The Garden Community for Garden Lovers

RECLAIMING & RECYCLYING IN MY GARDEN, DO U ????WOULD LIKE TO SEE IF ...

adoons

By adoons

27 comments


Our property faces the ocean & we have a bank where we can “place” all our garden waste in the Fall. Leaves, branches etc. with the idea of “reclaiming”. After 10 years we found out we added 2 meters to our front & thus started to reclaim it. We scrounged on the beach for red Cedar that we split for fence rails & My husband built it.
Here are some pics of 2010 when we started & this Spring 2011.
The soil was fabulous to work in & I planted wild ferns every so often along the fence (they are cut down to let the new fronts get a chance)


Reclaiming the bank. 10+ years of green material placed here. Work done here was March 2010.


The fence rails being placed in new positions, reclaiming 2 meters or more. 2010


Heron Sitting proudly on it’s new fence 2010.


This is the exact spot 2011, our reclaimed bank. Mulched & spruced up.


Can not believe how lovely & rich the soil was.


This little walkway was created when we moved the studio & had an ugly concrete slab left behind. I asked the “front end loader operator” lol!! if he could break it up into pieces so we can then use it to make a pathway. Here it is. In the summer the fence is full of roses & clematis. Cheaper than the real Mc Coy.


From the beach again, we collected red cedar (does not rot easily) and made this bench were we sit with a G&T or coffee and look out over the ocean, watching for whales.

More blog posts by adoons

Previous post: WAITING FOR SPRING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Next post: WALK IN A CANADIAN SPRING GARDEN



Comments

 

I am interested in recycling & sharing ideas about this topic. We also use masses of Seaweed from the ocean. Wonderful stuff. Been doing it for 14 yrs.

10 Apr, 2011

 

Not sure what sort of recycling you mean, where your home is you probably have stuff washed up on the beach.
Here in the U.K. we are issued with bins for various items; card and paper, tins, plastics go into one bin to be sorted elsewhere [some is sent to China, I think!]
There is a food waste bin that they are going to try to make methane gas with, and a bin for general rubbish.
Little effort required by us, except for taking the bottles and jars to the bottle bank [usually found in supermarket car parks].
I do try to keep things that I think will be useful at some stage, but I have to stash them or OH accuses me of hoarding!
Lucky you living on the beach, it looks idyllic.
Best Wishes

10 Apr, 2011

 

Hi Driad,
Yup, we have the same recycling here as U have, but I still compost all veggie matter, in our own compost bins. All garden waste waste (many carts of Maple leaves,)all other gardening waste at the end of the Summer goes on this reclaimed bank, we also "recycled" the concrete blocks you see, as well as the cedar from the beach.

10 Apr, 2011

 

Keep it up! If you carry on reclaiming at this rate your great, great,......great grandchildren will be able to walk to Asia.

10 Apr, 2011

 

Lucky you able to look over the sea. I have recycled an old path into a new one, and reclaimed some victorian blue bricks from a derelict site and created a patio. I think your recycling is more exciting.Your garden ooks lovely, being so close to the sea, don't you ever get any storm damage to the garden?
Do you get to see any Whales? any photos?

10 Apr, 2011

 

Well done to you - if everyone did the same there would be a lot less put into landfill sites.

10 Apr, 2011

 

Wonderful! I especially like the idea of whale-watching with G&Ts! We Eagle-watch with ours. :o)

11 Apr, 2011

 

LOL, yup, hopefully the next sumami won't take our hard work away Expat.

Kfunsters, we get wild storms here, but luckily big firs etc. protect us. My one Lavender & Rock rose took a "hit" this Winter, but all else, very good. We are at least 3 weeks behind last year. Your patio sounds great, hard work, but enjoyable. No whales this year so far, waiting for the Salmon & Herring. Lots of photos, next to our kayaks.

Mariek, that is exactly why we recycled the concrete slab, it would have cost us a fortune to take of our Island, so luckily my brain worked fast that day.

Naritz, Eagles??where are you? We have had 16 Eagles out front 2 weeks ago when the Herring was spawning. Was very exciting. We always put the head & guts on the rocks for the eagles to get. Yes those G & T are worth there every penny. heh, heh!!!

Thanks all of you reading my blog, I find usually no takers, so this is great.

11 Apr, 2011

 

You certainly live in a spectacular location. I visited BC many years ago and cried when I had to leave. I like the idea of using what you can, whether it's found on the beach or whether it's something gotten for free off of Freecycle.

12 Apr, 2011

 

Just beautiful and I love your Bampys they are so fun. You are so very special to love near the sea. Take care and thanks for sharing all your pic with us.

12 Apr, 2011

 

I'm in Spain, Adoons, in the mountains of the north. Plenty of large raptors here to watch and plenty of small birds too, but they move so fast before they become something's lunch it's often hard to see them. Or is it the G&Ts clouding my vision? ;o)

12 Apr, 2011

 

No way can the G&T clouding the eye, better vision, ja right, for sure Naritz. We have ti huge California Vultures as well. They were overhead us this morning on the golf course, so U can imagine the jokes.

Thanks Lujean, yes we do count our stars every day, when we sit there & enjoy the beauty of this old world.

Lauram, we have used so much stuff from the ocean, it is unbelievable what you get, buoys etc. The seaweed is the greatest bonus of all.

Thank you for your lovely comments.

12 Apr, 2011

 

What a great place to live, love the idea of reclaming land back from the sea, with rubbish too!
Some years ago I found a tow rope on the beach, My husband and kids reclamed it but it was 100 yards long and extremely heavy. I dont think my husband enjoyed the task. But that rope has lined the edge of my flower beds for years and keeps the moisture in beautifully!
sue

13 Apr, 2011

 

You've done excellent work ..
I have a good number of recycled items in my gardens.

Adding this blog to GoYpedia Crazy Paving...

... and Seats ... :o)

13 Apr, 2011

 

Thanks Terratoonie, what do you collect for your garden, Have not chatted with you for awhile, and hope you are doing just super.

Sandygirl, that is hilarious, as I have had the same experience. We found ours in a fjord on the West coast while boating. I gave mine eventually to a neighbour to use as a sort of banister for his Grand kids "Doll House" it looks really great.
We used our rope origanally when we did a team triathalon (just a fun one) One member had to go into the river & float down with a floating device, but the BIG river was close by, very swift & if the did not grab the rope( spanned across the smaller river) they would have to be picked up by boat. (These rivers are also very freezing). Anyway, we kept this rope and gave so many pieces away. People always wanted it for swings etc.
Your idea is brilliant. Good husband you have. Lol!!

13 Apr, 2011

 

I'm all homesick now :( I love the coastline of B.C. and miss my days on Bowen Island....not a million miles away from Gabriola, where you are.

I love your seaview reclaimed garden with all its rustic features...my stepmom used to use seaweed on her garden too on Bowen and it gave excellent results.

That path you constructed with the broken concrete looks really great with the bark mulch. Do you make your own bark mulch? You seem to have quite a lot of it about in various spots. We have to buy it over here in the UK.

More blogs please....and piccies :)

8 May, 2011

 

Hello Whistonlass, gee wish I can sent U a nice smoked Salmon right now to make U more homesick, heh, heh!!!
The seaweed does magical things to my garden, it is such a job though. I can only add it in Fall when I clean the gardens out, or very early Spring.
We do get our own mulch when we cut down trees (never cedar) 7 they mulch it for us. The mulch I got this year was medium, as the fine breaks down too soon. I like the look & helps with the weeding.

Our BC coast line is spectacular, as we kayak quite a bit, and of course Harry drags a line for fishing. Be good & thank you for your kind responses.

8 May, 2011

 

Oh yum....smoked salmon & alaska black cod are the two types of fish I used to love in B.C. Yep, you've successfully made me even more homesick...lol.

I went on holiday once with a good friend on all the switchback roads that used to take you to the west coast of Vancouver Island (Tofino etc.) and the Indians had quite a few roadside stalls selling smoked salmon. I lived on it while we toured around the area...and my poor friend couldn't stand the stuff!

I did think you would likely have your own bark mulch with all the trees you have around about. I agree the finer mulch is not very good and the mulch makes a great weed suppressant.

Enjoy your lovely garden & sea views :( I've got the same friend (mentioned above) who has recently retired with her hubby to Sechelt and she's running a close second to you with regards to making me homesick...she too sends some beautiful photos and it evokes such happy memories :)

9 May, 2011

 

Hi Adoons...

Just catching up here...

You making my friend Whistonlass more homesick are you ? ;o)

In my gardens I have a lot of recycled brick sections which I used to build my raised bed, and four hexagonal pavings given by a neighbour from across the road when she paid a professional gardener to do a redesign on her garden...

I put the pavings in Gromit's Gravel Garden ..

My blogs and photos show these...

good luck with your gardening projects :o)

9 May, 2011

 

It is so great to hear about the recycling, that is also one of the things that happened to me. Our friends next door built an enormous house, taking the smaller one down, and did we score. I just love the challenge to see what I can do, and if I can not use it I pass it on.
Can I see your photos? of your "recycle? " please direct me as U have a lot of photos. Keep it up.
Got to get those Canucks to be a little homesick now & then :-)))
I also love Alaska black cod, plus Halibut cheeks. Yum!!!

10 May, 2011

 

lol @ Adoons.

14 May, 2011

 

Hi Adoons..Here at our fairly modern Bungalow,we try not to throw anything away unnecessarily...We have >Chickens so all veg waste tops up their food supplies, and what comes out of the other end, goes onto our Manure/compost heap..;o)) My H is a collector of everything, and can always lay his hands on something to make fencing, frames for climbers etc...A friend of ours has his own woods, on the Isle of Wight UK, and he makes some wonderful Garden Furniture similar to the bench shown in your pic, and post and rail fencing, quite the norm here in France, and I.O.W.
When we had our old farmhouse, we like the Expats, salvaged all our Tuffeau stone from tumble down barns, old oak timbers and much more, to create new paths and repair part stone buildings...H made our staircase, one of the first jobs...oh the memories...and wandering around junk yards, looking for the unusual, one man's rubbish is another man's gold (smile) I think the french think us brits are crazy sometimes...

10 Jun, 2011

 

Oh man, chickens, that is great, are they penned? love it.
I know what you are saying, it becomes insane, does it not, if you let it. Being a bit of an artist, I always see potential in stuff others will discard.
Our benches are starting to fall apart, H. fixed 2 today for our open garden show. We went on the beach exploring for interesting pieces to "correct' some failures, heh, heh!!!
so now we will build a smaller one for the beach to sit on warmer nights.
The Tuffeau stone sounds great. Nice chatting to you.

12 Jun, 2011

 

Oh how heavenly...a rustic bench placed on the beach...the sound of lapping waves, ocean breezes and the glorious salt air....sounds lovely, Adoons :)

Hope you can feel calmer as your open garden day gets nearer...you have such a beautiful garden to share with everyone (and volunteers to help you out)....I'm sure it will be a great day...

17 Jun, 2011

 

I am calm,thanks WL. everything is ready, printed lovely guide lines 4 my volunteers, fridge in studio is stocked with drinks, water. Coffee & tea things out. Harry will stoke up the bread oven & we will spoil them rotten.
Afterwards some pizza & wine. See I am calm. heh, heh!!

17 Jun, 2011

 

Sounds wonderful...I'll be right over....lol

18 Jun, 2011

 

Ok, will roll out the red carpet :)))

21 Jun, 2011

Add a comment

Featured on

Recent posts by adoons

Members who like this blog

  • Gardening with friends since
    1 Feb, 2011

  • Gardening with friends since
    27 Dec, 2009

  • Gardening with friends since
    9 Aug, 2009

  • Gardening with friends since
    1 Oct, 2009

  • Gardening with friends since
    20 Apr, 2010

  • Gardening with friends since
    4 Jul, 2008

  • Gardening with friends since
    8 Apr, 2010

  • Gardening with friends since
    28 Feb, 2011

  • Gardening with friends since
    1 Mar, 2008

  • Gardening with friends since
    22 Aug, 2010