Recycling Cupboards

How to power up and flower up recycling storage

Because my urban front garden is so small, if I were to line up all the recycling boxes on the ground, it would become little more than an homage to refuse collection. So my husband made a simple open shelving unit in treated wood, in which we could stack the bins. Then, we covered the top in roofing felt to keep the weather out. This has worked well for many years and the surface has become a mini theatre to display plants of the season, housed in dinky pots, which are equally decorative.

There are now plenty of online resources that sell recycling cupboards, either flat-packed, ready-made or built to spec. Some come with a ‘green roof’ or ‘living roof’ (a specially designed topper that can accommodate plants). If you want a slight slope to the top surface to ensure rain runs off, you can still stand pots and containers on it, although obviously if it has a domed shape or steep angle, it won’t work, unless you fashion some kind of platform. I plan to do some research and devote an entire future post to recycling units for front gardens. But for now, it’s all about the top show.

Top Tips

A collection of pots, closely positioned, looks cute and eye-catching. Choose those that have some style and demand to be seen, such as decorated ceramic plant pots – perhaps choose those with different patterns but all in the same colourway. Alternatively, go for all terracotta to create a more traditional and uniform look.

Celebrate the season, for instance, with polyanthus and dwarf daffodils in spring or marguerites and calibrachoa, commonly known as "Million Bells". Most little seasonal plants are reasonably priced and make the cupboard look super-cheerful.