A major trend at this year’s Bloom, and other garden shows across Ireland, was the innovative use of reclaimed materials to create boundaries, structures, furniture and functional garden accessories. The Irish Country Magazine garden at Bloom led that charge, and truly celebrated and elaborated that creative style – winning gold for its ingenuity and in-vogue look. Here are two examples of what you could easily try at home.

Corrugated beds

Raised beds have so many benefits over ground level gardening. They can be made to an ergonomic height perfect for you. This means less wear and tear on your back and knees, and they are great for kids and people in wheelchairs. An added advantage is that carrot root fly is a low flyer and cannot easily attain the heights of 50cm and above.

The corrugated sides can become too hot for slugs and snails in the summer, but are lined inside to protect crops. The height also protects from ground frost and because you have to fill it with growing medium, you can make it suit whatever you want to grow.

So if you need acidic soil for blueberries you won’t have to import a whole bog to transform your garden, just enough ericaceous compost to amend you bed – from where it won’t leach out. Raised beds give you more control and extend your growing options.

How to:

1 You can measure the bed to the dimensions of your sheet of corrugated iron, or you can think in terms of ergonomics: what is the ideal working height for you? What is your perfect reach length? This will give you the dimensions of the frame most suitable for your working needs.

2 Make a simple but sturdy frame with suitable outdoor wood.

3 Corrugated sheets come in various lengths and widths so you can easily find one within your ergonomic dimensions. Cut to size or have a builder’s merchant cut it for you. Take care with sharp edgings.

4 Place each side of corrugated sheet inside the frame and screw into place.

5 Make a false bottom with pallets or other surplus/reclaimed wood. This lessens the amount of soil required to fill the raised bed.

6 Some cardboard on the inside of the corrugated sheets will protect the roots of plants from any summer-generated heat.

7 Using a tarp, skip bag or garden fabric, line the inside to keep cardboard in place and also to stop soil from spilling into the false bottom.

8 Adding a top rail is attractive and disguises the workings and attachment of the corrugated sheets and wooden frame.

9 Painting is optional, but it can help weather-proof the exterior of the exposed wood.

10 Fill with soil or growing medium amended to your growing needs.

11 Let it naturally subside over a few days before you plant, you can top up if needed.

12 Sow or plant up and water well.

Funky Pallet planters

Pallet planters are all the rage as they are a quick and frugal way to introduce vertical gardening to your garden, and are suitable for even the smallest of gardens and balconies. They are light enough to fix to a wall and spacious enough to hold a virtual spice rack of living herbs.

They do need to be lined with membrane to hold the soil in and if you are serious about them lasting longer than a season, they will need some form of an irrigation system – be that a built-in drip hose or adding in capillary matting before planting.

To shortcut all that and make a quick, dynamic splash – how about a simple single-row pallet planter suitable for trailing tomatoes, strawberries and your favourite herbs or flowers.

How to:

1 You will need one pallet and a handsaw to begin with.

2 The corner sections make a natural planter frame, with a trough already built-in. Simply saw them off the pallet.

3 If required, utilise the remaining pallet laths to make a floor for the trough.

4 Line the trough base with weed membrane and staple it in place to hold the soil in.

5 Painting the pallet containers in funky colours is optional, but why not inject a little bit of fun into the functional.

6 You can fix the planter to a wall with screws while it’s unplanted and light.

7 Fill the trough with a good growing media or soil mix suitable to what you intend to plant (more grit for free-draining herbs, more humus for vegetables).

8 Plant up and water well.