This post is brought to you by Lowe’s, and is the brainchild of NOTCOT. Find inspiration and encouragement as you plan, begin and complete do-it-yourself projects at Lowe’s Home 101.

Nothing screams fall quite like watching the leaves change… then drop. Then get mounded up, composted, crushed, collected, and jumped into! (You have to see the monster leaf pile vid on the next page!) So we’ve rounded up some of the awesome and fun contraptions and more we’ve found on the next page!

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Tags: gardens - gifts - home - Lowe's - shopping

Today i had a little adventure into the world of Levi’s. Wandering out into hollywood, i found myself immersed in Levi’s! Fascinating to see everything from the history of the 501 (from the original to the various evolutions of the years…) to the Curve ID jeans for women under a fantastic installation of bright yellow folding yard sticks ~ to the latest Commuter 511 collection (perfect for commuter cyclists with reflective seams when you fold the cuff up)… and even a peek at the edible garden installation by Silverlake Farms that was previously at MOCA! The adventures culminate in the dressing room, where after getting a feel for the collections, i slipped in to their Curve ID: Demis to find myself to be a perfect 27… take a peek at it all on the next page…

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Tags: bikes - fashion - gardens - gifts - installation - shopping

Another London discovery from Justine!

An unexpected discovery on the way to FARM:shop, the Dalton Eastern Curve Garden looked irresistibly welcoming. The unexpected wildlife friendly garden is a beautiful sanctuary from the busy streets, like a big communal backyard complete with butterflies and bees drifting from flower to flower, children playing and locals relaxing in the sunshine as the pizza oven was being fired up.

The garden is situated on the abandoned Eastern Curve railway line. The area was transformed into a green space by the Design for London initiative Making Space in Dalston. The collaborative EXYZT built the ‘Dalston Mill’ for three weeks as part of The Barbican Centre’s ‘Radical Nature’ exhibition and returned to create the pavilion in 2010. The gardens opened just over a year ago in July 2010.

“A meeting place for people and plants”, the garden hosts courses, events, workshops and all sorts of activities for children and adults, it is a wonderful space and perfect way to escape for a few hours. More photos of this spectacular urban garden and pavilion on the next page.

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Tags: gardens - green - london - travel

Here’s the latest discovery from Justine based in London!

20 Dalston Lane in the heart of East London seems an odd address for a farm. But Dalston’s FARM:shop is literally a farm in a shop. Once a derelict store, the shop is now a shop/cafe/meeting place and farm all in one. It is home to hundreds of growing plants arranged in every setup imaginable from a backyard polytunnel to hydroponics setup where plants are fed by the fish. It is even home to a flock of rooftop living chickens!

A perfect combination of public spaces/projects with urban farming, I knew this one would be right up our alley, and when I heard about the hydroponics and chickens on the roof, I knew it would be one not to miss. More photos on the next page!

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Tags: animals - aquarium - farm - food - gardens - hydroponics - london - nature - plants - store - travel

This post is brought to you by Lowe’s, and is the brainchild of NOTCOT. Find inspiration and encouragement as you plan, begin and complete do-it-yourself projects at Lowe’s Home 101.

Composting offers a great way to turn your kitchen waste into something useful. Depending on your setup it can even be easier than doing the dishes. There are a number of strategies for working it into your life even for those without a lot of time or space. Today we decided to round up some of the interesting composting techniques and options we have today ~ from giant rollers, to worms doing the job for you, to magical Bokashi cultures, and the gorgeous little incognito kitchen counter contraptions you can use… see it all on the next page!

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Tags: gardens - gifts - green - home - Lowe's - shopping

Popped by Dwell on Design in LA today ~ highlight? CHICKENS! Particularly mod wooden chicken coops by 100xBTR and Chicken Co-op. Fun, playful, and perfect for your modern rooftops and yards ~ i love the seeing designs that enable more and more folks to expand their sustainable hyper-local/home grown possibilities… (without sacrificing their innovative design loving tendencies). Read to see the chickens and more of the fun little details (and full views) of these pre-fab chicken estates? To the next page!

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Tags: animals - birds - gardens - gifts - home - nature - shopping

Just in from the UK ~ Justine just checked out Clerkenwell Design Week!

I never knew i could do strawberries upside down! Justine’s pics of this display have me inspired to try it… they have some impressive yield even! And get so lovely and bushy looking! Love this display of Boskke Sky Planters in the House of Detention, an installation from Theo, the re-branded retail/online side of Thorsten van Elten at Clerkenwell Design Week. Take a peek at close ups… and views UP into the strawberries on the next page!

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Tags: food - gardens - gifts - green - home - kitchen - plants - shopping

It’s begun! My Mushroom Kit is growing! Last night there was nothing (visible to the naked eye) ~ this morning? Shroom cluster popped out… somewhere between fascinated and having a hard time imagining these as food… had to get up close with it and share the beginnings with you… there’s even a second lower cluster starting too… take a peek at day one of mushroom madness on the next page.

p.s. and if you need a reminder of how this coffee ground brick in a cardboard box began…

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Tags: diy - food - gardens - green - nature

I’ve never grown mushrooms before, but having been hearing about mushroom kits for some time now ~ though often they look like they are growing out of a less than appealing pile of goo in a bag! The Back To The Roots Mushroom Kit just arrived, and i love their box design! So simple and pretty and ready to sit on your kitchen window sill! Back To The Roots is the brainchild of two UC Berkeley students, Alejandro Velez and Nikhil Arora back in 2009 during their final semester ~ they went from investment banking to full time urban mushroom farmers! Most unique about their kits: their oyster mushrooms grow in 100% recycled coffee grounds! So, while i have no mushrooms yet, having just popped the box open today ~ consider this an unboxing look at the details on how it all starts!

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Tags: food - gardens - gifts - home - kitchen - shopping

This post is brought to you by Lowe’s, and is the brainchild of NOTCOT. Find inspiration and encouragement as you plan, begin and complete do-it-yourself projects at Lowe’s Home 101.

The gardening bug seems to be going around as of late. Especially the trend in edible gardens at home! Regardless of whether you’re in a small apartment or a huge estate, we’ve been seeing windowbox gardens, herbs along the kitchen counter, upside down hanging tomato plants, rooftop gardens, guerilla gardens, community gardens, and full blown vegetable gardens fit to rival a farm. The daunting part perhaps is starting one…so Tasteologie Editor, Jackson, took on the task a few months ago in addition to working with friends on a few other vegetable gardens! On the next page you can see fun seedling growing options, and how they evolve into a full on vegetable garden!

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Tags: food - gardens - green - Lowe's - plants - video

Seed Pills! It seems like such a natural fit ~ everyone should be prescribed some seed pills to do their part and add a little more green to our world! Another project we encountered as part of the Selfridges’ GROW Concept Store and Guerilla Gardening Windows - Vanessa Harden’s seed pills. In addition to these clear pill capsules filled with seeds (which are purchasable in store), she has designed a series of “Subversive Gardener” concepts to do everything from launch the seeds from an umbrella’s top (as seen in her window display) or a bag to drill holes into the ground or a camera to launch seeds… as well as a “Horticulturalist Series” with seeds shooting out of a gun, or a walking stick… and more! Gel capsules with tiny seeds - melting down dispersed throughout the world, the idea of prescribing more green is just what some of us need! Take a peek on the next page…

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Tags: gardens - gifts - green - london - plants - Selfridges - shopping

Happy Earth Day! It’s been fun watching the evolution and growing trend of seedbombing - our latest find, Seedboms from Kabloom which are featured in the Selfridges’ Guerrilla Gardening display in their windows and Wonder Room. The little grenades are only available in the UK for now, as they feature four mixes of native species (Sunflower Incredible, Nasturtium Peach Melba, Cornfield Annual Mix and Native Wildflower Mix). However, other EU mixes are under development! Their design, display, and packaging were too irresistible to pass up, so we picked up a few while there… they are now in 4 packs and singles (and the 4 packs can even be split up, complete with to:/from: tag, for sharing!) Check them out close up on the next page!

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Tags: gardens - gifts - green - plants - Selfridges - shopping

It’s hard not to be drawn in glass bubblers, plants, and large canisters mysteriously hooked up… spotted out in Ventura Lambrate in Milan, this is the Compost Distiller by Lisa Johansson from the Royal College of Art. The unit is no ordinary compost bin. The beautiful system turns plant-based waste into biofuel, soil nutrients and compost. Unlike your typical composter, the unit includes subsections for both fermentation and distillation processes between the bin and garden composter, allowing you to harness more energy and nutrients in the waste before it becomes soil. See more about how this contraption works as well as close ups on the next page!

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Tags: gardens - green - milan - salone

Thanks, Veuve Clicquot, our Milano Design Week sponsor! We adore their new origami inspired ice bucket, Clicq’up.

We love living walls (and the many options available!) ~ found a gorgeous entry way of easily DIYable felt pouches housing strawberries and herbs at Ortofabbrica in Zona Tortona today! Gorgeous and simple, you can sew your own pocket panels with two sheets of felt, make grids across them… and slit them and pop your plants in! See the full installation on the next page!

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Tags: diy - gardens - green - home - milan - plants - salone

This post is brought to you by Lowe’s, and is the brainchild of NOTCOT. Find inspiration and encouragement as you plan, begin and complete do-it-yourself projects at Lowe’s Home 101.

Vertical Gardens! I’ve been fascinated by them the last few years, and it’s been fun to watch how they’ve evolved. In both style and ease of installation… so many tools and containers and techniques have popped up! Well, in researching various options to set up my own, Leo Corrales and I got frustrated and inspired and came up with a new NotConcept, merging parts of many we loved into a new design! Whether we’ll make it, is still uncertain, but it sure feels tempting! Combining the Wine Bottle Hydrogarden concept… with a more modular wall like structure… and something fun we could lean against the wall instead of mount… and our favorite big chunky frame look… take a peek on the next page at both our research on Vertical Gardening as well as our idea!!! And let us know what you think, what you’d want in your dream vertical garden, and maybe we’ll keep evolving the idea (or even MAKE one!) But first… to the sketches and renders!

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Tags: gardens - Lowe's - NOTConcept - plants

Though we first had these on NOTCOT.org, some things are just more fun in person and up close! Like these Potting Shed Creations Grow Bottles! Cut wine bottles recycled into micro herb hydrogardens! From the felt tongue to soak up the nutrients from the reservoir base, to the clay marbles that sit in the main growing top ~ this doesn’t look quite like any of your other gardening set ups! It’s such a fun gift idea… next step is to see how it grows… but first! An unboxing of the beautifully simple packaging and fun graphics! (As well as a peek into the refill kits!) ~ check it all out on the nextpage!

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Tags: bottle - gardens - gifts - home - plants - recycled - shopping - wine

This post is part of a NOTCOT series on inspiring, independent design thinking, brought to you by Saab. At Saab, we believe in independent thinking. It’s in everything we do. Learn more here.

From surreal bent wood cocoons, to augmented reality projections on the screens outside the pod windows showing you real time views of the Eiffel Tower… even though you are UNDERGROUND… to a stunning living wall… the Six Senses Spa Paris is transformative on so many levels. Oh! And it even has its own secret elevator from the Westin, Place Vendome, for tose who wish to drop down to their subterranean oasis without stepping foot outside. The interior is designed by French architect Pierre David, integrating the elements of light, wood, stone and earth. The vertical garden that greets you as you enter from street level is created by landscape artist Patrick Blanc. The combination of greenery, gorgeous eco-centric design, and technology had me visually inspired as it was… combine one of the most diving massages, and it was hard to leave the cocooned underground haven… if only there were bird’s eye view looks at the Eiffel Tower projected BELOW your head when face down looking through the massage table hole… i kept being tempted to peek to stare at the projected views outside my pod window! See pictures of this Six Senses oasis on the next page!

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Tags: architecture - gardens - green - hotels - spa - travel - wood

London always has the best windows! And Justine just did a little exploring and came back with great pics!

Here’s a look at Gorgeous Guerrilla Gardening window series at Selfridges’ Orchard Street side, which launched March 4th. They are filled with gardening goodness, from NOTCOT favorites like seed bombs and the Carrie bike basket, to floral grenades, seeds that burst from umbrellas, old bikes upcycled into transport contraptions, and more! To find out more check out Selfridge’s own press release for the new Spring 2011 windows and the Wonder Windows page at Guerrilla Gardening. Check out the amazing windows on the next page!

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Tags: gardens - green - london - Selfridges - shopping - windows

Remember when I first wrote about Dan Akroyd’s Crystal Head Vodka almost exactly 2 years ago and people actually thought we were part of the joke propagating across the internet? But it was REAL? And awesomely pretty? Well wandering the supermarket last night i ran into the Crystal Head Vodka Gift Set ~ gorgeous skull bottle paired with two rather large mini skull shot glasses (missing skull caps!) and i couldn’t resist. While they seem EVEN bigger, after testing it out, each skull shot holds about 2.5oz… and that their need for a skull cap… i just couldn’t resist planting some succulents in there! So cute! Succulents in the skull = Skulculents? or Succuskulls? See more pics on the next page! They are way too fun!

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Tags: drinks - gardens - gifts - glass - liqurious - plants - shopping - skull - succulents

Fascinating structures! Designer Patricia Urquiola and Italian inlay, marble and stone company Budri collaboration produced amazing patterns, shapes, textures and an extraordinary modern approach to marble processing. After the Marbleous Garden, the garden of stone, presented by Interni Design Energies and Marmomacc Verona Fiere, Patricia Urquiola leads us through a digital-biological microcosm, a fascinating environment inhabited by natural forms that are usually invisible, those of vegetable micro organisms (the micrasterias). The result of these awesome collaborations have been ‘Marbleus Garden’ in 2009 and ‘Macrosterias’, ‘Algae’ Bench and ‘Curly’ screen in 2010. See more pics on the next page!

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Tags: furniture - gardens - home

Living walls are becoming more and more prevalent recently, and various arrangements have been popping up lately on variations on the concept. Insitu wall planters achieve a living wall through a grid frame to attach pots too which can easily be added to any wall. Made from powder coated steel and finished in either black satin or white gloss enamel, Insitu’s planters are available in a range of five standard sizes. See more images on the next page…

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Tags: gardens - gifts - home - plants - shopping

The one thing that i couldn't get out of my head after leaving Dwell On Design - Woolly Pocket Gardening Company, and they adorably cool recycled plastic felty living walls/vertical gardens and planter pockets! It's a brilliant concept that really softens up a space, and such a fun subtle texture to add both indoors and out. These pockets are ready for planting, come in a variety of sizes... and can be both lined on the interior base (so they wont leak onto your walls/etc) or unlined for outdoor use. "Woolly Pockets are flexible, breathable, and modular gardening containers. They`come in two styles: those designed to be placed on horizontal surfaces, and those designed to be hung on walls for vertical gardening. You can use Woolly Pockets both indoors and out; they have built-in moisture barriers to help protect furniture, and they're equally at home outside in the elements"

Also - how adorable is that logo and tag??? Their website + blog have adorable photography as well ~ but for some first hand looks at them, check out more pics on the next page of the various setups and colors all over the Dwell show ~ not only at their booth, but also found at the VIP section and throughout the Outdoor section. I have so many ideas for movable gardens in my patio as well as covering some walls now! See the pics...

p.s.
How perfect would the small table top ones be for fun succulent filled gifts???

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Tags: gardens - gifts - green - home - recycle - shopping

I've been obsessing about vertical gardens lately ~ and while most get complex drip systems, bricks of earth magically suspended, and pretty thick installations... i lit up when i stepped into the Valcucine showroom for the Surface Magazine and saw this brilliant idea of a metal grid with little pots hanging from them filled with everything from herbs to strawberries!!! And it looks pretty awesome? Also between all the luxurious sustainable kitchen and furniture ~ they debuted and let us sample the delights of Valcucine's Riciclanta sustainable slow food kitchen... really delicious asparagus soup shots and soup spoons of salad bites... the chefs on hand were incredibly sweet and friendly too! Also really cool to see the little wet pots in person! I think i'm finding it much cuter than the eva solo one i just bought as far as use of space, and the same concept pretty much. See pics of it all on the next page!

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Tags: events - food - gardens - icff - kitchen - new york - plants

I love the fractal nature of succulents. And continuing from yesterday's post... while the plumber was working on the kitchen (Kohler goodies nearly installed), i ended up getting some cactus soil (and juice) and a few more succulents ~ and my mom donated some of her overgrown succulents that were spewing out of their pots to break up ~ soooooo, more fun pics of some inspiring patterns and colors! How crazy does that gummy one look? See more pics on the next page...

UPDATED!!!! Just add more at the bottom of this post since i just ran out to the japanese nurseries to see what i could find... (jump directly to the new pics here)

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Tags: gardens - gifts - home - nature - plants - shopping

Just spotted at TrendsNow... the deviously badass glowing garden "guard dwarfs", Baddy by Plust... Design by Joe Velluto and A.Fabbian.

"Garden's dwarfs are back, but with a brand new role: "guard dwarfs". With an attitude that could hardly be defined as friendly, they shine thanks to the luminescent resin with which they are produced. Absorbing the light for a few moments they release it along the night, becoming small presences in the dark."

See more pics on the next page!

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Tags: gardens - gifts - glow - home - shopping