I never would have thought to combine santa, a teapot, and mint seedlings, but I’m glad the folks who dreamt up the petit coco santa herb pot did!
At just three inches tall this would make a fanciful stocking stuffer.
10 bucks from giant robot
retro screen door insert August 3, 2007
I kind of forgot about screen door inserts. My grandparents had them. Much like infamous plastic couch covers, they were designed to protect from wear and tear. But who knew they were so kitschy cool?
Graced with a swallow, starburst, or a cowboy, these inserts are just the sort of detail that can convert a “starter house” into a “bungalow.” And, as my grandmother would attest, they are very practical when you have kids running around slamming doors and such.
It makes me wonder if my grandparents were onto something — is there any possibility that the couch cover is actually charming? I think back to painfully peeling my sweaty legs from the plastic-ensconsed cushions and think . . . nahh.
250 bucks from hip haven
the modern dandelion lover’s companion July 30, 2007
This bright outdoor coffee table is an antidote to all boring patio furniture.
Its botanical cut-out design lends lushness to its simplicity. Its vibrant orange color will look smashing with nasturtiums or even dandelions. So, whether you have a topiary maze, an english garden, or a weedpatch — love summer before it leaves .
1500 bucks from plushpod
Empty and Full Bowl June 27, 2007
I once read that gardens can be seen as an expression of our fear of nature. In rigid rows of flowers we conquer the wild, sorting the weeds from the favored species, trimming green tangles into neat square boxes.
This is the kind of garden we celebrate on our fine china. At our fancy parties we serve our meat on plates painted with stiff little flowers, always in full and correct bloom, without a single drooping petal, utterly devoid of earthiness.
But there is another kind of garden. Here, the edges are a little overgrown. Here, the dandelion springs up next to the lily. Here is where civilization meets the wild and the gardener dances with nature, not striving to overcome, but to interact.
This bowl — even empty — is full of this kind of garden. A garden of earthly and earthy delights.
160 bucks from Greenergrassdesign
jack the ripper and the magic beanstalk June 21, 2007
First, let me explain what this is . . . through the wonders of modern technology, a word has been lasered onto these beans. When you water them, they spring up to reveal a message printed on the sprout.
I have mixed feelings about this. Like a rodeo clown, I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.
On the one hand, should we really be lasering tender green shoots?
On the other, have I not spent my life pushing pear blossoms into bottles to capture the fruit inside the glass? And carving my name into growing pumpkins to see it emblazoned across the jackolantern?
I really would be curious to see these messages sprout . . . but is it the curiosity that leads boys to pull the wings off flies?
10 bucks from wishingfish
Leafy Umbrella May 8, 2007
Is your yard one tree short of a grove? Find lacy and leafy shelter under this umbrella.
350 bucks from Matter
Camper Bird House April 25, 2007
Birds love campers . . . the fold away beds, the one burner stove, the sense of freedom and adventure. What a place to bring up the eggs! Give your feathered friends a home they’ll appreciate with this RV birdhouse.
29 bucks from bibelot
Toad House April 23, 2007
Toads eat bad bugs, sing a croak-y lullaby, and are squat and handsome princes. Invite them to make a home in your garden or weed patch with these magical little houses.
50 bucks from Yardiac
Matchbook Garden April 20, 2007
Strike up a garden with these matchbooks.
On the tip of each match are seeds already mixed to grow. Tear out a matchstick, plant it tip first in soil and you will soon have a flower or herb garden growing.
12 bucks from paper animations
Watering Can April 19, 2007
It started with a hobo in a boxcar who made a delicious stew with nothing more than a can of beans, an onion, and some tears.
The train conductor’s daughter found the empty bean tin on the tracks, brought it home, cleaned off the rust and painted it bright red. She used it to water the garden she planted to grow the flowers for her wedding, waiting for the return of her love who was away at the endless war.
This watering can has a story to tell.
26 bucks from the Kinsman Company
