If the notion of recycling brings to mind images of a higgledy piggledy garden which is well-meaning but messy, think again.
I’m on a bit of a mission to demonstrate that recycling, upcycling – call it what you will – can be super stylish.
This idea was admirably demonstrated in this small garden at Hampton Court a few years ago. A creative mind is needed to see beyond a stack of old pallets and visualise their use for fencing and decking.
The pallets were used in their complete state for the fence, but dismantled and cut up for the decking.
Unfortunately I can’t remember the name of the designer to give him the credit that he deserves. His garden was exhibited near mine and I do remember how, at the end of the Show we both combed through skips (with permission of course) rescuing the decent timber, this was back in the day when the R.H.S. didn’t really recycle.
Here’s one of my gardens that uses old scaffold boards as decking, sanded down they come up a treat.
You can read more about that garden here
Why not think about how you can garden in a more sustainable way, whether that’s re-using materials like the gardens above, having compost bins or using the right plants for your garden, so they thrive and don’t need replacing.
Jill
images: Jill Anderson
I absolutely love the use of the pallets to form the basis of your decking, quite an elegant solution and reusing wood, very sustainable, bravo! I’ve been preaching to my friends a lot lately about using reclaimed and salvaged materials for their garden projects and i think as society moves towards a more sustainable future we will see these types of materials used more and more in garden decks. Which for me, can only be a good thing.
Hi Bob, thanks for your comments, they look great don’t they and are sustainable, the garden was at the hampton court flower show 8 years ago. Jill