It's a real shame when good building materials and discarded items go to the landfill and not back into a home or garden.
For instance, a lot of money and environmental waste is saved when you use broken chunks of concrete to build a retaining wall, steps and walkway instead of shelling out dollars for pricey stones and pavers. Enhance the recycled look with trailing and colorful plants placed along its edges.
When you shop garage and yard sales, imagine how items that have outlived their original intent can be transformed into something visually interesting as well as useful.
For example, an old wagon, wheelbarrow or tub can easily become a decorative planter, just make sure you drill drainage holes in the bottom. A little rust never hurts because it's a readymade drainage site.
Old pots can become pot-in-a-pot liners for new containers, allowing you to easily change seasonable displays of flowers like pansies for fall and winter and petunias for summer.
Newspapers can be used under mulch to deter weeds. Six layers usually do the job and in time the newsprint decomposes to enrich the soil. Shredded newspaper is also valuable in a compost pile because worms love to devour it.
Wine corks, bottle caps and foam peanuts can be mixed with potting soil in the bottom of the container to keep your soil loose.
Used shower curtains can be stashed in the back of your car and later used to save it from spills when you tote plants home. Unwanted shower curtains also make good paint tarps for protecting floors and carpet.
Old nylons can be cut into strips and used to stake plants, especially delicate ones like tomato plants.
Plastic knives can be used as plant markers.
Egg cartons can be used to start seeds.
The ideas are endless and limited only by your imagination and dedication to preserving our precious environment.
