Garden wall made of old washing machines etc

. One hopes this will never become a really popular idea – but one has to admit that it is pretty well done here! It is also a sustainable design, because it is surely a far better use of old washing machines than dumping them in landfill sites.

Green roof made with sawn branches

Here is a really easy way to make a green roof: keep your old branches, arrange them on a frame and place turfs on top. This idea works particularly well if you have a coppice tree in your garden – which is both a traditional and a beautiful idea, as Monet and Van Gogh showed in their paintings.

How to make a garden fence out of old logs

Here is a good, cheap and sustainable way to make a feature and a divider for gardens: keep your old logs and place them, artistically, in a line. They are great for conservation – the wild life advisory bodies are always telling us to let old timber rot. The dead wood creates ideal living space for insects – and birds love eating insects.

recycled bottle garden shed

Many gardeners are talking about recycling and sustainability. Not so many are doing anything about it. So were were very pleased to see this shed made out of plastic bottles. Think of all the advantages (1) sustainability (2) insulation (3) permeable to rain (4) gentle ventilation (5) super!

H J Crowther lead garden ornaments

H Crowther manufacture a wide selection of hand-made lead ornaments. The firm was founded in 1908 and is now in third-generation family ownership. Lead garden ornaments are extremely durable and the older they get the better the patina they develop.

CrinkleCrankle.com can supply many garden products which are not currently listed in our garden product catalogue section

Victorian Cast Iron Bootscraper

Back by popular demand, we have restocked our Victorian Cast Iron Bootscrapers. These things are 11kg, just the kind of weight you need to save the scraper moving around while cleaning your shoes. The design is taken from an original antique.

Buy a Victorian Cast Iron Bootscraper »

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There are lots of short cuts in the design and construction of green roofs but if you want a 100% professional approach to making a roof which is more water-proof and better-insulated than a normal roof, then you can do a lot worse than use the methods shown on this interview with the manager of the green roof on the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin, Texas. For good measure, the planting is of native plants. This shows how to make a real habitat and this is much better for wildlife than a nutrient-free sedum roof established on lightweight aggregate.

Recycled steel garden fires thriftily recycle garden wastes - instead of wasting butane on outdoor space heating

This blog and this website are about high quality designer products for gardens. In the long term, high quality provides the best value because it gives the most use and the most pleasure. We are therefore attracted to thrifty garden design, with ‘thrifty’ meaning ‘a reluctance to spend money unnecessarily’. If we have to spend money, we do it. But if we can do things in a thrifty way –  we like it. Thrifty garden design is related to 

• recycle garden design
• green garden design 
• sustainable garden design

But it is not the same as any of them and it has a very distinghished pedigree. Composting is an ancient garden practice and was done for thrifty reasons. Using local materials was often for thrifty reasons. So was using local plants. Though happy to do what what we can to recycle materials, support a green agenda and save  the planet, we are even happier to work as our gardening predecessors have always worked: thriftily, conscientiously and with restrained good taste. So look at the below  photograph. It shows a thrifty use of garden ‘waste’ to make a beautiful pavilion. We like it. The above image is of a garden firebowl, by Ungers, which recycles garden wood.

Crinklecrankle Fibreglass Planters  are elegant, durable, good for water conservation and a thrifty choice in terms of value for money.

Please let us know of any other beautiful and useful items – we would  be pleased to sell them!

Thrifty and sustainable garden design - recycling branches, rushes and reeds