GUELPH – Have you noticed how the garden industry has boomed in the last several years, as has the cost of plants, amendments, garden structures, etc.?
We are accustomed to buying what we want, so we pay the price. But did you know there are other options?
Reuse in the garden.
I remember how my parents managed – why buy new when you have something that works? They were both children of the Depression and were not easily tricked into the consumer game.
Especially in the garden. Nothing was thrown out, if it could be repurposed.
I learned a lot from them.
How does reuse in the garden work? Here are five simple examples.
Divide and conquer
Let’s start with dividing our plants. Most perennials eventually need dividing, and you can use those divisions elsewhere in your garden. Plants like being divided; it rejuvenates them. And you save money.
Use fallen leaves
Another way to reuse in your garden is to amend your soil with leaves. They are like gold – you don’t need costly inputs like compost.
So don’t put the leaves out as garden waste; compost them and then spread them in your gardens.
I did this for years and had the best soil in the neighbourhood. When I moved, neighbours came by night with wheel barrels, shovels and flashlights and dug my soil.
A true sign of success. And I saved money.
Kitchen water
Another thing to consider is reusing your kitchen water.
When you wash vegetables or rinse anything, dump the waste water into your outdoor pots.
Why dump it down the drain when there are thirsty plants waiting for water?
Reuse garden pots
I use pots for a lot of my plants. I like to grow my tomatoes in big pots, but they are so expensive.
Why not reuse – when you buy a tree or large shrub, keep the pot. The bigger the pot, the less you have to water.
Add old bamboo sticks or even curly willow tied at the top with raffia, and add a whirligig on top. The grandchildren love it!
Firecracker – Firecracker vine on same obelisk. Photo by Louise Milton
Another thing you can reuse is old wash tubs, or best of all, an old cattle trough.
Just remember to drill holes in the bottom for drainage.
Trellises
Why spend money when you can create your own trellises?
I have bought many trellises over the years, some pricey, some not, and they all end up rusting.
They can be revitalized by painting, or dressing up.
You can also make trellises out of old pipe, or by using the metal frames from heavy packaging – both can be dressed up by adding jute or thin sticks to fill in the gaps.
I have even made an obelisk from two corners of a gazebo, held together with tie-wraps – my firecracker vine looks stunning on it.
Reuse, however, is not for everyone. Even I have my limits.
But toilets?
I recently drove through a neighbourhood, and to my disbelief, in the front yard, in all its glory, stood a gleaming white toilet with pink petunias cascading down its glistening sides.
I must say that the hot pink contrasted beautifully with the white porcelain, but I do draw the line at some things.
If you must use a toilet, please, not in the front yard.
Reuse gives life to items that would otherwise be destined to death-by-landfill, and gives us an alternative to spending our hard-earned money on our garden.
So, let’s all aim to reuse in the garden.