I happened to stumble across this perhaps rather basic, yet creative and fun use of concrete pipes the other day. The setting is a public park and the view that I’m looking at in this pic is pretty much what you see in the art work on the pipe I’m sitting on. Cool. And also inspirational as I began to ponder about concrete pipes as a garden design feature.
In farms and other places I’m sure leftover concrete pipes have been considered conducive as planters (and other gardenish use) for eons. But what about more considered garden design schemes? Are they an accepted ingredient? Well, I think perhaps not so in upmarket gardens with a historical inclination out to impress. I could, however, visualise them in an upmarket contemporary and edgy garden.
The above photo shows an entry to the 2015 Melbourne International Flower and Garden Festival. Alison Douglas has in the installation entitled ‘Pipe Dream‘ creatively used concrete pipes as an undercover seating area, a fountain, a planter and a fire pit. That ticks a lot of relevant design boxes!
Another example of concrete pipes as a garden design feature is seen in this photo. Here designer Jim Fogarty has used pre-caste concrete pipes to give height and rhythm to the planting borders in a low maintenance coastal garden in Victoria, Australia. And on that note – rather coincidental isn’t it that these two examples are found in Australia … Could be groundbreakers …
