Recycled Car Tire as Flower Pot

We like plants and although we have little space for them, we manage to fill up the balconies with greenery, such as our urban vegetable garden by Leopoldo. For our Kentia in the living room, we found these cool flower pots made from recycled tires.

The pots are flexible and shock-absorbent which makes them particularly suitable for children playgrounds. The black round pots come with holes in the bottom for water drainage and are very durable. They have been designed by Catalan designer Curro Claret and are locally produced by Zicla, where our recycled bathroom tiles are from. The flower pots cost 25€ and the smallest size is 30 litres; 20 cm high and 40 cm diameters. More information on zicla.com.


Photo by Stefano Buonamici.

A Green & Tasty Balcony with Leopoldo

Since this month we are the proud owners of an urban vegetable garden. Leopoldo’s clever tubular structure of anodised aluminium and growing trays of waterproof artificial raffia make it possible to grow your own herbs and vegetables in the city. The advantages (apart from it looking gorgeously green) over the classic flowerpot are that you can grow on 2 different heights (saves space) and that it has wheels (can be used indoors and outdoors depending on the season). Pep from Leopoldo suggested to start with growing herbs (mint, basil, thyme, etc.) and edible flowers but strawberries and tomatoes are also happy citizens of this 100% recyclable product. It comes in an easy to self-assemble kit and is produced entirely in Spain. You can buy it in various shops around Europe or online. Prices range from €45 to €150. 4 different sizes are available of which the small version (XS) is a fusion product together with the Barcelonian company Vaho, who do Trashion (fashion out of trash), and are famous for their recycled PVC bags.

We specifically love using our Leopoldo as an experimental veg-lab by planting all sorts of things we come across. Last year Anna, Sergio and I planted Nispero trees (or Loquat apparently in English), a weird Spanish fruit unknown to me before I moved here.

For Leopoldo, it’s about much more than growing tomatoes on a balcony. They know that having a garden "makes life a little bit nicer, funnier, happier" and are currently introducing horticulture into home, schools , elderly people’s homes and various psychiatric homes where Leopoldo is assessor and supplier. “The application of gardening as a therapy is deeply-rooted in many countries. By caring for vegetable and reaping the fruits, people with physical and mental disabilities can obtain great emotional benefit.”

For more information check out the Leopoldo web site.