GB2388005A

GB2388005A - A plant container and support for easily removable planting in the soil

Info

Publication number: GB2388005A
Application number: GB0208428A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Patricia Jackson
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2002-04-12
Filing date: 2002-04-12
Publication date: 2003-11-05
Anticipated expiration: 2022-04-12
Also published as: GB2388005B; GB0208428D0

Abstract

A gardening apparatus comprising a support portion 2 which is in the form of a basket with meshed side walls 4 and a meshed base 6 which is to be fitted into a preformed hole 10 which may be made in the soil 12. A plant container 14 consisting of meshed walls 16 and a meshed base 17 has dimensions which are slightly smaller those of the support portion. The plant container which is filled with plants 18 which are embedded in a suitable growth medium. The planted unit is then placed into the support unit which is already fitted into the ground. The system allows for the plant containers and hence the planting to be easily moved or changed without the need to prepare a new hole each time. A lid 8 may be used to cover the support portion when not in use.

Description

1 2388005

Gardening Apparatus The present invention relates to gardening apparatus and to a method of gardening using same.

Bedding plants are normally planted in flower beds in May and then removed later on in the year, normally at the end of September when they have died. Therefore, every year, gardeners have to initially dig holes in flower beds, then 10 plant the bedding plants, and finally remove the bedding plants when dead. The problem with this is that the gardener has to dig a hole in the same place year after year in order to allow new plants to grow at that location. This is very time consuming and strenuous and is results in back problems particularly for the elderly.

It is an aim of the present invention to address the above problems and to provide improved gardening apparatus.

20 According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided gardening apparatus comprising a support portion having at least one meshed side wall, said support portion being adapted to be inserted in to a pre-prepared hole in a growth medium, and a plant container comprising 25 at least one meshed side wall, the said plant container containing growth medium and at least one plant growing therein, wherein said plant container is adapted to be placed inside the support portion such that the meshed side wall of the container is substantially adjacent that 30 of the container thereby allowing growth of the at least one plant.

( 2 Preferably, the support portion comprises a basket.

Alternatively, or additionally, the support portion may comprise a framework adapted to support inner sides of the pre-prepared hole. Advantageously, the support portion 5 protects the hole from infilling maintaining the slope of the hole.

Preferably, the support portion comprises a base and preferably, a plurality of side walls. Preferably, the 10 plurality of side walls and preferably, the base, comprise a mesh. The mesh may comprise a network of interconnecting strands and resemble a sieve or net having open spaces between the strands. Preferably, the open spaces have suitable dimensions to allow the transfer of fluids, both 15 gases and liquids therethrough.

The support portion may be any shape. For example, the support portion may be rectangular, square or circular shaped. Preferably, the support portion is adapted to be 20 inserted into a hole which has been dug in the ground, for example, a flower bed or lawn. The growth medium may comprise earth or compost, or the like. Preferably, the support portion is substantially the same shape and/or dimensions of the hole in the ground. The support portion 25 may include a connecting lid which is preferably, substantially the same size as the support portion.

Preferably, the lid is adapted to be attached to the support portion.

30 Preferably, a plurality of support portions my be attached to each other.

l Preferably, the plant container comprises a basket or framework. Preferably, the plant container comprises a base and preferably, a plurality of side walls.

Preferably, the plurality of side walls and preferably, 5 the base, comprise a mesh. The mesh may comprise a network of interconnecting strands and resemble a sieve or net having open spaces between the strands. The growth medium may comprise earth or compost, or the like.

10 The plant container may be substantially the same shape as the support portion. Preferably, the plant container is slightly smaller than the support portion to enable it to fit therein. Preferably, the plant container is connectable to the support portion. Preferably, the plant 15 container and the support portion comprise means for engaging each other. Preferably, the plant container and the support portion comprise a ball and socket arrangement for maintaining them in position. Where the support portion and the container comprise a plurality of corners, 20 for example, when they are square shaped preferably, at least one of the said corners comprises a ball and socket arrangement. Preferably, the corner on the container comprises a ball and a corresponding corner on the support portion comprises a socket adapted to accommodate the 25 ball.

Preferably, and advantageously, the plant container fits closely inside the support portion such that the meshed side walls of the support portion are in close engagement 30 with the meshed side walls of the plant container.

Advantageously, this allows optimal transfer of gases such as oxygen and carbon dioxide, and liquids, such as water which may carry nutrients eta required for plant growth,

( 4 to and from the surrounding growth medium to and from roots of the plant through the mesh side walls.

Advantageously, when the plant container is in position 5 with the support portion, the growth medium outside the support portion is able to biologically communicate with the growth medium inside the plant container. By the term biological communication, we mean that substances required for growth, such as gases and nutrients eta are able to 10 pass from the neighbouring growth medium to the roots of the plant.

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of gardening comprising: (i) preparing a hole in a growth medium; (ii) inserting a support portion comprising an least one meshed side wall into the hole; and (iii) inserting a plant container comprising at least 20 one meshed side wall and containing growth medium and at least one plant therein, inside the support portion such that the orientation of the meshed side wall of the container corresponds with that of the support portion 25 thereby allowing growth of the at least one plant. Preferably, the plant container is connectable to the support portion.

Preferably, the support portion comprises a lid which may be detachable. The plant may comprise a flower.

Advantageously, at the end of the growth season of the plant in the plant container, the container may be removed from the support portion. Preferably, the lid may be then attached to the top of the support portion thereby 5 preventing the hole from infilling. Advantageously, when the beginning of the next growth season arrives, a gardener may simply remove the detachable lid from the support portion and insert a new plant container thereby minimising the need for further digging of a hole.

All of the features described herein may be combined with any of the above aspects, in any combination.

For a better understanding of the invention, and to show 15 how embodiments of the same may be carried into effect, reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of a 20 first portion of gardening apparatus; Figure 2 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of a first portion of gardening apparatus; 25 Figure 3 is a perspective view of a hole in the ground; Figure 4 shows a perspective view of a second portion of gardening apparatus; 30 Figure 5 shows a perspective view of the first and second portions of gardening apparatus in position in the hole shown in Figure 3; and

Figure 6 shows a schematic plan view of first and second portions of the gardening apparatus.

Referring to Figure 1, there is shown a first embodiment 5 of a garden basket 2 which is generally rectangular in shape having meshed side walls 4 and a meshed base 6. The first embodiment of the basket 2 includes a rectangular lid 8 which may be removably attached thereto when needed, as will be described herein below.

Referring to Figure 2, there is shown a second embodiment of the basket 2 having a circular meshed side wall 4 and a meshed base 6. In the second embodiment, the basket 2 is circular in shape and not rectangular as in the first 15 embodiment. In addition, the second embodiment includes a circular lid 8 which may be attached when required. It should be appreciated that the first and second embodiments of the meshed basket 2 are shown as being rectangular and circular, respectively, by way of example 20 only. The basket 2 may be any shape.

Referring to Figure 3, there is shown a hole 10 which has been dug in the ground 12 by a gardener. The hole 10 may be dug directly into a flower bed 12 or directly into a 25 lawn 12. Having dug the hole 10, the gardener then inserts the meshed basket 2 therein. It will be appreciated that the shape and dimensions of the hole 10 match that of the meshed basket 2 used so that a good fit is achieved.

30 Referring to Figure 4, there is shown a container 14 consisting of meshed side walls 16 and a meshed base 17.

The container 14 has dimensions which are slightly smaller than that of the basket 2, and is filled with living

plants/flowers 18 which are embedded in soil or compost or some other suitable growth medium. It is intended that the plants 18 in the container 14 are bedding plants which have a growth period of only a number of months or so.

5 When the meshed basket 2 is firmly in position, the gardener then inserts the container 14 with plants 18 therein so that a good fit is achieved as shown in Figure 5. 1C Figure 6 illustrates one potential way of ensuring that the plant/flower container 14 is secured into the meshed basket 2. As can be seen, a ball and socket configuration is used where each corner of the plant/flower container 14 has a ball shape which may be slotted into a socket shape 15 20 at each corner of the meshed basket 2. The plant/flower container 14 is gently lowered down into the meshed basket 2 and maintained in place by the ball 21 and socket 20 arrangement. It should be appreciated that the invention is not restricted to a ball 21 and socket 20 arrangement 20 since other complimentary shapes would work just as well.

It is preferred that the plant/flower container 14 fits closely inside the basket 2 such that the meshed side walls of the mesh basket 2 are in close engagement with 25 the meshed side walls 16 of the plant/flower container 14.

This allows optimal transfer of gases such as oxygen and carbon dioxide, and fluids, such as water which may carry nutrients etc required for plant growth, to and from the surrounding earth to the roots of the plants/flowers 18 30 through the mesh side walls 4,16. The gardener improves the connection between the earth inside the plant/flower container 14 and the earth outside the basket 2 by applying pressure to around both sides of the container 14

taking care not to damage the plants 18 therein. The gardener then simply waters the plants 18 in order to assist plant growth.

5 Advantages of the gardening system are that the gardener needs to only dig a hole lo in the ground 12 once at his or her preferred location and of his or her preferred shape or size. The gardener must then insert the plant container 14 with their preferred plants 18 into the 10 meshed basket 2. At the end of the growth period, the gardener simply pulls the container 14 now containing dead plants 18 out of the basket 2. Finally, in order to prevent the hole 10 from becoming filled in during the time when no plants are inserted therein (the Winter 15 months), the gardener may then cover over the hole 10 with the lid 8 which slots into the mesh basket 2 using a similar ball 21 and socket 20 arrangement.

At the beginning the next gardening season, the gardener 20 can simply remove the lid 8 from the mesh basket 2 revealing the pre-prepared hole 10 in the ground 12 which is ready for receiving a new plant container 14.

The reader's attention is directed to all papers and 25 documents which are filed concurrently with or previous to this specification in connection with this application and

which are open to public inspection with this specification, and the contents of all such papers and

documents are incorporated herein by reference.

All of the features disclosed in this specification

(including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), and/or all of the steps of any method or

process so disclosed, may be combined in any combination, except combinations where at least some of such features and/or steps are mutually exclusive.

5 Each feature disclosed in this specification (including

any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), may be replaced by alternative features serving the same, equivalent or similar purpose, unless expressly stated otherwise. Thus, unless expressly stated otherwise, each 10 feature disclosed is one example only of a generic series of equivalent or similar features.

The invention is not restricted to the details of the foregoing embodiment(s). The invention extends to any 15 novel one, or any novel combination, of the features disclosed in this specification (including any

accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), or to any novel one, or any novel combination, of the steps of any method or process so disclosed.

Claims

1 CLAIMS A GARDENING APPARATUS

1) According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided yarding apparatus comprising a support portion having at least one meshed side wall, said support portion being adapted to be inserted in to a pre-prepared hole in a growth medium, and a plant container comprising at least one meshed side wall, and the said plant container containing growth medium and at least one plant growing therein, wherein said plant container is adapted to be placed inside the support portion such that the meshed side wall of the container is substantially adjacent that of the container thereby allowing growth of the at least one plant the support portion may be any shape.

2) The gardening apparatus can be coverd with a lid when not planted also made of non corrosive material 3) The gardening apparatus can be manufactured in plastic or a non corrosive metal, with plastic coating 4) All shapes are to be used in the garden appartus.