I'm a big fan of recycling for two reasons. One, I'm a cheapskate and getting two uses from a thing for the price of one thing gives me the warm fuzzies. Two, I like how recycling forces you to be a bit creative; I really love when a thing is used in a way that seems a universe away from how its creator intended it to be used.
Here are some ways you too can be cheap and creative in the garden:
Cloches: why pay a bazillion dollars for a pretty bell jar from a Remuera design store when you can use a tupperware container turned upside down from the dump shop? I use clear plastic jugs, biscuit containers, vege crisper drawers from fridges and milk bottles with their bottoms cut out, with either bamboo stakes stuck through them to anchor them to the soil, or bricks on top to stop them from blowing away. But the most far-out cloche I've seen has to be this umbrella (right). Clever.
Bean frames: my pal Helen uses mattress springs as a frame for her runner beans, and this permaculture group created a spectacular bean frame from bicycle wheels.
Keeping cats and birds out of your garden: Upturned shelves from fridges and mesh drawers from office organiser thingies, with the obligatory brick on top protect seedlings and freshly turned ground from turning into a toilet/buffet. I have dozens of these babies.
Greenhouses: having a greenhouse would be perfect in my climate - protection from strong winds and deceptive springs. But I'm not sure I'm up for hours and hours of gluing plastic bottles together as these people have to make the walls of their wee house. At Great Start in Taita, where there's an amazing community garden, they started to put together a greenhouse made from recycled plastic bottles but estimated it would take them some years to make a greenhouse big enough for their needs. They used plastic panels from pokie machines instead. Bravo!
But if you think you'd like to give making one from plastic bottles a go, here's instructions from REAP Scotland.
Containers: You can turn practically anything into a container for growing plants. I've seen washing machine drums, milk formula tins, gumboots, even a bra turned into a container. I've got some old colanders that I'm going to turn into hanging baskets for strawberries. But this garden made from beer kegs (below) takes container gardening to new depths. All you need to do to turn anything into a suitable container is drill holes in the bottom and use a container mix rather than garden soil. 
What's the most creative example of recycling you've come across? Any ideas to add to the list?
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Great blog topic. I used to use the fridge crispers as a sort of wheelbarrow to collect the weeds in but never thought of the cloche idea - darn. The umbrella amused me but I don't think it would work in Wellington - for much the same reason as umbrellas don't work well in Wellington for their primary purpose. I was about to go and buy seed trays when it occurred to me (actually, I had to have it pointed out by a book) that my years of buying seedlings and then not getting around to throwing away the plastic punnets probably meant I didn't need to... now just to hope I didn't get organised one day and actually throw them away! Looking forward to reading some ideas.
Love the umbrella idea. Absolute brilliance!
Old cardboard egg boxes make great seedtrays: you can just cut the box up and plant as is (the cardboard will compost down beautifully)
I have seen hinged shower doors from the recyclers used as seedling protection from the weather
Nail plates keep the neighbours' five cats out of my planter box a treat. It was completely decimated not long after they moved in, so when we repaired the damage, we surrounded the new plants and have had no further trouble!
Thanks Sue for the reminder, going home to rescue latest egg box from out of recycling!!
I also use the egg cartons for seed trays. Another tip I was shown is using the cardboard rolls from kitchen towls/toilet rolls as seed trays. Just cut them to the appropriate height and place them on a plastic tray (find the right trays and there are also ready made drainage slots). Cover with glad wrap, leave on a window sill and you have a mini glass house.
Awesome article! Its good to be aware that the planet is getting more and more "used" by us and only a few pay some back as a return favour. i cant help going mental everytime i find chewing gum or even batteries in the sand. just annoys me and leads me to think that only a few of us are willing and ready to do small sacrifices for a better future that might include our own children for God's Sake lol! As ideas of eco friendly things i have come acrros this fantastic sweeping brush that it doesnt use power or batteries and does the trick just as well as a vaccum cleaner.site is www.quickclean.co.nz Super handy if you have kids and for spot cleaning. No batteries in it to chuck at the beach. yay!!!
agus #9 Thank you for that link, I haven't seen one of those for around 40 years, sooo handy. An old fashioned carpet sweeper works well too for a quick tidy up and no need to get to floor level.
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Last year our flat had zero garden just a concrete pad so we went to "the free shop" and found all sorts of things- drawers, buckets, steaming pots- to make our container garden. This was also very handy when we moved. Our new place had a whole lot of scraps around the property and I asked our landlords if I could build a raised garden if I cleaned up the section. I ended up using most of the scrap wood etc and any left over scrap wood went to friends for firewood. I was so proud and my first atempt at tomatoes this year was EPIC! I think the only thing I bought was some chicken wire for my beans to climb. I've got the bug now so when my partner and I buy a house I'd love a really scrappy backyard to do up and make my own.