The economy has claimed another garden business. Smith & Hawken will close its doors by the end of this year. The business has already shuttered its online operations, and is beginning to liquidate all the goods at its stores. Time to shop!
The folks at notNeutral have seriously cute and perfectly classy garden decor. Originally founded as a one-man design firm, the company applies signature patterns and colors to everything from household goods (barware and dinner plates) to garden decor (plant stakes and candle holders).
notNeutral’s metal filigree-style lanterns splash flickering patterns around for a perfect evening glow. These would be great (in addition to jack-o-lanterns) for a stylish Halloween party.
The garden stakes come in fun shapes (insects and flowers) and colors (magenta and lime). Their snowflake shapes would be perfect to dress up a winter-blah garden.
[photos: notNeutral]
I love it when designers take a simple motif, and turn it into a whole line of fun, cute things. Take the garden decor of J Schatz as an example. They’ve taken the humble egg and turned it into ceramic bird feeders, bird houses and planters. They also offer egg-inspired home decor. The egg style is so sweet and the vibrant colors would be an eye-catching highlight in any garden. These would make a super housewarming gift or wedding present for your favorite gardeners.
[photo by J Schatz]
The Lifeshop Collection offers sumptuous outdoor furniture with very contemporary and organic looks. The woven Iraya Daybed reminds me of a comfy nest I would just love to curl up on those cushions with a good gardening book and a glass of pink lemonade after a hard day toiling in the dirt.
[photo by The Lifeshop Collection]
Design*Sponge blogger Grace Bonney shares her favorite outdoor furniture and accessories for under $100 over at Domino magazine.
While the big box stores have rolled out their standard, traditionally styled arbors, trellises and gazebos, GI Designs’ 2008 catalog offers a variety of fresh, modern garden structures worth taking a look at. Some of their styles lean toward the more conventional (check out the Mission-style fence or Hoop and Arrow Trellis), and they are plenty pretty. But GI Designs really shines with its more contemporary pieces that will satisfy gardeners seeking to add a modern look to their spaces.
With similarly styled window boxes, arbors, trellises, gazebos, and fences, GI Designs also allows you to create a cohesive look with your garden structures. The company creates innovative designs using a variety of metals that come off as contemporary without leaving the best of traditional design behind. For instance, the subtle Asian styling of the New Iron Urban Arbor would fit just as nicely in a Craftsman-style garden as it would in a Mid-Century modern plot.
Besides all the garden structure loveliness, GI Designs also sells a variety of home and garden decor.
I must admit my gardening wardrobe suffers from both lack of originality and a dirth of newness. In the interest of upgrading next season, I went on a hunt around the Web, and found some interesting gardening clothes to replace my current gardening ensemble, and wanted to share what I found with you.
What’s on top?
I currently wear a crocheted raffia hat or whatever random baseball cap is handy – if I wear anything at all. I’m always worried about wearing the raffia hat because I’d hate for something so fancy to end up all coated in mud, and a baseball cap doesn’t cover my neck, allowing both sun and pesky mosquitoes access to my sensitive skin. As a possible replacement, I found the Ladies Garden Hat at Across the Garden Fence. It has an absorbent pad with a bunch of what I’m sure are “space age” crystals that cool you down through evaporation. This would take care of my main reason for not wearing a hat – I can’t stand how sweaty those suckers get, and I’m already enough of a hot head.
Muddy in the middle
I own a stash of old t-shirts and jeans for my garden chores. While these work fine, I wondered if other, more practical, options existed. I love the aprons and half pants over at Garden Supermart. The pockets alone would be a step up from trying to walk around with a trowel in the back of your jeans (no more step, poke, step, poke, step, poke!). My knees still feel fine, but I can see how the padding on the half pants might really help someone with sensitive joints. You might even be able to get away with staying in a nice pair of pants without ruining them by using either of these cover-ups. I, on the other hand, would still probably end up sitting in the dirt, thus sullying my nice duds even with a little extra protection.
Show of hands
A lot of gardening books suggests owning a variety of gloves for the many tasks we tackle in the garden: anti-vibration gloves for lawn mowing, thorn-proof ones for tackling roses and raspberries, rubber gloves for dealing with mud, close-fitted cloth gloves for weeding and generic leather gloves for digging/hoeing/brush moving/looking like a gardener. So, while “they” recommend five pairs of gloves, I own one, lonely pair of leather work gloves. I can do most of my garden chores with them, including grabbing that most thorny of plants, Canadian thistle. Now that I’m going to be adding more roses to my garden, though, it’s time for tough, thorn-resistant gloves like these from Smith&Hawken.
Well-shod tootsies
My current gardening shoes just happen to be at the center of one of the hottest debates in footwear ever: Crocs. I love the turquoise color, and it’s nice to just dowse them when they get muddy, but I wish they looked a little less, um, clownish. The holes keep my feet cool, but they also let mud and bugs in to be squished when I least expect it (sorry Mr. Cricket!). My love-hate relationship may end next year if I buy any of the lovely clogs from Sloggers. They even have pretty ventilated clogs called Sloggys that riff nicely off of the Crocs’ good points, but leave the pesky clown-shoe look behind.
I also own a pair of cheap red Wellies. At some point in my life I will own a real pair of Wellington boots, and my feet will be happy. For now, these red rubber ones will work just fine for muddy garden chores and mucking out the chicken coop.
Okay, okay! I know we still have a couple of months before the leaves start to fall, but I thought it might help some of us procrastinators to think ahead just a little bit. Here are a couple of rakes to get you started.
The Fiskars Leaf Rake has extra-wide, curved tines that they say won’t trap leaves like traditional skinny tines. The aluminum handle makes this rake lighter than the standard wood-handled varieties, and the tear-drop shaped grip supposedly helps prevent hand fatigue. Fiskars backs this rake with a lifetime guarantee, a rarity in our disposable society.
This rake made me drool. The rake’s special shape allows you to push it over the ground, and then pull it back to gather leaves. No need to lift it at all! Plus, the upper shield holds the leaves in place while you drag them into a pile. Besides raking up leaves, you can also use this rake to dethatch, gather twigs and spread top-dressings. The grip on the five foot handle adjusts to a high or low position so you can get it to a comfortable spot for both your height and the job you’re doing.
[images from Fiskars and Lee Valley Tools]
I just found the My Dream Backyard contest over at fiskars.com. It’s sponsored by Briggs&Stratton, and has a ton of prizes. They have a variety of prize packages to choose from, including one for us green thumbs. The contest started in April and ends September 30, 2007. You can enter once a day, and they’ll give a grand prize package away for both August and September, so there’s still a good chance to win.
[image from mydreambackyard.com]