Garden at Towthorpe and Strensall Waste Recycling Centre

People arriving to dispose of their rubbish at Towthorpe and Strensall Waste Recycling Centre see not only skips filled with refuse, but a neatly-tended flower and vegetable garden.

Workers at the tip in Towthorpe Moor Lane decided to put the many discarded plastic tubs and window boxes to use and planted a variety of seeds and plants.

They now have crops of peas, potatoes, beans, and even an apple tree and a fledgling chestnut tree, as well flowers and herbs including sweet peas, clematis, geraniums, sunflowers and rosemary.

Garden accessories include a tall plastic flamingo (Image: Helen Mead)

The eye-catching display of colour is an uplifting sight for anyone using the facility. As well as plant containers, the team has also incorporated several garden accessories brought to the tip such as a tall plastic flamingo, a handful of owls, a peregrine falcon and a wooden cat.

“We bring seeds and plants from home and we use plastic pots, wooden canes and other things that get brought in,” says John Gowlett, one of the team of site operatives. “Paul, Brian and I created the garden and we take turns looking after it. We get loads of comments from people arriving at the tip.

The garden sits alongside a rusty old shipping container which serves as the site office (Image: Helen Mead)

"Every day around 20 people come over and ask us about the garden and say how much they love it.

“We really enjoy looking after it and are always looking for more things to grow in it.”

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The garden sits alongside a rusty old shipping container which serves as the site office.

The container forms part of the garden, with window boxes fixed to the side bursting with colour.

“People of all ages comment on the garden, not just older ones,” says team member Paul Handy. “We want to keep it blooming all year round with seasonal plants and are making wooden planters for winter by recycling any decking that has been thrown away.”

The woodland site, on the edge of Strensall Common, is also home to various nesting boxes for birds.