Recycling in the Garden

Jute bags

Small, medium or large, jute bags are becoming increasingly present in our daily lives. They are often collected when purchasing potatoes from a local farmer or large quantities of coffee and sometimes rice. Made from natural materials, they are reusable, decorative, and above all, plastic-free. They are perfect for storing your hazelnuts, walnuts, and root vegetables, such as potatoes or carrots. Durable and natural, jute bags can serve as original growing bags, where you can grow tomatoes, squashes, salads, cabbages, and other flowering plants. They can also be used to disguise an unsightly plastic pot. This adds a rustic and bohemian touch to a terrace, balcony, or garden.

Zucchini plants in jute bags.

wooden boxes

On markets and with certain traders, you can find wooden crates, typically used to transport fruits and vegetables. These lovely wooden crates can still be used to store your gardening tools or to transport your young plants. They can also be turned into a charming natural-looking container. To do this, simply fix a mulching fabric, a planting felt, or a jute sack (see previous chapter) inside the crate to hold the potting soil. Then, install a lovely perennial plant or a vegetable, and place your crate on your terrace or balcony.

A small square of aromatic plants with a lovely wooden crate

Old furniture

Aunt Adelaide left you some old furniture? Your old chair has just given up the ghost, or your bedside table no longer pleases you? Before you throw them away, consider recycling them in the garden! Yes, indeed, in the garden! Old furniture can still be used to create original supports for your plants and bring a vintage touch. Contemporary decorators are brimming with imagination to give a second life to a drawer, an old trunk, a sink, or an old sideboard. Install plants that are accustomed to living in small spaces or the queens of walls, such as wall campanula, an ivy, houseleeks, sedums, iberis, or a fern.

An old sideboard and its drawers or a chair can be recycled in the garden for an original atmosphere

the pallet, star of upcycling

You have probably come across, at friends’ houses or in a café, a garden set made from wood pallets. With its raw and natural look, the pallet is one of the stars of upcycling. Moreover, they are easily found and can be obtained for free from retailers, businesses, or construction sites.

With pallets, you can also create a support to make a small vertical garden. You can install, for example, herb plants such as thyme, oregano, or mint. In Mediterranean regions, it is advisable to choose plants that are heat and drought resistant, such as succulents and other cacti.

A pallet can become a lovely vertical support for plants

kitchenware

Whether it’s a thrift store find or inherited from Aunt Adelaide, old crockery can be a lovely alternative to pots for your plants. Thus, old teapots, milk jugs, large cups, and even antique chamber pots will bring a charming vintage touch to your garden, balcony, or terrace. Opt for enamelled steel or metal crockery, which will be more durable. Ceramic or earthenware containers, while beautiful, are fragile and will need to be brought indoors in winter to prevent cracking from the cold and frost.

To fill them, you can plant a lovely campanula or a beautiful annual with a trailing habit, such as petunias, ‘Cool Wave Morpho’ pansies, a Fuchsia ‘Dark Eyes’, or even bulbs of Begonia pendulata odorata ‘mix’. If you live in a dry region during summer or tend to forget to water, opt for succulents or small cacti instead. For example, a Delosperma, an Echeveria hybrid ‘Devotion’, houseleeks, or a Crassula radicans ‘Small Red’ will tolerate this temporary lack of water.

An old pot, an enamelled steel dish, or a recycled teapot in the garden

canned goods

Here’s one that we often have in our cupboards and yet can be very useful in the garden: the tin can. Once stripped of its label, it transforms into a lovely plant pot for an industrial vibe, with its raw and chrome appearance. You can also dress it up with a little bow of raffia or natural string for a rustic touch. Small tin cans can also replace pots for your sowing, taking care to pierce the bottom of the pot to drain excess water.

You can also easily build insect hotels with a tin can and various materials depending on the species you wish to welcome in the garden. Some insects are, in fact, very useful allies for gardeners.

→ Find our tutorial for making an insect hotel

→ Watch a video by Olivier on insect hotels

Insect hotel or container for plants, the tin can is easily recycled in the garden

sowing without waste

At the end of winter or the beginning of spring, you can easily make zero-waste sowings by using various packaging instead of throwing them away. You can transform egg boxes, tin cans, toilet roll cartons, yoghurt pots, newspaper, water bottles, and other packaging into pots for sowing.

→ discover our article on the Paper Potter to make your pots with newspaper

Some packaging and containers can be used for your sowings instead of ending up in the bin

barrels and casks

Whether made of metal or wood, barrels can be recycled in many ways in the garden. For example, by opening the top, you can create a rainwater collector to place under a downspout. If cut in half, you then have containers to plant some perennials, herbs, or vegetables. You can even create a mini pond with suitable aquatic plants. Barrels can also be recycled into garden furniture when topped with a wooden disc or a soft cushion. They are thus transformed into bar stools. Note that you can also create a table by placing a wooden plateau on top of a large barrel.

Barrels can be recycled in many ways

Let your imagination run wild

One day, I came across plants growing in jeans at the roundabout of the neighbouring town. From there, I concluded that with a bit of imagination, we can recycle many of our everyday objects to decorate, enhance, and most importantly, personalise our garden. Moreover, we are taking a step to reduce our waste and thus respect nature, one of the key issues for the future. So, let your creativity flow or seek inspiration from children! You will never look at an old pair of boots, a handbag, tyres, a bathtub, a toolbox, an old pram, a bike that has seen better days, or an old guitar in the same way again. It’s your turn to play!

With a bit of imagination and a dash of creativity, we can recycle many of our objects for an original garden