December 17, 2005
Glass Watering Can
I wish I'd found this sooner. At $24.95, this would be a terrific Christmas gift! The mouthblown glass bowl–in green or amber–is fitted with a thin metal spout and arching handle wrapped with rattan. It looks so pretty and graceful, you could display it anywhere in the house to enjoy the design itself–when you're not using it to water your plants, that is. The glass is gorgeous, but the downside of this product is...the glass. Handle with care. Nonetheless, it's an example of something that is functional and beautiful at the same time. We need more things like this in our lives. Maybe it's not too late, with express shipping???
Glass Waterer
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December 13, 2005
Flowers Calendar
If you love flowers, here's a nice calendar from the people at Art for Everyday. Another good gardening Christmas gift for $28.00. (The trouble is, no one would believe that you spent that much...if that matters.) I first saw it in a print ad and tracked it down for you because the flower paintings are beautiful. They don't show up as well in the online photo.
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November 30, 2005
Frank Lloyd Wright Birdhouse
We brought you Frank Ghery-inspired birdhouses. Now here's one after Frank Lloyd Wright, for a most unique and unusual garden gift. Crafted of pine and cedar, sealed with linseed oil, it is 22"L x 8"W, costs $54.95 +s/h and was designed by Tom Holmes of HBH Designs. The Garden Artisans site brings together artists of many different types of garden decor with the sentiment "...because the garden is your canvas," and I was impressed by the interesting and beautiful items they offer. Someone should tell them that the horrific green of their website is not enticing, to say the least, and they need a good copyeditor, but taking a look at the work of the artisans is well worth your time.
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November 30, 2005
Garden Gift Set
Lady gardeners who love lavender will like this set from Smart Jane (link below), a fun, breezy site that has lots of stuff. I like the fact that this one has a good quality tool, good gloves and a usable pot for $43.50 +s/h. Still not cheap, and you could put together a set like this for much less by shopping at, say, Home Depot and Pier One; but this time of year, who has time?
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November 21, 2005
Orchid Plant Gift
This is a nice (expensive) twist on the twelve months of flowers gift idea. Each orchid comes in a 6" growers pot ready to slip into a cachepot, and the gift is announced to the recipient with a set of gift-boxed notecards sent before the first plant arrives. Can be started at any month of the year. Order before December 15th for Christmas. Around $550 with shipping.
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Christmas Tree Lights
Christmas tree lights with frosted petal shades to look like paperwhite narcissus make a nice change for the bulb gardener from traditional hardware store lights. Up to three 31' strands of these indoor/outdoor prismatic lights can be linked. The online catalogue says $19 per strand, but their paper catalogue says they are on sale for $15.20, so it might pay to order by telephone. Also available–very pretty pointsettia lights, a different look but also attractive.
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November 15, 2005
Sunhat and Gardener's Belt
This "(Sub) Urban Gardener's set" speaks for itself. Featured in the online store of Organic Style–Fresh Thinking, Fresh Living–it includes an "exclusive" heavyweight canvas hat hand-painted by "textile gurus" with "a fanciful moss-green lilypad landscape" design and a matching gardeners' belt. For the bargain price of $145, you also get herbal insect repellant, two bars of soap and some seeds, all in a colorful cloth bag created by the same gurus. They promise that this set will make you the "most fashionable and well-equipped gardener around" and describe it as "chic." Oh lordy, words do fail me. (Say, if you do have $145 to spend on something like this, how about sending it to our site here? We always welcome your chic contributions.)
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November 10, 2005
Hand-blown Glass Terrariums
Teeny, tiny plants in a hand-blown glass terrarium–beautiful! The perfect gift, right? Maybe a little pricey, though, at $10,000 each, at least for my budget. Yes, friends, it's hard to believe, but New York artist Paula Hayes makes and sells these gorgeous creations, which she also maintains after purchase, for that price or more. Her websites are beyond artistic and worth a visit just to see. The first link is a post by Jill on fav website Inhabitat about the terrariums (which were also featured on Treehugger and Apartment Therapy). See following post for the article she promises on making your own.
Glass Terrariums [via Inhabitat]
Paula Hayes
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November 07, 2005
Pewter Christmas Ornaments
While we're on the subject of unusual ornaments, from the same vendor are these very nice pewter fern fronds and dragonflies that capture some of the magic of the summer garden. Handcrafted by American artisans, these also come with a hanging ribbon and would make nice gifts any time of the year. They're saying that the dragonflies are sold out as of this date, but I suspect they will have additional shipments. If they don't, they're crazy because these are beautiful. Perfect for my 93 year old retired architect and landscape gardener friend. (What, after all, do you give to some who is 93?)
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September 28, 2005
Garden and Flower Products: Good Stuff
The London design company Bodo Sperlein makes bone chiina sculpture that brings nature onto your table in a most charming way. Featured recently by that cute gal at DesignSponge, this company also creates china light fixtures on commission that are beyond cool. Be sure to look at their Lighting section to see a gorgeous flower light that is probably in the beyond pricey category, as well.
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