Watering a gardening can sometimes be a difficult job.  it easier for someone, here are some ideas for you. The modern gardener needs a way to know when and when not to water their plants and grass. 

​You absolutely need the right pants to be both comfy and protected during gardening.  When I say protected, I mean like from mosquitoes or the happenstance of coming face-to-face with a very scared and mouthy chipmunk.  Coziness and safety has to be shared with style, though.  Just because there’s a chance of getting dirty doesn’t mean dumpy is the ideal direction for attire. This is true for the pants you wear gardening as much as it is true for yoga or running or even office pants.  To help you give the gift of garment for gardening, I’ve selected a few brands that run the gamut of cost as well as looks.  The goal is the same for all of them: give a gift that makes your loved one look great whenever outdoors.

Let’s talk jeans first. Italy has fine tailor suits. The Scots have kilts and denim is an American iconoclast.  It’s had a huge rebirth over the last decade too with tons of new and old companies revamping blue jeans into denim.  Jeans are always durable, though some brands are more durable and more sustainable than others.  They range from affordable to omfg expensive. 

We all know the feel of being too scheduled, under too much pressure or just having too much to do.  With jobs, kids, marriages, schools, activities, smartphones, bills and millions of responsibilities, the modern world can be a world of tasks and worries without end. However, a growing trend within sustainability and landscape design called Shinrin-Yoku, or Forest Bathing, is showing us that getting out in nature is healther than you might think. 

As the days get shorter and winter is just on the horizon, it is the perfect time to plan your next (or first ever) vegetable garden.  If you are a first timer or a seasoned pro, it’s good practice to figure out what you want to grow and harvest in your backyard farm.  With the right approach, you can produce so much food that you’ll feels like starting a CSA.  The big questions are: when should you plant each crop, when should you harvest it and (in compacted places like raised beds) what grows best side-by-side?

In my 9 Days till Christmas post, I talked about green walls that are typically decorative more than function.  If decorative planting isn’t enough for your gardener, maybe it’s time you introduce them to indoor gardening where breakthroughs in LED technology and hydroponics lets all-year long be peak growing season.
 
Is Agriculture Moving Indoors?
Indoor gardening (and on a larger scale, indoor farming) is much the rage right now.  With climate change and other environmental issues, many people believe that growing food inside will be a necessity and not a luxury in the near future.  The cool thing about the new products on the market is that they are compact, clean and easy to use.  Here’s a few ideas to help your garden-lover grow fantastic lettuces, carrots and other veggies while also pioneering the next wave of technology that might just save humanity.

This season, give a birdhouse to your gardener friend.  There are several very cool and modern-designed homes for fowl you can buy.  Each house attracts a specific species of bird, so pick with care.  However, nearly every bird that is invited to a garden will have positive impacts to the surroundings.  Some bird love to eat annoying bugs like mosquitos while others will keep hornets out of your yard.
 
More and more of my clients want a combination of sustainability and modern design.  I love the two mixed together. When it comes to birdhouses, there are a few very awesome modern and midcentury dwellings for our winged fellows that would make great gifts. 

​​As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, interior landscape design is forecasted to be a huge trend in 2017. So staying gifts that can give your gardenista a head start with the hottest styles, I’ve assembled ideas for small, medium and large planters that can go inside or out. 

Next year is the year of interior landscape design, so help give your gardenista the gift of a living wall this holiday to help them stay ahead of the curve. There are huge benefits of gardening inside your home, office, restaurant, retail space, gym and even car.  Plants reduce stress, stimulate concentration, purify air and add beauty.  Though the beneficial attributes vary based on plant type and number, the variety of species available for interiors is much greater than when planting outdoors.  

To the average person, there’s no difference between a spade, trowel or shovel.  But to the avid gardener, knowing the difference means spending a few minutes on a task versus struggling for hours & not getting the task done.  So what's better than gifting the right tool to save a friend or family member time, effort and maybe even help them avoid hurting their back?! If this sounds like a good idea to you, it's time we talk about my favorite tool in the tool shed, the Drain Spade!

​If you are like me, you might still be doing some Christmas shopping and the big day is just around the corner.  If you are really like me, you have likely not started shopping at all.  Never fear!  I got some great gift ideas for that gardener in your life.
 
I’m going to TRY to do a new post for great gifts for the next eleven days.  For gift idea are gloves.  They are practical and anyone outdoors, even the seasoned pros, needs a comfy and durable pair. 

You can go two directions with gloves: gauntlet or no-gauntlet. The no-gauntlet gloves are typically less expensive and more utilitarian while the gauntlet offer a little more protection and say “Serious gardening is going on here”. First, here are my picks for the no-gauntlet category.

It's the Thought, RIGHT?
It’s the thought that counts, right?  Usually that means you didn't spend too much on a present.  With gloves, you can definitely buy a cheap pair for around $4 to $5.  They are usually durable but not comfy.  If you want to go that route, I would suggest a classic leather glove.  There's no flash to them, but they will get the job done!  One pair of a classic work glove can last for a generation. You can buy a glove like this at just about any hardware store liek Home Depot or Lowes.

​Bionic has gloves for men and women, AND design their gloves to help reduce painful arthritis when outdoors pulling weeds.  They have features like silicone finger tips to increase the durable of the gloves as well. 

​If you have a gardenista you need to buy a gift for this holiday season, look no farther than HexArmor line of gloves called plainly Safety Gloves.  They are made for the toughest jobs and come cut resistant, impact protection and will feel completely secure when your stylish loved one grips weeds to pull or welds a shovel to dig.  Plus they look pretty awesome.   

If you like the HexArmor brand, you might even like their ThornArmor glove as well.  Literally, you can hold a catcus without getting pricked.

Gauntlet Gloves are Dope!
Now for the gauntlet gardening gloves.  These gloves offer more protection and style.  They have both that old world look while also being modern.  Here are a few options for taking that glove gift to the next level.

​Womanswork is a cool, WBE local garden supply business just over the river in New York offers a whole list of gardening accessories.  They have a All Leather Gauntlet glove that is perfect for when you need to roll up your shelves but keep your forearms protected. 

​West County makes a line of gauntlet gloves worth a gander as well. 

Gloves and More Gloves
These are a small, small sample of the gloves on the market for gardening.  Any are good gifts!  I'll be back tomorrow with more ideas for surprising that special lover of nature in your life.  

​It’s cold and messy outdoors.  The first snow has already hit the ground here, and it looks like even more is just around the corner.  But the chilly months of the year don't have to be just cold, they can bring the beauty of nature in clear focus.  Wouldn't it be incredible to still have your garden and yard full of life, texture and color? If that sounds like something you want, now is the perfect time to design a winter garden that turns your now-not-so-incredible-yard into a winter delight by next year. 
 
The winter garden works with the natural cycles of plants and flowers of "bloom to dormancy" and capture ever ounce of awesomeness they have to offer.  It's really about using the right plants and flowers in your yard that have what pro-botanists and garden designers call “winter interest”, that is specie that maintain a certain je ne sais quois even when they are dormant from December to March. 
 
Winter interest is the fourth dimension of a four season landscape design that strives to have color, texture and body for the entire year.  The concept combines flowers like crocus and tulips (that pop in early spring) with mid- & late summer bloomers like blazing star with grasses and flowers like Calamagrostis, Pennisetum and Solidago (that start expressing themselves in early to mid-autumn) all in the same bed or planted area. These plants are used and coupled with others that will give you explosions of colors all spring and summer along with giving you a garden that is still full of life and presence when the skies gray and the snow comes. 
 
The four season approach to landscape design grows out of the "New Perennial" movement made famous by designers like Piet Oudolf with projects such as the Highline in New York and Lurie Garden in Chicago.  The plantings are designed to completely fill a space with dynamic fillers and structural perennials along with understories and groundcover.  It is the most natural and sustainable way to design yards.  Only native and adaptive plants are used while woody ornamentals, evergreens and trees are used as anchors in specific places sparingly or as the backdrops for the overall design.
 
Here are some of my favorite plants photographed at night illustrating that even as the days get short and the nights longer that your yard can be dramatic and beautiful. 

Below are a few other images of designs that use grasses and flowers to create an atmosphere of natural awe-ness for winter interest.

​A four season garden takes time to develop, and needs flexibility to determine its own self-expression.  Winter interest often takes two or three seasons to really get right.  These types of landscape designs aren’t as predictable as the more conventional boxwood and pine tree landscapes that dominate the suburbs of America.  Of course, when you perfect your space, the four season garden will not only stand out but make all your neighbor’s green with envy. 

Want To Read More about Landscape Design:
1. My Bermuda Trip: Imperfect Pavers, Perfectly
2. Take the Next Step with Ecology
3. Capture Autumn with Solidago in Your Eco-Yard
4. The Quest for the High Line in Suburbia

It’s late autumn and getting cold, but I can’t stop thinking about outdoor furniture.  The right furniture can give a deck or patio new life and spice up gatherings, pool parties and BBQs. With all furniture, there’re always thousands of choices with some standard outdoor items like the Adirondack chair to other more esoteric options.  One thing is totally true though, beyond the standard options are beautiful, design-focused chairs to make your yard shine with uniqueness. So I thought I’d put together a short list of my favorite outdoor chairs in memory of warmer weather and longer days.

​I think my favorite chair right now is the Carlos Motta’s Asturias armchair. It has the essence of an Adirondack chair but with both a vintage and contemporary flare.  The cushions make it look comfy while the attention to material and line show off the details of the design. 

I’m in a bit of a midcentury mood these days...probably because it’s often the topic of discussion within my house.  My wife LOVES midcentury design, and we live in a midcentury home.  I don’t know of many other exterior chairs that really capture the soul of the era of the midcentury like the Pastil chair by Aarnio Eero.  Originally designed in 1967, the shape and material speak to a time when people saw the future as a place of clean, muted lines that was popularized by cartoons like the Jetsons and major events like the 1964 New York World’s Fair.   I’ve always felt midcentury sensibilities toward design is what inspired the aesthetic of Apple products. 

Two other chairs that look similar but definitely have their own personally and style are the Ixtapa and the Acapulco chair.  Every time I see them, I imagine crystal clear aquamarine water and mixed drinks with little umbrellas in them. You can find these chairs made from an assortment of materials from plastic to wood to metal.  Each material has a different durability and price tag.  The Acapulco chair seems to be more available these days and in a multitude of colors.  Both chairs have matching loveseats, rockers and tables if you’re looking for conformity for your décor.

​One last chair that I found poking around on Pinterest is this DIY grass bed/chair.  It’s not as high end as the Asturias but it is a really interesting twist on “green” design.  We now have the options for green roofs, green walls and green furniture. The idea of napping the afternoon in a bed of grass is very attractive, but I guess you would need to mow it every now and then…and water it, weed it…reseed it..compost it…sounds like a lot of work.

​HAPPY HOLIDAY!!
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