Granny Mouse Gardens are creatively “green”

Digital ed Carina Claassens finds out more about the latest Granny Mouse gardening project

Our sister mag Country Life visited the Granny Mouse Country House & Spa earlier this year and after seeing pics of the lush gardens we wanted more. We were happy to find out that they’ve recently added a touch of green creativity to their gardens with a small-scale project involving plastic bottles, undertaken by gardener Mark Robson.

It all started when Mark realised just how many plastic bottles were being sent for recycling from Granny Mouse each month. He got inventive and decided to repurpose some of the bottles in a garden art display.

Here are the steps to make this handy planter and create a similar display in your own garden:

1. Rinse each 2l bottle and remove the labels.
2. Cut a rectangular hole in the sides of the bottles.
3. Measure a length of plank or piece of wood to fit a section of wall or fence in your garden that will take the amount of bottles you want to use.
4. Screw it into the wall using a drill.
5. Measure and mark two horizontal spaces on the plank about 10cm apart. Space them evenly down the length of the wood and hammer a nail into each mark.
6. Using a nail, make two corresponding holes in the bottle so they line up with the nails in the plank and the planting hole is facing upwards. Place each bottle onto the two protruding nails so it’s flush with the plank.
7. Once all your bottles have been secured, they should create a vertical column. Fill each bottle with soil and plant your favourite herbs or flower seeds.
8. Poke one or two small holes in the bottom of each bottle so the water can drain away and the plant’s roots won’t rot.