Robust wood structure for riparian plants and insects
Photo top: Dragos Dascalu
The willows and flowers on the plateau garden are valuable for insects (host plants), but there is also a Tower of Babel. This 3D-printed clay palace was designed and created by Underbug, and offers everything an insect could want: shelter, water and food security.
The floating base of this garden consists of Amsterdam Canal Wood. Gaps have been left between the planks so that roots can hang in the water. Several different fibre fabrics have been applied to this, such as an elastic knitted nettle fabric (Netl), a hybrid non-woven coconut fabric with airy woven jute thread (Van Aalsburg), and a hand-woven piece of cattail fabric (Rietgoed). It is the heron's favourite fishing spot.
Soil has been added to this plateau and a clay border made of bentonite granules has been created on the outside to prevent erosion. Between these, riparian plants and home-grown willow cuttings have been planted, and insect-friendly flower seeds have been sown. In the shelter of the riparian plants, there is space for seeds (e.g. in water bird droppings) to germinate.
