Matthew Levesque is one of the many people who have taken advantage of a lackluster economy to become a trailblazer in a unique industry. Levesque considers himself a garden designer, and the hallmark of his layouts consist of yard decor from common recyclable materials found around the house, as well as scrap products that are found in local landfills. According to PressOfAtlanticCity.com, when he's not working directly with his customers, he also hosts "creative reuse" workshops and has even made some additional money selling his "yardscaping" creations to interested buyers.

"I like decorating with tires, box springs, whatever I can grab that's been abandoned on streets or back alleys," Levesque told the news source. "They're offbeat. People use them as inspiration for their own gardens and I sometimes land landscaping jobs because of them."

In the midst of a slow economy, landscapers and DIY enthusiasts are looking to their local landfills and recycling bins for creative ways to decorate their yards. Not only is this a cost-effective route, but it can add a dose of personality to one's garden. Levesque has used old tool boxes as planters, made walkways from tumbled, recycled grass and even converted small ceramic tubes into downspouts for irrigation.

"It's the art of using what we've got," Levesque told the news source. "I use my garden as a test kitchen, trying things out to see if they work."

Craft projects like these not only help to remove waste from local landfills, but it is truly recycling on a larger scale. Hopefully more gardeners around the country will avoid going to big box stores and instead take a look around at local thrift shops and scrap heaps to find inventive ways to beautify their surroundings.