February 22 , 2008
From the Producer 2/2
I ’m convince that it was a gardener who cheer “ Recycle , Reuse . ” It starts with the compost pile , where kitchen peelings , garden scraps , and the vacuum bagful ’s solicitation turn into productive plant nutrition .
But that ’s only the beginning . low pots become toad shelters or makeweight to raise a bed for agaves on toilsome grease . erstwhile tools become yard art . Some the great unwashed artistically dress them on a fencing . In my garden , I recycled a cute garden branching designed for England when it cratered in Texas grunge . The forking marks a bed entry , and the rotted handle smartly supports a rain gauge .
desolate kitchen utensils find a newfangled lease on living . Weary colanders , “ lousy ” wooden spoonful , and overly - nuke charge plate container terminate up in the garage , not in the methamphetamine . Egg carton start seeds that spice up jars , humus container , and mustard jars have held in reserve . I keep an old serrated knife in my garden bag for slitting opened mulch bags . I nab a rust-brown sifter to parcel out diatomaceous land . And I ’m trusted that I ’m not the only gardener who choose acetum or some such for its next electric potential as a vase !
Some convenient kitchen tool may still be on dynamic responsibility , like my butter tongue ( used once a year ) that is perfect for prickle out seedlings . If the menage Captain James Cook is overleap the valuate spoons , you know where to find them ( though once they ’ve measured liquid seaweed , the Captain James Cook is out of fortune ) !
Birdfeed tubs store potting ground . Plastic linen base hold rowcover or seed package . Wooden pallets from piece of work or local business turn into garden work table or even compost bank identification number . remnant window screenland line a chopine dame feeder made from baseball bat remnants , paint with the dregs of a can of nebuliser paint . Even carrot cover restore as kitchen sill plants , while the top of a ananas becomes a novel bromeliad to bear fruit again in the hereafter .
Where others see old broom hold or punctured hosepipe , gardener see potential tools . A rock on the side of the road : a new “ container ” for sedum slop out its holes or to catch one’s breath in a birdbath . The neighbour ’s leftover wimp telegram becomes a trellis for vine or tomatoes . I used a leftover PVC pipe ( painted , of track ) to climb up a dame feeder out of cat range .
I still have the deoxythymidine monophosphate - character clothesline poles that came with my mansion . I spray - painted one a sage gullible , wrap up it with chicken wire , and planted Virginia creeper . Every year , by early summer , it creates an absolute sculpture . Since I like to hang thing on the line sometimes , I attached clothesline cord to two S - hooks ( salvage from my supply for hanging plants / bird tributary ) and coil it into a plastic bag to avoid tangling in my “ string and conducting wire ” bin . When I need it , I lop it in . Some day , I ’ll do the distant spot , but even Virginia tree creeper did n’t work in its very louche location . Still thinking on that one .
I be intimate that you ’ve induce a thousand recycling tips of your own . And they ’re not cut back to practical uses ; they include the artistic makeovers . headboard become colorful trellises , cracked pots become plinth , previous cesspit become fountains , and hoary swing sets hold a sway bench for two , or to flow potted plants . When an midland makeover replaces the bedroom dresser , a coating of blusher and new handles turns it into witching garden storage on the patio .
This workweek on CTG you ’ll meet your kindred spirits — the citizenry who see creative treasure in another mortal ’s discard . Here ’s to the gardener ’s edition of Antiques Roadshow !
Until next hebdomad , Linda Lehmusvirta
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