I’m twiddling my thumbs waiting for spring to arrive. There’s not much to do in the garden, I’m ashamed to say. So what I’m doing is looking through a few pre-release outdoor-themed books I’ve received. If the thumbs are twiddling I may as well employ them by turning the pages of a book, right? The one I am currently thumbing through is called Upcycling Outdoors written by Max McMurdo, apparently an of-note British “let’s make something spectacular out of these leftover pieces” businessman, entrepreneur and television personality.

I admit as a community gardener living in a city condo I don’t have the space for many of the 20 projects included in the book, nor do I have the workshop space to create them. I long for a garage or a large shed in which I can become an amateur Norm Abram. But one can dream, right? And I can always tell you about some of the incredibly inventive projects that Max has written about.

Plants and Containers

Like the items in the Planters & Containers section, for example. All three projects in this section are equally good for vegetables as they are for flowers and succulents (well, maybe not something like carrots). The one I’d like to make is the “Living Wall from Guttering” where Max essentially takes short lengths of gutters, ties them together vertically with rope and creates way to grow something—in our case, herbs, vegetables and maybe strawberries—in a vertical space. The Suitcase Planter is also something that a city dweller could make and use in the small spaces we occupy.

For those of us vegetable gardeners who love to cook outdoors with the items we grown, there’s Max’s Toolbox Barbeque project. I have to say, this is a genius idea! He essentially takes an older metal toolbox and creates a small hibachi from it using a few spare barbeque grills. Not only do I love to grill, this would fit in my small condo’s utility closet. As would the Outdoor Toolbox.

Okay, so there happen to be a BUNCH of projects in Max McCurdo’s Upcycling Outdoors that I can apply to my small urban home and garden. Never underestimate the will of an urbanite to get bigger-than-possible yard projects done!