Tyres, Cans, Bottle & Even Old Clothes: ‘My Amma Built a Stunning Garden By Upcycling Waste’

On a visit to her mother’s friend’s home, Kerala-based Anjali Pavan saw a Kokedama which left her intrigued. Kokedama is a Japanese gardening method where plant roots are wrapped in a mossy soil ball to make hanging gardens.

“I loved the Kokedama so much that I wanted to create my own,” she says. After researching online and on YouTube, she made her own Kokedama at home. 

While she made it out of curiosity, she was not aware that this would lead her down the road of sustainable gardening. 

She found a passion in it and soon started to plant more trees. Anjali’s garden was starting to blossom and she found a secret weapon to help her flourish it — her amma (mother). She taught Anjali to upcycle old or waste materials into eco-friendly planters.

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The duo started to find more innovative ways to do this for their garden by using waste materials such as bottles and drums to make pots and planters.

“Our entire garden is full of waste materials. Amma uses things like old paint cans, tyres, coconut shells, tyres, coconut husks, plastic bottles, old sewing machines and drums,” she says. 

Anjali’s amma also makes plant hangers using macrame art. “She even made pots using old clothes in our home,” adds Anjali. 

By using waste materials, the duo has found a way to not only save the planet but also save some money that they would have otherwise spent on buying planters from the market. 

The duo shares their work and journey on Instagram and have a following of 76,686 people. 

You can check them out here.

(Edited by Padmashree Pande)