Surrey Homes | SH36 | October 2017 | Kitchen & Bathroom supplement inside

Any old
Iron?
Jo Arnell turns salvage hunter to provide her garden with
economical and beautiful focal points made from oftenoverlooked
reclamation yard goodies
annyauld… iern!” The scrap metal
man would bellow from his horse-drawn cart,
“Annyauld-iern!
as he slowly trawled up our street collecting old
water tanks, broken bedsteads and scrap metal. When I
was little (in the nineteenth century, by the sound of this)
I had no idea what he was shouting or why he wanted such
things - the whole process was a dark mystery. I was an
optimistically whimsical child, so it comes as no surprise
to me now that salvage is so stylish and that scrap metal
can have far more value than just its melted down price
these days. And not just metal – lots of old household,
agricultural and industrial objects have value and can
be used to good effect in new and resourceful ways.
Authentically rustic
Found objects and bargains are satisfying to re-use. They
bring with them a sense of the past and somehow these
aged things have a more authentic feel, a patina that speaks
of less mechanised, less throwaway times. The fact that
they are less than perfect, or perhaps even broken, adds to
their charm. It is more than this though – and something
we are becoming increasingly aware of – salvage is not just
fashionably retro; part of the appeal of the old and rustic
is that there is little or no environmental cost involved.
Environmentally friendly
Many salvaged items don’t need restoration or remanufacture
and can be used immediately. A few may
have to be re-made, or up-cycled in some way, but the
cost of this in environmental terms is far less than the cost
of manufacturing an item from scratch. So, by re-using
items – especially those that are environmentally costly
to produce, or worse, to dispose of – we are doing a small
bit to help. Some of the objects may even help wildlife
directly, providing habitats and overwintering spaces.
Uses for salvage
Garden furniture – can be made from all sorts of salvaged
materials. Old ladders are always useful – on their own, or
as shelf supports. I’ve seen old sewing machine tables used
as plant stands, scaffolding planks as table tops, wooden
pallets fabricated into chairs, tables, decks, platforms
and tree houses. But it doesn’t stop there – people have
even been known to turn old cars – cut in half – into
outdoor sofas. It’s amazing how many ingenious uses for
things can be thought of once you get the salvage bug.
Water features – can be made from old barrels, galvanised
water storage tanks or really anything that will hold water.
The important thing is that the inside of the container
is protected from springing a leak. Barrels often have a
waterproof layer on the inside and old tin or iron baths and
tanks are usually galvanised – a chemical process that makes
a tough, rust resistant coating to iron and steel. Quirky
water cascades can be made from all sorts of ingenious
water-holding objects, from old pots, pans and kettles to
musical instruments. Rocks and stones are also very effective,
either drilled through so that the water cascades down over
them, or used to make small waterfalls or pool edging.
Bird baths and feeders – pretty, but scratched, chipped
or worn kitchen and dining items can make excellent
containers, not just for plants, but as bird baths and
feeders. I have a rustic lasagne dish that I didn’t much
like, but it is easy to clean, has sloping sides and is
just the right depth. It makes a perfect bird bath.
Planters – like water features, need enough capacity to hold
the growing medium, but don’t have to be watertight, in fact
some drainage through the bottom of the container is needed
so that plants don’t get waterlogged. An exception might be
something like a shallow, temporary planter – I use lengths of
guttering pipe in the veg patch sometimes, as they are useful
for growing a row of seedlings in prior to planting them out.
You can just slide the contents of the pipe into a prepared
groove once there’s a space on your plot – useful if you are
sowing crops in succession or are gardening in a small space.
Vegetable beds – can be constructed from many materials;
wood is particularly effective; railway sleepers have
always been popular, but can be expensive and bulky.
Scaffolding boards make excellent edges for vegetable beds
and are easier to cut and handle than sleepers. Just be
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