Have Fun and be Creative - Get the Look for Less
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Article by: J T Taylor Hands up all those who have visited a Garden , Tips For a Long Lasting Amaryllis Centre or DIY Store looking for something to add that touch of 'wow' to the garden. , Grow Herbs in your for Pleasure and Profit Let's face it, what's on offer is not exactly going to be unique is it? So instead of running with the crowd, why not go for something different! Go Green Have fun and be creative. Salvaging and recycling can be so much more than just composting green , Planting and Propagating Bulbs waste. Think of all the other items that are cast aside in the throes of so many re-vamps and make-overs: brick, stone, , Hydroponics Gardening - An Introduction To Hydroponics Gardening For Beginners (Part 5) Plant Growth redundant furniture, , Daylily Just Plum Happy old sinks, cast iron bathtubs, the list goes on. Real Rubbish Garden! , Easy Landscaping and Curb Appeal for Florida Homes At Chelsea a few years ago, the RSPB's Real Rubbish garden , Compost YES, Epsom Salts NO designed by Claire Whitehouse demonstrated how reclaimed and re-usable materials could be incorporated in a contemporary garden. , Growing a Sustainable ! Use some imagination Salvaging is all about using your imagination. Rather than throwing out items without a second thought, stop a minute and apply a bit of lateral thinking. Could it be recycled or re-used in other ways? We all make regular visits to our local tip , How To Mow A Lawn to dispose of rubbish. How often do you stop and look at items others have thrown out? What treasures could you have missed? Plastic , Create the Perfect Patio: Finding Great Furniture coleslaw and salad pots , Iris Flowers Remind Me Of Mom! make excellent seed , Patio Awnings Add to Your Outdoor Fun storage containers. Old toilet-roll centres are perfect for starting off broad bean seeds , Daylily Just Plum Happy whose deep roots , Organic Hydroponics - Simplified wont be disturbed when it comes to planting them out in their own bio-degradable cells. Old wooden , Mole Myths: How Can I Get Rid of the Moles Destroying My Yard? pallets can be turned into the perfect compost , Mole Myths: How Can I Get Rid of the Moles Destroying My Yard? bin (who says 'five into one, wont go!). Even the most unlikely items can be reborn; an old lavatory pan becomes a witty planter; a discarded bath becomes a herb garden. , The Truth About Mosquitos and Water s It's not really a new idea either. We all remember the ubiquitous white-washed split tyre planters that appeared everywhere in the seventies but it's not so easy to do the whole cut-and-turn thing since the advent of steel belting but a couple of worn-out tyres makes a useful container for any plant , Dream Yard that's a bit thuggish and likes to muscle in on its neighbours. I use mine to corral an unruly spread of mint whereas at CAT (The Centre for Alternative Technology at Macynlleth in Wales) they use a tyre stack as a composter. , Kirengeshoma palmata Small but nonetheless efficient. Create something different It's surprising how many old wheelbarrows you will come across on a visit to your local , Brighten Your Path By Installing Decorative Landscape Lighting Council Tip A wheelbarrow provides plenty of scope for decorative planting and can usually be picked up for around a fiver. It'll be well-used and showing signs of age, which is perfect for the purpose. If you're feeling really industrious, you could give it a coat of 'Hammerite' to make it look pretty, otherwise just drill or punch some drainage holes, plant , Seeding Your Lawn, Laid Bare up and enjoy. And an added bonus with a wheeled planter is if you fancy a change , Everybody Feng Shui Tonight - in the Garden of scenery, it's easy enough to move it around. Need a piece of 'art' to create a focal point? An old push mower , Grow Herbs in your Garden for Pleasure and Profit or lawn , Tractors - Buying the Right One roller takes on a sculptural quality when set against a dry-stone wall , Plants, Birds, Love and Deer Hate and glimpsed through a blossom-clad arch. The same may be said for an old-fashioned horse-drawn ploughshare - make sure you have the space though. Don't overlook old furniture , Growing Nostalgic "Old Roses" In Your Garden either. You could pick up an old chest for a few pounds and with a lick of paint , Mole Myths: How Can I Get Rid of the Moles Destroying My Yard? it can be used to store hands tools, , Outdoor Lighting riddles, dibbers and the like and - with a bit of weather-proofing - even turned into a tiered display area. When it comes to re-using and recycling we are only limited by our imagination. Discover that elusive bargain Having recently moved home , Garden Decor -- It Is More Than Just Decorations and inherited a garden , Dealing With Pests In a Hydroponic that beckons contemplation, I decided it was necessary to procure some seating that befitted the task. Disappointed at the sameness of the choices on offer I decided to search for an alternative that I found in the shape of a rather handsome bent-wood rocker. All it needs is some slight attention to a loose splat and a bit of refinishing in order to withstand the elements. I'm looking forward to sitting it on the side lawn , Tillers - How to Find the Right Tiller for the Job beneath the boughs of a knarled apple tree , An Autumn Garden for Halloween and shall inset some bricks (reclaimed of course) in the grass , Garden Decor -- It Is More Than Just Decorations to avoid the rockers becoming entrenched. For £5.00 I've bought my own little oasis of calm and tranquillity. Council Tips , Outdoor Lighting are not the only places , Tips For a Long Lasting Amaryllis to look of course. If you are looking for something with a bit of age and different Auction Houses , Conservation and Salvage/Reclamation yards , Water Gardens That Upset The Neighbours are a good place , The Basics of Plant Growth; Part 1 Hormones to start you could find You'll only find new ones in shops. There are reclamation and salvage yards, , Water Gardens That Upset The Neighbours second-hand stores and even auction houses , Daylily 'When My Sweetheart Returns' all of which are comparable to the fabled Aladdin's cave. Salvage and reclamation is pretty big business these days and it pays to shop around. If you have a project in mind, particularly if you live in a period property, , Patio Awnings Add to Your Outdoor Fun there is no better place , Create the Perfect Patio: Finding Great Furniture to scout around to find authentic and original every-day objects and architectural features , Conservation to breathe new life into your garden. , Aromatic Red Cedar Lawn Furniture - Add A Touch Of Luxury Keep an eye out for weathered statuary and chimney pots , Garden Gazebo - A Stunning Addition to any Landscape that look terrific planted up or can be used as rhubarb forcers or celery blanchers. Fancy a bog garden? A cast iron bath - and I'm not suggesting some exotic £400 French jobbie, cheap an' cheerful is the order of the day here - sunken into the ground (plug removed of course) is the perfect container. Most towns have an Auction house , Growing a Sustainable Garden! but be aware that there will be few bargains to be found on Antique or Collectable days. Sometimes you may find Specialist sales with a horticultural or agricultural bent and you may a find a bargain here but broadly speaking, a General Sale is your best bet. General sale days are great fun because the range of goods on offer is so wide, everything from ceramics to furniture , Growing and Preserving Cut Flowers and everything in between. Take advantage of the viewing opportunities and don't be afraid to ask the Saleroom Staff how much they think something might fetch and if they think it will be popular. With a bit of homework you may pick up a really bargain. Whether it's an old wheelbarrow, planter, pot, , Spring Flower Gardening chair , Mole Myths: How Can I Get Rid of the Moles Destroying My Yard? or statue; reclaimed and recycled items add a touch of individuality and character to a garden , Growing Tomatoes Organically and that's something you wont find on the shelves at any out-of-town mall. What's in your garden? When it comes to recycling in the garden, , Conservation don't forget the plants , Water Gardens That Upset The Neighbours themselves. That Rose , An Autumn Garden for Halloween of Sharon may be the bane of your herbaceous border but to someone else, it represents a brilliant bit of instant ground cover so dig it out, pot , Growing and Preserving Cut Flowers it up and pass it on or even sell it at the Car Boot! Recycling is all about sustainability, all about making the very most out of what we have. So get involved. Visit your local tip, , Garden Gazebo - A Stunning Addition to any Landscape look for items to recycle and re-use in the garden. , The Truth About Mosquitos and Water s Go round reclamation yards, , Growing a Sustainable Garden! auction houses , Compost YES, Epsom Salts NO and even have another look in your own back yard. , Garden Gazebo - A Stunning Addition to any Landscape At worst, you'll save , Dealing With Pests In a Hydroponic Garden some money and who knows, you may find a hidden gem. Whatever you do, have fun and rejoice in the fact that what you're doing is literally not 'costing the earth'.Tim Taylor is a freelance writer and keen gardener. |
  
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