Using reclaimed materials in landscaping schemes...ultimate sustainablity

I'm a traditionalist by nature which meant that I'd very often incorporate reclaimed materials within my landscaping schemes; reclaims fit so well within a traditional 'cottage' garden scheme. I was also fortunate to be located on the boundaries of three counties - Surrey, West Sussex and Hampshire - so the range and diversity of material meant we could be working with York stone or hand-made clay brick one week or flint the next. I also lived close to the Selborne brickworks (sadly it seems they are now out of business) but even if I was building a new feature I would often opt for second or third grade bricks as their quirkiness provided great interest in the new garden - integrity of the material should not be compromised if you choose this route. Whilst I chose not to build contemporary gardens I see no reason whatsoever why reclaimed materials cannot be utilised within a contemporary garden. Reclaimed materials do tend to fetch a premium price to new materials because of the higher labour content in cleaning them up and also because they are often limited in supply. The environmental advantages have got to be a big consideration for any garden designer or landscaper. The carbon footprint disadvantages have been written down over the years and there is only really the energy utilised during the demolition, cleaning and delivery to consider. What are your thoughts on using reclaimed materials; do you already use them and what percentage of any build do they feature in? Image: Jimmy Nicholson making a 'special' brick by hand.

Agree with you completely Phil.

Use them all the time as far as possible - and have a supply of old facing stone, bricks, clay pavers at the bottom of my garden - usually collected from skips. Some have thumb prints from where they were pushed out of the moulds, others are imprinted with the names of long defunct industries - 'The Malago Colliery and Brick Company' for example.

At one time these were all made or quarried locally so the energy used was largely in their manufacture - most likely transported by horse and cart so energy per mile per brick pretty low as well. Also like the thought that a brick originally used for a factory now ends up in a garden - if only they could talk.

Actually, if the truth be told, I just like the idea of finding new uses for old materials. They can also blend very quickly into a new design. Seems such a waste to throw perfectly good items away. Started young looking for old pram wheels ( which strangly could always be found in hedgrows) for making go carts. Modern buggy wheels are just rubbish!

Several tools, axes, hedging hooks, hammers, crow bars are all second hand. Old steel seems to old the edge better. One axe will hold an edge and can be used as a plane. They all come from The Trading Post in Wells if you want to go for a rumage

Local tip horrifies me - have always thought of asking for all the bicycles that are dumped in the metal skip - loads of them with the thought of cutting and welding the frames to make an unusaul set of railings - can't weld though! Maybe one day....

Replies

Simon Knops July 12, 2010 at 4:05pm

Agree with you completely Phil.

Use them all the time as far as possible - and have a supply of old facing stone, bricks, clay pavers at the bottom of my garden - usually collected from skips. Some have thumb prints from where they were pushed out of the moulds, others are imprinted with the names of long defunct industries - 'The Malago Colliery and Brick Company' for example.

At one time these were all made or quarried locally so the energy used was largely in their manufacture - most likely transported by horse and cart so energy per mile per brick pretty low as well. Also like the thought that a brick originally used for a factory now ends up in a garden - if only they could talk.

Actually, if the truth be told, I just like the idea of finding new uses for old materials. They can also blend very quickly into a new design. Seems such a waste to throw perfectly good items away. Started young looking for old pram wheels ( which strangly could always be found in hedgrows) for making go carts. Modern buggy wheels are just rubbish!

Several tools, axes, hedging hooks, hammers, crow bars are all second hand. Old steel seems to old the edge better. One axe will hold an edge and can be used as a plane. They all come from The Trading Post in Wells if you want to go for a rumage

Local tip horrifies me - have always thought of asking for all the bicycles that are dumped in the metal skip - loads of them with the thought of cutting and welding the frames to make an unusaul set of railings - can't weld though! Maybe one day....
PRO

Phil Voice July 22, 2010 at 9:24am

Perhaps members could highlight the innovative ways they've used (re-used) landscaping materials in a new scheme?
David Smither July 22, 2010 at 10:49am

Our Cedar shingles are made from waste wood that would otherwise be left on the forest floor once the timber has been logged, making shingle production virtually pollution free.

They certainly add fantastic character to a build, while the 'Blue Label' grade offers shingles with limited knots or defects, we find customers often go for a lower grade to create a more rustic appearance.

We love to hear back from customers who've used such shingles for roofing or cladding projects, who not only are delighted with their 'impact' on the environment, but how much they enjoyed working with the wood on their projects, see here for a small DIY project example.