When you're in a hurry to wash a few items, this washing machine easily solves the problem of having to wait around for your electric or gas washing machine to complete a full load of laundry or feel bad about only washing a few items at a time. Made of plastic with no mechanical parts, the hand powered washing machine comes assembled. Just attach the handle and go! It can last a lifetime......read more
I had heard about Flora Grubb through several un-related people. She's created a native, drought-tolerant beautiful oasis that has become the city's crown jewel of plant shops. One friend mentioned she'd been profiled in Vogue, another that he buys his fruit trees from her and that his kids love going there. While attending our good friends Kestrin Pantera and Jonathan......read more
With the economy still sputtering, Corporate America hasn't put the shears away yet. Jobs are still being cut, pay is still getting sliced. Shrinking budgets are making some forward-thinking companies look for other, non-monetary ways to benefit employees. One such response are workplace gardens, which are a perfect fit for companies with large office spaces and plenty of unused land on......read more
The grass lawn is as conventionally American as the white picket fence. Most homes in this country are surrounded by green grass. To stay healthy and green, grass requires large amounts of inputs, including water, fertilizer, and energy. Sure, grass lawns have some aesthetic and recreational benefits, but so do parks. Considering the state of the climate, it may be due time to reconsider the idea......read more
It is a rare occasion that you'll find a post on SHFT commending the fast food industry, which gets a general fail for its heavy footprint and for pushing products of dubious nutritional value. In Japan, a busy Subway location in Tokyo is making a move in the right direction, with a new, enclosed hydroponic garden for growing lettuce. Adding truth to the Subway tagline "Eat Fresh,"......read more
The horizontal garden game was stepped up on the weekend when the largest green wall in North America was unveiled in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. The fern-lined wall is located in the newly constructed East Conservatory Plaza at Longwood Gardens. At 4,072 square feet, it's more than twice the size of North America's second largest living wall (also in Pennsylvania). Designed by GSky,......read more
In New York City, hidden among the cement and concrete, there lie pockets of plantlife, carefully nurtured by denizens of the city. In the SHFT series Gardens NYC, we give some shine to these gardens and the people who grow them. In this episode, we pay a visit to landscape designer Jamie Hardy's backyard oasis in Williamsburg, where peas, peonies, and tomatoes thrive in the Brooklyn air. ...read more
Food doesn't get any more local than when you can plant, pick, cook, and eat it all within a space of about five feet. That's the exactly the situation that building manager Peter Malerba finds himself in. The longtime Brooklyn resident takes advantage of having open access to a vast rooftop by growing a variety of organic delights every summer. But like a good Brooklynite, Malerba......read more
Matthew Levesque is on a crusade to prove that landscape design doesn't have to be boring or expensive. In his new book, "The Revolutionary Yardscape: Ideas for Repurposing Local Materials to Create Containers, Pathways, Lighting, and More," Levesque offers inspiration and tips on using unexpected materials to spruce up the area around your home. The book is filled with images and......read more
Ten years ago, when artist Greg Van de Hey felt the creative impulse, he'd make a painting. But now, with two young kids, there just isn't enough time to make art. That's where his garden comes in. Whether it's building a rain barrel, making a grapevine trellis, or making wine, the young dad can always find a garden project that satiates his creative drive. It all plays into......read more