Home » Plants & Animals » Northern Gardening » Using Recycled Materials in the Garden

Using Recycled Materials in the Garden

© Mary Henry

Earth Day reminds us to recycle and reuse as much as we can. Composting is recycling. Most gardeners are doing that already, but there are ways we can recycle materials that are destined for the landfill. All we need is an active imagination and the willingness to try something a bit out of the ordinary. In the Twin Cities area we are very lucky to have a non-profit organization providing us with more ways to do that. The ReUse Center in the HiLake shopping center at East Lake and Hiawatha, offers used building materials at bargain prices. I find that gardeners with any imagination at all can have the time of their lives here and also save a buck or two. This place truly stretches your creativity. Brainstorming is the best way to consider the inventory.

There are old railings that could be turned into fences or trellises. drawers that can become planters - don't forget to add a few drainage holes. Cabinet doors can be put together to form wonderful bottomless planter boxes. You can coordinate them with paint, making them all one color or making a statement that would look at home with the Watts Towers.

I've considered a folding screen made of bi-fold doors hinged together. I would attach pot hanger hardware so potted plants could be the decoration. Another thought is one made of louvered bi-fold doors used as a free-standing trellis for the season. Perhaps, when covered with vines, it could provide shade where you need some.

Used boards can be put together to make long, narrow bottomless planters to bound a parking space, border a walkway or define a patio. A bottom is not needed if the container is not going to be moved around.

Planters, screens, trellises or whatever that you might build can be decorated with stuff you find too. I've seen the doohickeys that cover the place in the ceiling where a hanging light fixture attaches that would look like a carving when attached to a wooden planter or screen and painted the same color. How about a wind chimes of old skeleton keys, hinges, doorknobs and such. Your choices can be a personal statement. The point is, that these materials are cheap enough to play with and it keeps them in service.

There are lots of ideas for using water in the garden. Just walk through the plumbing area. My dad would have loved the idea of an old toilet with the bowl filled with petunias. He had a good sense of whimsy. You can make a dandy bird bath out of an old pedestal sink. I fell in love with one, and if I didn't already have a bird bath, I'd have taken it home immediately. Years ago I saw a picture of an old claw-footed bath tub that had been used outdoors for a water lily container. The outside had been painted with flowers and vines to make it blend into the garden and the waterlily inside seemed happy as can be. The most important thing to remember about using bathroom fixtures in this way is that the plant roots, and any fish you might add, need protection from the light that reflects from the bottom. While the waterlily leaves would provide their own shade when fully expanded, a better idea is a thin layer of sand.

The copyright of the article Using Recycled Materials in the Garden in Northern Gardening is owned by . Permission to republish Using Recycled Materials in the Garden in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.