Idea Submission

Purple Polly

An oversized, steel-forged birdcage contains a mound of rubble and poor soil seeded with Buddleia at a site of stalled development.

Submitted by brenocallaghan.

A giant birdcage domestic in form if exaggerated in size is placed upon a mound of crushed brick and polluted soil; preferably at a site of stalled building work that can be easily seen by passers-by. This rubble is then seeded with purple Buddleia seeds; a shrub a friend has dubbed ‘The Patron Plant of Manchester’ due to its fiercely determined growth behind hoardings, from atop chimney pots and bursting through blankets of buckled tarmac.

This much-maligned shrub will be able to confidently grow to fill the giant cage – a prize specimen, in situ but untethered. The steel bars will be wide enough for both branches and people to slip through without difficulty. It is not a gaol: it is a picture frame shielding a forgotten contribution to the local landscape.

Eventually crawling with insects, birds, bees and butterflies, the bush will withstand pruning until such a time as building work starts up again. At this point the structure can be lifted and transported via flatbed truck to another site for the same process to begin again. Alternative sites could include flat rooftops within view of the street.

Working with a local blacksmith, the cage will be of a simple but well formed design with subtle worked detail for those who peer closer to investigate. There is no door, yet a single oversized steel feather lies at a short distance from the cage, discretely secured to a concrete block buried beneath.