THE RAG AND BONE GARDEN
The Rag and Bone garden is The Hive by VH Interiors debut RHS Altrincham Shops Best Dressed Window entry
and hopefully the first of many we participate in.
The rag and bone trade has been in existence in England since the Middle Ages and was a precursor for modern-day recycling, unwanted items were collected and then sold on locally for reusing or repurposing.
Our entry is inspired by and dedicated to Altrincham’s iconic rag and bone man Dave O’Kell; better known as Market Dave. Who has been dubbed a "working class saint" by a local graffitist (See photo album below).
Play the video below to hear Market Dave shouting "Iron" around the streets of Altrincham!
More recently, recycling has been getting a lot of praise; and whilst it’s great that we have found ways to break down our waste and create something else (or the same thing) with recycled materials, it still requires a lot of energy!
If we simply recycle everything, we are likely using new resources each time we buy that item again. So for those of us looking to care for the planet, we need to get back to reusing like the rag and bone men did; and when items can’t be reused, we need to find ways to repurpose them; recycling should be the last option, just before landfill.
The Rag and Bone garden is made entirely from reused and repurposed old items, all of which are sourced within a 10 mile radius of The Hive making it as planet friendly as possible. A few examples include:
A 1940’s voting booth which was damaged, makes up the main body of the rag and bone cart. (Sourced from a church in Knutsford)
A market garden trolley which was covered in overgrowth on The Nectar Bars farm. (Sourced from a farm in Lymm)
4 old loft water tanks and 1 galvanised bin obtained from a scrap metal collector. (Sourced from Wilmslow)
Vintage bed springs, old display tins and copper possers etc all from local house clearances over the years. (Sourced from our shed in Brooklands)
All of the fresh cut flowers are taken from plants grown by The Nectar Bar in Lymm or from our own back garden in Brooklands. The plants are all sourced from Chris Walker plants in Timperley, who grew them from seed, this is another way we have managed to keep our display more planet friendly.
Follow our social media channels to see the blood, sweat and tears Steven and Gareth put into creating the display.
You can vote for our entry in the "peoples choice awards" by following the link below and liking & sharing the photos of The Hive.
Many thanks to the RHS judges for awarding our entry as
Altrincham Shops Best Dressed Window 2022.
https://altrincham.todaynews.co.uk/2022/07/20/news/events/the-hive-by-vh-interiors-named-best-dressed-window-in-altrincham-by-rhs-judges/