This is the journal of my endeavours to grow a range of fruit, veg and flowers from seed, grow organically, and my attempts to create a personal paradise with 1/2 acre of maintained gardens and 1/2 acre wild meadows. Northern Ireland's average daily high temperatures are 18 °C (64 °F) in July and 6 °C (43 °F) in January. Soil type: Clay

Tuesday 16 June 2015

Upcycling Wood for the Garden

Garden Bench made from wood pallets.
There seems to be a bit of a craze for upcycling items for the home and garden! And its such a great idea.

Upcycling is really about finding a way to reuse items or materials that would otherwise be thrown out. Here are some items I've recently come across from an organisation called 'Grow it Yourself'. These items are made from wood pallets, which are usually available at no cost.
This vertical planting wall is made from wood of three pallets. It's a great idea for herbs or alpine plants that don't need much water.
These benches look quite easy to make from a few pallets. This low cost idea is great and I've shared this idea with a local community gardening project, and we're hoping to make some of these next month. Of course they can be painted and decorated with cushions.

This table was made by a member of a Men's Shed Project, which is a group of men who stay active after retirement by taking part in lots of hands on activities such as woodwork and gardening. This table is used at the gardening project I volunteer with, and it only cost £15 ($23 US) which covers the cost of the materials. Its sturdy and great for planting, etc.

Instructions, and 
demonstration videos, on how to make items from wood pallets can be found simply by doing a search on the internet.

Copyright: All words and photos are property of Kelli's Northern Ireland Garden.

5 comments:

  1. It will be interesting it see what you make

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  2. I would just like so old pallets to put our hay bails on in the barn to keep them dry should the barn flood. lol. Actually, there are some very intereting and creative ways to use them. Such a waste when they are just staked in some industrial yard to rot. Loved your ideas.

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  3. I used one to make a bug hotel. The hardest part was disassembling the pallet from its original configuration, because it had some very big nails in it.

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    1. Good point Mark, those pallets are quite sturdy / well put together. My goal is to start with a vertical planter so I won't have to take anything apart. On the 'to do' list for Summer.

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  4. Oh, so the pallet craze is there in Ireland too? They were always cheap and plentiful, but I've been wondering if their popularity has changed all that.

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