Recycling rules in Sweden

One of the most significant (and unexpected) spinoffs from my decision to grow all my own food has been the major impact it has had on my rubbish output. I rarely fill my weekly wheelie bin anymore (unless I'm spring-cleaning my wardrobe or biffing out magazines) and the new super-huge recycling bins we recently got in Auckland will take care of almost everything from now on. Plus I've finally toughened up on the compost front: all my kitchen scraps now go back in the garden (in the past I've been a bit lax and lazy).
Of course, one gardener's junk is another's joy - and it's amazing how many landscape designers are now rifling through rubbish bins in search of creative inspiration. At the Gardens of Gothenburg festival, a collection of empty food cans, a pile of glass bottles and some recycled construction bags made for three funky designs.
'Those were the days' was the name of painter and sculptor Eva Björkström's display (pictured top left), which was designed like a traditional parterre garden but with the plants growing around a colourful mosaic made from rubbish (recycled food and drink cans sorted into primary colours). It was very Andy Warholesque!
San Francisco designer Topher Delaney was responsible for two of the avant garde gardens at Gunnebo House. Her glasshouse (made from recycled glass bottles from the estate's restaurant, pictured) is particularly clever. I'm guessing it's going to take the entire summer to get enough bottles to cover the huge wire and scaffolding frame she has had constructed. I like the idea that the hotter the summer, the faster the glasshouse will be built.
Topher also designed a kitchen garden planted in recycled orange Big Bag rubbish sacks (they're a bit like our wool sacks) that had been sewn together, filled with potting mix and planted with edible crops. Something to consider if you're stuck for space but desperate to grow spuds or corn this year, or if you're renting and you think you might need to move house before your tomatoes ripen next summer...