Today’s GPOD comes from frequent contributor Cherry Ong and features a very cool public garden that she stumbled upon on a very rainy day in Tofino, British Columbia.
This garden display was created by artist Pete Clarkson, who makes all of the sculptures from recycled marine debris he and shoreline cleanup volunteers collect. The installations reflect the unexpected beauty of what may seem like trash, and offer a reminder that the things we throw away end up somewhere, often floating to clutter the ocean and beaches. There is more information about Pete and his art on his website: peteclarkson.com
A simple sculpture sits amid the grasses and Yucca.
A tall tower rises up out of the garden grasses. The plantings in the garden are simple and beautiful, the better to highlight the sculptures.
A beautiful specimen of Yucca ‘Color Guard’ (Zones 4–10) with gold variegation complements the brown and green tones of the garden.
A little person in the garden is nestled down amid the grasses.
This one is just cute. All the sculptures have names, and this one is called “The Frog Formerly Known as Prince,” which is a pretty great name. I love how the grasses wrap around it, fully including it in the garden.
This isn’t a flowery display, but it includes lots of ornamental grasses and some mugo pines (Pinus mugo, Zones 2–8) that create a beautiful, understated scene.
This sculpture is called “Sea Chimes” and is Cherry’s favorite sculpture in the garden.
Another view of “Sea Chimes”
This sculpture, “Plastic Water,” looks at plastic water bottles, one of the most common pieces of trash found in the oceans.
Fishnets and various other pieces of marine trash were used to make this piece, “From Sea to Tree.”
Have a garden you’d like to share?
Have photos to share? We’d love to see your garden, a particular collection of plants you love, or a wonderful garden you had the chance to visit!
To submit, send 5-10 photos to [email protected] along with some information about the plants in the pictures and where you took the photos. We’d love to hear where you are located, how long you’ve been gardening, successes you are proud of, failures you learned from, hopes for the future, favorite plants, or funny stories from your garden.
Have a mobile phone? Tag your photos on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter with #FineGardening!
Do you receive the GPOD by email yet? Sign up here.
Fine Gardening Recommended Products
Wagner's 52003 Classic Blend Wild Bird Food, 6-Pound Bag
Fine Gardening receives a commission for items purchased through links on this site, including Amazon Associates and other affiliate advertising programs.
The Crevice Garden: How to make the perfect home for plants from rocky places
Fine Gardening receives a commission for items purchased through links on this site, including Amazon Associates and other affiliate advertising programs.
Attracting Beneficial Bugs to Your Garden, Revised and Updated Second Edition: A Natural Approach to Pest Control
Fine Gardening receives a commission for items purchased through links on this site, including Amazon Associates and other affiliate advertising programs.
Comments
Cherry, thanks for sharing. Love the frog!
You’re welcome. Me too!
Amazing how it all washed in with the tide as trash and now it's art- very creative way of recycling it into art-used in the place it was found- along the shore!
I really liked his "tall tower" sculpture.
As always Cherry has shared another enjoyable tour!
Oh, so clever! How satisfying it must be to be able to see the possibilities in what would otherwise just be trash.
What a fun find! I bet you had a smile on your face, Cherry, while touring these lovely natural gardens.
It sure did.
When will people stop sucking water out of disposable plastic bottles??? I pick them and other bottles up on my walks in my very nice neighborhood and wonder what the heck people are thinking! This garden is just lovely and the creative use of things fished from the ocean is wonderful.
I'm always so excited to see a posting from Cherry! I hope to visit some of her places now that travels to and from Canada are possible again! I'm not sure how you find time to garden, but am so happy you share your travel photos!
Thank you. Honoured to have it featured by GPOD.
Log in or create an account to post a comment.
Sign up Log in