm. From Caleb using it to haul firewood to me using it to move lawn furniture, that wagon is used for toting ev-ry-thing and worth every penny. And no garden shed is complete without a stack of 5 gallon buckets and a wheelbarrow to aid your lawn care efforts!
Best Places to Find: Garage sales and estate sales
Average Price: $2 – $3.00 for 5 gallon buckets; $20 for a good wheelbarrow; $50 – $60.00 for large garden wagon
51. Garden Wagon
52. Five Gallon Bucket
53. Wheelbarrow
Outdoor Furniture
There is an absolute plethora of good quality outdoor patio furniture to be found at garage sales, especially city wide garage sale weekends! No matter what your style, you will be able to find a good set of table and chairs, individual metal chairs or porch rockers with just a very little time of searching. The great deals abound and the savings are huge! And the bonus is that since these items are so large, you can just drive by a garage sale and usually see if they have something worth getting out of the car for. (But go early as good outdoor furniture are popular items and tend to sell quickly!)
Best Places to Find: Garage sales (especially city wide garage sale weekend) and Estate sales; Facebook Marketplace is also a great source
Average Price: $5 – $10 for metal outdoor chair; $50 – $75 for patio table and chair set
54. Lawn Chairs
55. Patio Table and Chairs
56. Outdoor Rug
57. Vintage Metal Chairs
58. Benches
59. Porch Swing
60. Rocking Chair
Outdoor and Garden Decoration
Again, whether your style is Farmhouse, Modern or Grandma Chic, you can find plenty of wonderful outdoor and garden decorations second hand. Garden décor is so common that you can go for a morning of estate sale shopping and find just as much good stuff (if not more) than a retail store. Make sure if you’re buying items such as string lights that you plug them in first to make sure they all work. And it’s always a good idea to pour some water into a bird bath to make sure it holds water.
Best Places to Find: Garage Sales and Estate Sales; Facebook Marketplace for larger items such as archways
61. Cement Garden Figures and Gnomes
62. Bird Feeder
63. Bird Seed
64. Bird Bath
65. Outdoor Lanterns
66. Backyard String Lights
67. Stepping Stones
68. Trellis
69. Archway
70. Shepherd’s Hook (for hanging planters)
That wraps up my list of 70 best garden and outdoor items to buy at garage sales, but I could keep going for 70 more items! Nearly every home has some sort of gardening supplies and decoration, so estate sales that are liquidating an entire household almost always have a garage and back yard full of things you might need. And garage sales are almost equally as promising when it comes to buying outdoor tools and supplies.
As with all second hand shopping, you might need to be a little patient to find exact items…it is not exactly like shopping retail after all. But the cost savings and the satisfaction of reusing items and escaping retail consumerism is huge. Make a list of what you need and head out this week to see what you can find!
And don’t forget to download my FREE garage sale shopping list for your mobile phone HERE to keep track of what you need!
Find More Garage Sale Shopping Guides Below
34 Best Garage Sale Shopping Tips for Beginners
75 Best Authentic Vintage Farmhouse Decor at Garage Sales
30 Everyday Items I Buy at Garage Sales and the Actual Savings
Guide to Buying Vintage Home Decor
16 Estate Sale Shopping Tips to Find Best Vintage Items
Pin for Later 70 Best Garden and Outdoor Items to Buy at Garage Sales
