Dunbeg Primary School

This Pop Up Garden started as an old box found while cleaning the attic, and ended up turning into a beautiful mountain and ocean scene with plenty of drainage to protect plant roots, and lots of shells for decoration.  This garden was built by Kuba Ochman (6) from Dunbeg Primary School. 

Smooth rocks

Making sure the box is the right size!

Bug hotel

Kuba's mum Kasia says: "This Pop Up Garden started as an old box we have found while cleaning the attic.  Dad helped to cut it in half and joined to make a smaller planting box for the garden.

Kuba's ideas were extraordinary: mountains, sea, rivers, cable cars (Nevis Range) and a sun which would rise above the mountains and set down in the sea  Some of these ideas involved too much engineering and it was a hard job to convince my 6 year old that plants were more important than an underground river. Eventually Kuba agreed that some of his ideas will need to wait for another project!" 

From old sheet of oriented strand board, Dad cut mountains and Kuba painted them green.  He made the green colour from old fence paints mixed together. 

The part Kuba says he enjoyed most was making a bug hotel from a pot and some pinecones. It's looking really good and we're sure it will have plenty of visitors!  

Kasia says: "The West Coast is quite wet so we had to ensure seeds and later plants would not rot in wet soil. Our neighbour was clearing some bushes, so we got branches to use as first layer to make room for water to escape, then piled soil on the top."

Kuba collected yogurt pots, painted them red and planted wild strawberries in them.  He chose these seeds to plant: 

carrots

beetroot

lettuce

radishes.

basil

chive

paisley

dill 

The family made lots of trips to beach to collect interesting shells and stones to decorate the beach and sea part of his garden which was made from old pant trays. (Mum says she carried lots of sand!) 

This Pop Up Garden is a Coast and Water Garden.  Water is part of our working and industrial heritage from the fishing fleet to the canal transport network, aquaducts, bridges, and the power generated by water mills and modern hydro-electric systems.  Water links the natural world to the heart of our cities.