Chris Collins on…using recycled materials in your garden
It’s that time of year when there’s time to plan ahead for the new season and make some changes to your growing space. But when money is tight, creating a new look can seem difficult…and this is where second-hand materials some in very handy!
Take my allotment friends, for example – they’re masters at reusing, recycling and generally making the most of what other people consider to be waste materials. Here's four of my favourite upcycling ideas:
- Pep up a pallet
Abundantly available, old wooden pallets have multiple uses as compost bins or vertical herb planters, or pot stands (pictured). They make excellent bug hotels stuffed with materials such as cones, stems and seed heads.
- Think outside the box for containers
As long as there’s plenty of space for roots and drainage holes, pretty much any household object can become a container. Crates and hessian sacks are easily available – or you could fill an old pair of jeans or a chest-of-drawers with peat-free compost and plants.
- Create standing homes for wildlife….
Second-hand gabions - metal cages used in landscaping - can become valuable wildlife habitats. Fill with bits of wood, organic materials and little hidey-holes and place near shrubs so insects can use them to hibernate over winter. Add a piece of timber between two gabions and they can be turned into a bench.
- …or make a hanging habitat
Fill two old hanging baskets with straw, twigs and cones and wire them together. Follow our tutorial. Shelving units bolted to a garden fence, old ladders or bicycle wheels can become grow-frames for plants and homes for garden creatures. Coppiced wood, taken from hornbeam or hazel are great for creating natural fencing and trellis.
Happy recycling! Chris