What a load of rubbish

Actually this post is the exact opposite of its title, it demonstrates how rubbish can be repurposed and with some inventiveness can be incorporated into our gardens, without looking like a pile of old rubbish in the corner.  And if you' haven't already worked it out from the pictures this post is another from Gardeners' World Live, and another of the Beautiful Borders. 

You'll quickly spot the purple theme too.

I’m a fan of the bare lampshade which would be great with plants grown through it.  It's a great way to add some height to a garden in a funky and unusual way.  I think I'll have a hard time of it persuading MOH we should do this though.

I'm also not sure he'd be too impressed if I gave his bike this treatment.  It is a “proper” bike though isn’t it, complete with basket.

Herbs are great for growing in containers and both of these photos demonstrate that, I particularly like the thyme tea below.

And of course for a cup of tea you need a kettle.

The purple and rubbish theme continued throughout this border with the red-purple lettuce in a vanity case.

I was impressed with the alliums, they're a favourite but mine anyway and mine have long finished, so it felt like a treat to see more in full bloom this year.

The purple gnome made me laugh - and in case you're wondering I don't want one in my garden - but his plant pot, complete with seedling, is fun (I still don't want one).

Most of the borders in this part of the show were densely populated and that's something I admire and aspire to, I'm sure it's a way of suffocating the weeds too, so an added bonus!

SAGE REFLECTING IN THE GLOSSY BLACK CONTAINER

A KNITTED POT WARMER, OF COURSE

The lettuce, another of my favourites - I really should grow some of this - in the fish tank seemed a good idea, although I'm sure mine would have silvery trails of snails and slugs all over it.

What do you think, rubbish or not?

Recycled plastic rugs, that don't look like recycled plastic rugs

I suspect that when you read that you thought of stiff, shiny woven rugs didn't you? I know that my mind had some trouble computing when I read the sign and saw the attractive looking - and soft to the touch - rugs in the box from Eco Braids, which I spotted on that trip to the House & Garden store at Snape Maltings.  But they are the recycled rugs in question and I tested them they're not stiff or shiny at all. In fact I don't think you'd know about their green credentials unless you knew, if you know what I mean.

They can be used inside or out and are machine washable - just as the sign says.  The colourways have some cracking names too: paprika, putty, sapphire, wasabi and pewter. I'm very tempted for when I replace the mat we have by our back door.

What do you think?

The importance of green spaces in urban cities

You'll know from reading my blog this year that green spaces are important to me, and I'm fortunate that where I live in Greenwich there's plenty of green spaces. All too often we assume that city dwelling means very little green spaces, but I hope I'm showing that's not necessarily the case. London has many more green spaces than people think, a map - even of Central London - quickly shows parks, squares and even forests. 

GREEN SPACES IN GREENWICH

My favourite, and local London park, is Greenwich Park which is also part of my walking commute every single day, even when it's dark in the evenings and therefore shut, there's still my morning commute. It's been a while but we've even looked at some of London's squares - I really should try and revisit Russell Square to look at that lime tree cloister.  And we keep promising to head over to Epping Forest with our bikes one day, too.

But it's not just the large and more public open spaces that make a difference though, it's also about our gardens. Enviro Waste, one of London's professional waste clearance companies say that "London's gardens account for 24% of the space in the capital" which when you think about it is quite a lot isn't it?

That means that each of us have a responsibility for reducing pollution levels, in our local area, as Rosie from A Green and Rosie Life posted on Instagram recently:

We are living on this planet as if we had another one to go to. When will we realise how we cannot go on like this if we wish to survive? #Green #Sustainable #Organic #Nature #Wildlife #ecology #conservation #preservation #reduce #reuse #recycling #sustainability #zerowaste #ethical #environment #upcycling #foraging #local

A post shared by Rosie Hill (@greenrosielife) on May 6, 2017 at 1:39pm PDT

Yes, that's a sobering thought isn't it?

But what can we do...

If each of us with outside space, however small, takes action together we can reduce pollution. Whether that's

• growing herbs in pots,
• feeding the birds that visit our garden,
• encourage wildlife into our spaces with plants and bug boxes,
• keep our outside spaces by keeping on top of gardening, 
• responsibly disposing of our waste and 
• recycling whenever we can, including council green waste collections.

For some tips on how to get started see my post from National Gardener's Week.

It's a fine line though

Last summer, we needed to fox-proof our greenhouse as our neighbour had four fox cubs living in her garden next door and while we were away I wanted to leave the greenhouse door open and be confident my seedlings were safe.

It's not as if the fox cubs weren't cute, they were, and clearly they'd been attracted to our neighbour's garden because of its safety and overgrown nature. We spent quite some time watching the cubs play next door. I mean, who wouldn't be mesmerised by their puppy-cum-kitten like tumbles and play fights. Certainly not us.

We knew though that they wouldn't stay fox cubs for long and it wasn't too much longer before they dug their way into our garden, under the fence and soon walked a trail - and mud patch - into our grass. I was glad to have rigged up the protection for the greenhouse as when we returned from our holiday we found small holes across the lawn where they'd been practicing their digging skills.

Our neighbour's garden hasn't improved much this year, but thankfully the foxes haven't returned, they'd made a den under the shed, which is now under all that ivy, here's the view out of our back window:

UNDERNEATH THAT IVY ON THE LEFT THERE IS A SHED, I'VE SEEN IT

So do what you can to be responsible and help improve our environment, but remember that fine line, your neighbours will thank you for it. Trust me, I know I would, what about you?

* This is a collaborative post but all views and opinions are my own.