Upcycling - Making Cash £££ From Trash!

In the course of my work as a gardener I get to visit the recycling centre from time to time.  And as I am passing through - I am constantly surprised at the things that people throw away.

I can understand it - for the ultra tidy any extra baggage is a load too much to bear.

There are two major recycling centres in Exeter.  One in which the public gets to dump everything in massive skips.  And the other where it is spread out for all to see.  As you can imagine the pickings are far richer at the one where everything is on display.

As someone who is working with plants and tools etc on a daily basis - I keep a keen eye open when I'm passing through.

There is literally no need to buy many of the items we routinely pay full price for.  You need to be a little discerning, but if you are willing to sift through the recyclers Aladins Cave there is all sorts of interesting things.  This definitely scratches my hording instinct - without breaking the bank!

£5 bought me some unwanted wood - which had already been machined and made smooth, including a large round fence post, a useful apple tree stake some fine, very fine panels of wood.  I used the stake planting a clients Apple tree - the client remarked that he wondered if the apple tree was bomb proof on account of the sturdy handsome stake....  The rest is my winter project - bird tables / bird boxes & the odd bird palace.  If you are one of my valued customers - you may well find a bespoke bird table adorning your outside space.  

 For the princely sum of - £1:  I bought a 1940/1950 galvanised watering can and terracotta pot.  Admittedly the can has a hole in the bottom.  But with a couple of licks of radiator paint that I had left over I transformed it into a planter added a £2 lavender - and I now have a saleable item that would sit nicely in a little garden nook!!

If you are quick you can 'help' (relieve) someone of the items that they wish to dump as they come out of the back of their car.  I have done this on a couple of occasions.  I was pretty happy to help someone unload a large bag of small to medium sized terracotta pots - about 30 in all.  Some were a little cracked.  So I smashed those up as free crocks.  And the rest are currently housing cuttings and plantlets which I may sell with antique terracotta pots included!

I know its not everyone's cup of tea - the hit and miss nature of upcyling - does not sit well with a culture that wants to buy what they want when they want it.  Steptoe and Son need to be resurrected - they were ahead of their time!

Kingdom Plants is a gardening and plant propagation enterprise - operating in the Exeter and surrounding area.  I enjoy helping people to tame their outside spaces, while sporting an array of assorted hats - to stop my head burning in this awesome weather!

Until Next Time - Happy Gardening.