Bring some life into your lifeless places

We got this great little terrarium from one of our favorite new providers: Uncommon Goods (disclaimer: for free, though we got to pick what we wanted from their online store). What we liked about it was that (a) it was essentially an old wine bottle with the top whacked off (not bar-room fight style, but cleanly lasered), and (b) it seemed like the perfect way to get a little green into our office without a lot of work (or, ahem, maintenance requirements like watering). Turns out (no surprise to us of course), that we were right. (again)

The entire thing was cleverly packaged – basically a bottle with dirt, moss and a set of chopsticks. It was a little messy getting all the dirt into the bottle (best to remove keyboards, etc when doing so), but the chopsticks helped to get the right placement (these eventually become the stand to keep the bottle from rolling around). And in just a few minutes we had what you see in the picture. The packaging suggests putting in other little tchochkies like plastic dwarves or mini ewoks (your own personal Endor!), but we decided to pass.

In the end it’s a simple little thing – but it really is great for adding some green to an un-green area (like a cube or office, or even a dresser). A little piece of earth to keep us grounded.

Uncommon Goods also has a number of other green and plant-related and gardening supplies like air plant vases, herb garden kits, bansai kits and all kinds of great stuff:

cool gifts for gardeners
plant gifts

As to the terrarium – it’s $38.

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Floral structures (sorry, we can't call them frogs, it makes no sense)

We’re not sure why, exactly, they call these frogs as they bear little resemblance to the amphibious beings. We suspect it is a florist’s term for the structural elements often hidden in vases but that keep a bouquet in the correct shape. We are, however, not florists. But we do think these are pretty cool.

What are they, you ask? They’re basically structures that you can use to display floral or other similar things (user your imagination people). What is fun about these is that they seem to be artwork in and of themselves. You can put them in handblown (mouth blown?) or other glass vases and use them to hold your (imagination) in place. Or you can throw out the vase entirely and stick a bunch of (imagination)s in there. They are made from iron with zinc plating and come in grids, totems and truss configurations in different sizes.

Fun gift for the crafty people in your life. Especially the ones with lots of (imagination)s lying around.

Also, these are from Roost, who we love and they are designed to work perfectly in their mouth blown vases.

They range from $20 – $40

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Kit to make your own bonsai: a rare deciduous mini conifer.

This little bonsai kit will allow you (or a green-thumbed friend/family member) to create their own miniature forest using this kit. It gets cooler: these trees are actually a descendent of the California Redwoods (yeah, the HUGE ones) that they thought to be extinct until someone actually found one growing in a rice paddy in China!

This is a rare deciduous conifer (so I guess it’s not, technically speaking, an evergreen), so it’s needles shed every fall. There is only one other deciduous conifer.

That’s some serious bragging rights – if you can pull off growing these suckers (pictured are 3 years old). Comes with 3 little pots, seeds (in starting “wafers”), growing medium, bonsai scissors, a rake/spade, moss seed, river stone, a cool tin to plant it in (also is a nice gift box), and of course instructions. All the plastic and steel are recycled, too.

$50

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Gerber Daisies for NWF

It’s the holiday season, and we like to send flowers sometimes. We recently discovered Organic Bouquet, a florist that sends organic flowers…but what’s even better, they have a special program of pre-designed bouquets that all include a donation to your favorite charities – 45 charities in total.

We love that there’s a lot of wins in this formula: we can feel good about giving a gift, feel good about how the flowers were grown (organically) and feel good about the donation we are giving to [your favorite charity here]. Some of the charities include: Peta, Amnesty International, National Wildlife Federation, Green America, American Lung Association, BreastCancer.org, Women for Women, Rainforest Foundation, Audubon Society, Project Hope and many more.

That’s the kind of business model we like. mmm. Goodness.

Bouquets range from $40 to $70.

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Steampunk accessory for sight

These are awesome. Ever have those jobs that require some focus? Threading a needle. Tying a fly. Building a boat in a bottle. Whatever, these let you zoom in 2.75x, keeping your hands free. So it’s full 3D magnification. You can adjust each of the eyepieces and they re-adjust coloration to ensure that you get a clear view of the mosquito you are dissecting for scientific purposes. Or whatever.

Could be a great gift for the crafty person in your life.

Did we mention they look a little steampunk-ish. Yeah. We like that.

$100

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Fire pit for the city dweller

If you have your own house with a backyard and grill and chiminea, good on you. But for those of use that like to live in places that don’t allow so much space – or a yard of one’s own, we love these little pots of fire. No gas hookups needed. No wood needed. They burn alcohol, so there’s not lots of nasty bits getting imparted into the air.

Heck, even if you do have space, these are pretty cool.

So you can have a nice little party out on your tiny patio, deck, fire escape or <ahem> yard/pool. All with the toasty light of fire.

Set of 4: $90

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A shade of Euro

Need some shade on your patio? Try this one-of-a-kind parasol from Sywawa (Belgium). You can’t find them in the U.S., but Encompass in the UK will ship them to you – just send them an email for an estimate.

Worth it for how chillaxed you’re going to feel with one of these lightly flapping above you.

£2131 (I don’t know what that is in $$)

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Unique, textural all-weather planter

This one-of-a-kind planter can house a great variety of plants to green up any part of your patio, yard or house. Sturdy enough to withstand the elements and classy enough to bring inside. Handformed and signed by an artisan in Switzerland.

It’s somewhat large: 37″ x 27″ and 13″ high.

Right now, get free shipping on this and other containers at terrain – just enter promo code: CONTAINER when you check out (ends June 30,2010).

$300

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Powerless espresso maker makes powerful shots

Here’s a cool discovery: the espresso maker from Presso. Notice: there is no plug. You boil a little water, fill the espresso handle, then crack your knuckles and bear down on the handles to force the water through. Normal espresso makers use a lot of energy just to idle. So we call this a green machine.

Online reviews generally rate it (and the espresso it produces) favorably. The only down side is you need to warm/steam milk yourself if you want a cappuccino, latte, or our favorite, the flat white.

You can take it camping or on road trips. And it looks cool and is cheaper than any other espresso machine we’ve seen…

$150

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Modern traditional houses - for the birds

These ceramic birdhouses with reclaimed teak roofs by Roost (who else) are just the perfect thing for your birdies. Comes in three configurations: the tower, the bungalow and the chalet.

Whichever you choose, I’m sure you won’t have to worry about occupancy. (though you may have to attend to other landlordish duties).

$80

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