Tangled by the Sea, Woven for the Garden
At first glance, these rope baskests capture peoeple’s eyes due to their quirky style, colours and textures. But look a little closer and you’ll discover they have quite a story to tell.
The basket planters begin life as tangled mounds of discarded rope washed up on the shores of Pembrokeshire. I have been upcycling beach flotsam and jetsum for succulent planters and displays for decades, but since taking a fabulous workshop with Sharon Taylor of Willow and Waves, I’ve developed a new passion; transforming reclaimed rope into beautiful, handcrafted baskets. Beachcombing has been part of my life for many years, but in recent years I’ve been able to make an even bigger impact by working alongside organisations such as Keep Wales Tidy, Sea Trust Wales, N.A.R.C, and local community groups who are organising beach cleans. By offering somewhere for recovered marine rope and other beach waste to be repurposed, I’m hoping to play a small part in reducing marine pollution while giving these materials a beautiful second life.
Every basket is unique. Every knot, twist and colour tells the story of a journey at sea before becoming a home for one of my favourite things; Succulents!
Last week was a wonderful example of what can happen when a community comes together to protect our coastline, and I’d love to share that story with you…
While walking along the shoreline, I came across what can only be described as a mountain of twisted, tangled rope. My first thought wasn’t about what it could become, it was about what would happen if it stayed there. The thought of the next high tide dragging it back into the sea, where it could entangle wildlife or continue its journey as marine pollution, was enough to get me started.
For several hours I cut away at the knots, untangled what I could, and carried bags back to the car park. Trip after trip, the pile seemed to shrink… but not by much. Eventually I had to admit that this wasn’t going to be a one-person job.
Thankfully, I wasn’t the only one who had spotted the problem.
Another beachgoer, Adam, had also been working to move the enormous pile further up the beach, making it much easier to access. His efforts made a huge difference and served as a reminder that challenges like this are almost always easier when tackled together.
Then the power of community (and social media) kicked in.
Social media often gets a bad reputation, but this was one of those moments that reminded me just how much good it can do. After sharing the challenge on Facebook, help arrived in the best possible way.
Karen Costello and Linda Goodrick not only saw the post, but promptly volunteered their husbands, Cozzy and Paul, to come and help. Better still, Cozzy arrived with a 4×4 quad bike, exactly the piece of equipment we needed!
What had felt like an impossible task for one person suddenly became manageable. Between the extra pair of hands, the quad bike and plenty of determination, we hauled the enormous pile of rope off the beach and back to my van.
It was a wonderful reminder that behind every screen is a real community. Sometimes all it takes is one post for people to rally together, share their time, skills and equipment, and make a genuine difference to the place we all love.
Job done? Not even close! Back home, for the untangleing…
Every length of rope has to be patiently untangled, cleaned and sorted before it can be used again. It can be surprisingly time-consuming, but it’s also one of the most satisfying parts of the process. Slowly, what once looked like an unusable heap of waste begins to reveal beautiful textures, colours and endless possibilities for handmade planters and other upcycled creations.
There’s something incredibly rewarding about transforming discarded materials into something beautiful and useful again. It’s one of the reasons I love combining my passion for sustainability with my love of growing succulents.
Every basket tells a story; not just of creativity, but of teamwork, community spirit and giving discarded materials a second chance.
So when you see the finished planter, I hope you’ll see more than a home for a succulent. I hope you’ll see a beach made a little cleaner, a group of people who came together to help, and the beauty that can emerge from something others had left behind.
These basekts will form part of my display at Art in the Garden at Stackpole Walled Gardens this August, where they’ll be planted with a carefully selected range of hardy and unusual succulents. I love the fact that, just like succulents, each one is completely unique. More information can be found by visiting the Sand Palace Arts website HERE
From time to time, we also run upcycling workshops, sharing inspiration, tools and the space to create projects for your succulents to live in. We love encouraging others to see the potential in materials that would otherwise end up as waste. If that’s something you’d enjoy, keep an eye on our page or newsletter for future workshop dates.
Thanks for reading!
If you’ve enjoyed following this story, I’d love to invite you to join our growing community.
Whether you’re interested in succulents, upcycling, beachcombing, or simply seeing how discarded materials can be transformed into something beautiful, there’s plenty more to discover.
You can join us in whichever way suits you best:
- Follow our Facebook page for regular updates and new creations.
- Join our Facebook community to share your own succulent collection, ask questions and connect with fellow enthusiasts.
- Subscribe to our newsletter for exclusive stories, workshop announcements, new products and special offers delivered straight to your inbox.
Thank you for supporting a small business!
