You don’t need
to own or to be
renovating a
period property
in order to
enjoy a visit to
a salvage yard.
Margaret Powling
meets the
dealers who
adhere to the
SALVO code of
practice.
'Maria famously
sang that one of
her ‘favourite
things’ was
“brown paper
packages tied up
with string.
”Those of us who
can remember
using brown
paper and string
rather than
Jiffy bags and
Sellotape might
also recall
being instructed
always to untie
any parcel
carefully and to
save the paper
and string. Woe
betides anyone
who took
scissors to a
knot! The upshot
in our house was
a drawer filled
with a motley
selection of
saved pieces of
paper and balls
of string of
varying lengths
but which I
don’t recall
ever being used.
But they were
there if anyone
needed them...'
A PLETHORA OF PLANTERS By Clare Blake.
'Your ordinary
common or garden
planter compared
with an antique
planter is like
the difference
between a paste
diamond and the
real thing. Yes,
they both do the
job, but the
antique planter
has a sense of
history, and
often beautiful
decoration of
some kind, while
its
attractiveness
is often still
further enhanced
by weathering or
gorgeous
patination. The
use of planters
to add impact to
the garden has
been going on
for literally
centuries, and
today’s modern
planters often
echo the classic
designs of their
forebears in
Greek and Roman
times...'
The strict rules of
functionalism were never so thoroughly
disregarded as in the utilisation of cast iron
for garden furniture in the 19th century and the
Coalbrookdale Iron Works produced some of the
most desirable pieces By Constance King.
'Moulded into
the delicate
shape of ferns
and flowers or
the twisted
shapes of
serpents, dogs
or even humans,
the uses of the
relatively new
cast iron were
almost
unlimited. The
frequent
improbability
and excesses of
the furniture
designs in
particular
attract
collectors and
gardeners, who
like the
contrast of iron
with plants and
trees...'
Garden Essentials: An eight-page guide to
specialist shops, reclamation yards and events
in the West.
'Minimalism is
out in both the
home and garden!
Make a
statement; think
big, bold and
dramatic when
designing your
exteriors. The
idea of reusing
period items,
that in the
present market
would be
practically
impossible to
reproduce, gets
ever necessary
as people buying
and restoring
older properties
frequently find
the quality and
individuality is
so often missing
in many of
today’s
contemporary
products. So,
why not pay a
visit to some of
the specialist
antiques shops,
reclamation
yards or
forthcoming
garden events
featured over
the following
six pages?...'
Dick Henrywood looks at old Enamel Advertising
signs.
'I have always
been most
attracted to
gardens that
offer surprises.
It is always
good to turn a
corner and
encounter
something
unexpected,
possibly a pond,
a sculpture, an
abandoned
bicycle, or some
other object
used as a
decorative
feature. Perhaps
some gardeners
might like a
novel
suggestion. What
about old enamel
advertising
signs? Just the
things to
brighten up a
run-down wall or
the side of an
old shed...'
