no rubber – soul [m'anam gan rubar]
Aug 8th, 2007 by Peter Donegan MI Hort
silver medal winning 'no rubber-soul'
Peter Donegans garden design ‘No Rubber- Soul’ won silver in the large garden category in the inaugural year of Bloom in the Phoenix Park Friday 1st June. Donegans design, without a main sponsor was built by the 9 qualified staff of his own company cost and just over 100,000 euro to build. During the 20 day deadline we used over 1,500 plants; 50 square metres of rolled lawn; 4 tonne of recycled compost; 5 tonnes of recycled bark chippings; 6 tonnes of recycled tree stumps one 1965 morris minor and an outdoor flat screen television.
now known as the car-den
Despite the rainfall over the bank holiday weekend over 50,000 people still flocked to see 31 year old Peters garden.No decking, no paving, no additives or preservatives…. Imagine sitting within two thirds of a 1969 Morris Minor, watching the television, smokes plumes through the front grill of your car and you sit back and watch nature and plant life grow around you. This is the garden that has no rubber but lots of soul. Built from 100% recycled and/ or recyclable products. Take a trip back to 1969 when men used shovels and gardens had soul.
Peter Donegan’s design, titled No Rubber - Soul is a true garden for those who will never grow old in mind. A Tír na Nóg some might say, the garden was originally to be called after The Beatles Album ‘Rubber Soul’ but the theme tune ‘Baby you can[t] drive my car’ meant a slight adaptation had to be made. Designed to allow one consider our new ‘green’ Ireland and the extents, with a little imagination, to which we can grow this garden is very much a cosy atmosphere for two or an entertainment area for all.
The main feature of the garden a 1965 Morris Minor - built to commemorate the many Irish men with initially, great intentions who promise to restore and rebuild projects but sometimes are never fully completed; it has been slightly adapted to via audio visual equipment to become an entertainment area of sorts and it should give the appearance that whilst unwillingly forgotten, the life of the garden continued to flourish around it.
With Very Special Thanks To
Tully Nurseries – master plant growers
B.D.F Trailers Ltd – suppliers of all transportation and restoration of morris
Summerhill Lawns – suppliers of lawn grown to suit our garden
Mooneys Moggies – suppliers and restoration of Morris Minor
Enrich.ie – recycling of soil to create our mulch and composts
EQ Audio and Events - for their genius minds and audio visual equipment
Paddy O’Hanlon for the amazing video
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