As the days get warmer, many of us, urban folks, exhibit renewed faith in indoor gardening. I certainly do. And as I was searching for small space friendly options, I have found this brilliant thing – Woolly Pockets. These modular gardening containers are handmade in the USA from an industrial felt made of 100% recycled plastic bottles. This material makes the pockets breathable, allowing soil to refresh its oxygen supply. The indoor/outdoor version is lined with a moisture barrier to protect wall finishes. And being a modular system, you can not only grow your plants but you can grow the plant wall itself by simply adding on more pockets at the sides or top and bottom. Vertically, without cluttering any precious surfaces. When empty, Woolly Pockets fold flat for easy storage. Available at Module R.
We, deprived of nature urban dwellers, love our house plants. But we also kill them. In our crazy heads it always feels that we have just watered them last night, when in fact it’s been weeks… If this sounds familiar – you will appreciate this clever concept by Belgian designer Kenneth Van Steenberge, conceived in collaboration with Brecht Van Kerrebroeck, Michèle Feys and Camille Houyet. Potz is a flowerpot with an internal water tank that visually shows when the plant needs water. It consists of two parts. The internal component floats inside the external component and a wick transports water from the reservoir to the plant. The contrasting color detail makes the hydration state of the plant even clearer (it also looks very refreshing). Another exciting concept I would love to see produced.
These multifunctional bookends by young Baltimore based designer Nicole Runde are milled from solid cork, a rapidly-renewable and eco-friendly material. The pieces can be used as planters or pencil holders (depending on how green your thumb is). And because cork is a perfect bulletin board material, these bookends can serve as heavy duty organizers and hold notes, photographs, reminders and such. Each piece comes with a removable plastic insert that can be washed and reused. Sold at Canoe.
(via BLTD)
Naturwall by Turkish design agency Designnobis is a clever way to reuse disposable plastic cups by turning them into planters. To illustrate their vision, designers collected about ten used plastic disposable coffee cups, washed them off, then created a simple flexible metal holder system to hang the cups, transforming them into a vertical garden. By adding these metal holders together you can create a garden of any size. Simple, pragmatic and graceful project! No wonder it has already scored a Green Dot Build Award.
(via Urban Gardens)
Vedge is an interesting concept project by young British designer James Wood. He proposes to combine a planter and a compost receptacle into one compact and stylish item. The product has within it a 20 litre wormery for the decomposition of the households organic waste. This waste is broken down into a nutrient rich fertilizer, which is then used to grow fresh organic produce. Vedge creates a perfect cycle of sustainability and allows you to glow herbs and veggies indoors all year long. It is built vertically, which saves space and makes the item a serious contender for a tiny city apartment.
I’m quite taken by this Kickstarter project, and not only because my fellow Brooklynites are behind it. It resonates with anyone who tries to grow herbs and vegetables in a limited urban setting. Windowfarms, as the name suggests, is a system allowing you to cultivate your greens by the window all year long, hydroponically. The roots are bathed in nutrients from the sea, preventing food plants from getting root bound (as they do in traditional soil filled containers). You get healthier roots, and fresher, more nutritious vegetables without dirt in small spaces. The initiative has been funded already, so the product will be produced in the beginning of the year 2012. Pledge within the next 10 days to get your set.
This modular and visually stunning mini garden by MUTdesign, called Roots, is inspired by traditional trellises. The system is based on spiky interlocking wooden structures that are reversible and can create different configurations. With Roots you can build a kitchen garden, vertical garden of any size, even a green room divider. Various sizes of ceramic flowerpots are available to accomodate different plants. The Roots garden is a concept design I cannot wait to see produced.
Even though the fire escape gardening season is over, some of us, urban folks, still want to cultivate some greenery and fresh food. And if we hope to grow our herbs and veggies in a small city apartment, we need good strategy and proper tools. Mobile Food Garden by Nancy Wang offers both. It is a system that incorporates planters, overflow trays, perforated bases and even a compost station.
The garden is designed as an ecological system based around three dominant cycles found in nature: growth, water and nutrient. Most plant growth occurs in the top two levels. Seeds may be germinated in the lower levels and rotated to the top trays to allow further growth. Rainwater feeds garden from the top, it then flows through the lower planting trays and collects in the bottom water tray. A perfect circle. This vertical structure of the garden gives it some space-saving points as well.
‘Apartment homes do not have the luxury of a backyard and there is limited opportunity to experience gardening, – says Nancy Wang. – This mobile food garden project aims to reconnect apartment dwellers with nature, through the design of a product/system that improves the urban living gardening experience, while communicating urban dwellers the potential benefits of a more self-sufficient way of living.’
Among many delights of this year’s Maison et Objet Fair I would like to mention this unusual inflatable planter by ArtTerre. The piece is called Green Pillow and acts as a flexible houseplant container, equally suitable for indoor and outdoor use. Once inflated, it becomes a plant cushion. You can put it on the sofa or the floor, it is waterproof and can even float. So, you can freely scatter these planter pillows around any surfaces. The item can hold pots of up to 13cm in diameter.
The Grass Lamp by Marko Vuvkovic made me look. In the attempt to introduce natural elements to a home interior, the designer combined lighting with greenery in one elegant object. The piece is made from PVC plastic and incorporates space for a small planter. The lighting source located directly above it provides enough illumination for the grass to grow. Available as a floor lamp or a pendant.
