If you happen to be in possession of old, discarded, rusty, railroad spikes and no clue what you planned to use them for in the first place, here’s an idea. Use them to decorate a dish garden.

 
Or stick them in your outdoor garden. I brought these home with me from Wyoming, so of course they are in the Wyoming bed.

 
I had the bright idea this year to gussy up the rusty spikes for a touch of bling before bling goes completely out of style. Bill let me use this sander to knock off all the crusty layers of rust down to the original shiny steel finish. I only went through three sanding belts to polish five spikes. And I wore my industrial ear muffs while I worked. 

 
He was rather skeptical of my wonderful idea, throwing water on my plan-no pun intended-reminding me that they would just get rusty again as they responded to the weather and watering of the cactus. But, I know how to use that sander now and where he keeps it, and I can clean them up again if I want to. Or let nature take its course.

 
 
As I was sanding, I discovered letters on the tops of the spikes, company manufacturing logos, I suppose. But that gives them a touch of mystery. Whose initials are they? Why are they there?  Secret code? Some polished down to other marks as well.

These gardens happen to be smaller ones, but the spikes could be used in larger, more elaborate pots.
 
So knock yourself out. Have fun with them. Natural or shiny, I think the spikes are fun to experiment with.