Nothing more coherent than going to your yoga class zen with nature and this recycled paper yoga mat bag is big enough to carry everything you need to take to your class.

Although it may seem a little too big to keep things organized, it features a full-length zipper that allows you to access everything very easily, and still allow plenty of room for the mat itself if you have your own, two blocks and a strap.

This paper fiber bag is very practical, it can be easily spot cleaned and comes in playfully colored strips to set the mood, including beach, candy stripe, groovy and toffee.

This recycled paper bag, is large and roomy, strongly woven, lined with cotton muslin, lightweight, measures 14 x 10 x 7, weighs only 8 ounces and ships at 1.6 ounces.

Being environmentally friendly with a yoga mat bag made of recycled paper, will tune your meditation time with the good vibrations of nature.

Concentrated detergent pellets that last up to 120 loads of laundry or 60 30min. washes, they use no foaming agents or harsh chemicals and are also effective at low temperatures.

By releasing anionic detergent and salts into the water, softening occurs, raising the pH and leaving the wash sparkling.

No dies, no perfumes, works at all temperatures, will not harm colors, no soapy residue or film left on clothes, safe, economical and serve as an alternative-detergent, causing fewer allergies than regular detergents and saves water by avoiding rinse cycles.

Not only are they reuseable, these laundry balls protect fibers during machine washing, reduce pollution and do not contain harsh chemicals like SAS, Boron, ABS, LAS or Phosphorus.

One ball can do a load of up to 4.5lbs each, use two between 4.5-9lbs, but loads should not be packed too tightly, as these balls need to move freely throughout the wash and the rinse cycle may be skipped altogether, as these laundry balls do not give off the film that liquid and powdered detergents do.

Do not use these balls in a wash exceeding 190 degrees, bleach may be added as necessary and stain remover may be necessary on stubborn spots (however please use with moderation as the environment will thank you); this product ships at one pound.

An environmentally-friendly alternative to standard liquid or powdered laundry detergents, Laundry Balls save energy, water and the environment by using ionized oxygen to increase pH and make the water molecules themselves do the hard work of cleaning clothes organically.

Nothing compares to variety in an herbal paradise, butplacing that variety in an orchestra of color, a symphony of texture and blends of scent that bring life to even the darkest of corners in the garden in a practical how-to is exactly what makes this book so special to the home gardener.

The spiral-binding and wonderful photos in a practical language with 20 projects, bring inspiration, creativity and imagination into focus with well-being as the centerpiece of perennial gardening with herbs, no matter where you live.

This 112-page spiral-bound, written by George Carter, photographed by Marianne Majerus, published by Ryland Peters and Small in March of 2001, measures 12 x 7.1 x 0.6 and ships at 1.5 pounds.

Learn to make music with scent, color and texture, by Gardening With Herbs in a short but sweet spiral bound fully photographed project book that truly inspires, step-by-step.

There are a lot of ways to use a garden starter greenhouse, but the most essential quality is the practicality of being able to remove the greenhouse once the starter plants are ready for planting, especially if they are less hardier plants and you want to extend the grow season for example.

Frost resistant, indoor/outdoor use, tiered shelving (four levels), tubular metal frame in hunter green color, snapping together easily, ground stakes included, removable zip-front cover, measuring 4′6″ x 4′6″ x 6′3″, it ships at 43 pounds.

To protect your small starter plants, from birds, animals, unwanted pests or just the elements, a gardening starter greenhouse can be an excellent alternative to a permanent structure, setting up just like a camping tent, temporarily until its time for the grow season.

Thomas Moore wrote an interesting dialogue inspired very much in the essence of Platos Republic, called Utopia, and hence set down low-tech rules for a sustainable community, making use of everything, even criminals, in complete self-reliance, a place where craft was essential to survival.

It is true that we no longer live in a society where craft is essential to survival, as we have the industrialized era of disposable products and then apart, we also have the realm of art that satisfies our need for expression.

But something was lost when we lost craft, we lost the self-expression of that which has a functionality, quality and is non-disposable, we lost sustainability.

Due to their quality, crafts may not be a consumers paradise, but they are the sustainable paradise as they use the minimum energy required to be manufactured, energy that is more than abundantly repaid throughout the life-expectancy of the product and most importantly, they express human endeavor in ways that art itself cannot, nor ever will and that is functionality.

This 352-page hardcover, written by Howard Risatti, forward by Kenneth R. Trapp, published by The University of North Carolina Press, in October of 2007, 44 illustrations, notes, bibliography, index, measuring 5 ¾ x 9 ¼and shipping at 1.4 pounds.

As we become a more sustainable society, we need to value the common craftsman and craftswoman for what they are, useful artists, very different from the artist or the industrialized products with the same uses.

A Theory of Craft: Function and Aesthetic Expression is a book that gives clear focus for understanding the role of the craftsman and craftswoman for a more self-reliant reality that resurrects the marriage of the useful and the expressive of human endeavor; once known as craft, can once again bring us a sustainable society that values itself and the environment.

Not so long ago, maybe only in the last generation, the commerce of poems painted on stationary took hold of our civilization so strongly, that the time and effort we once put into our gift-giving and invitation-making was reduced to a trip to the store, a single signature and some scotch tape.

The days of making cards or baskets for gift-giving and invitations by hand and truly from the heart, are making a return as more and more people find renewed interest in the realm of self-empowering DIY ideas like this one.

A fraction of the plethora of creative ideas that once dominated the mind of the average homemaker when party and present time came around, can be found preserved inside The Ultimate Paper Crafts Collection, but when mixed with your own creativity, becomes an infinite tool that resonates with feeling.

This 288-page paperback, written by Stacy Croninger, published by Leisure Arts in January of 2006, with 650 paper crafts projects for all kinds of occasions, measures 10.4 x 7.9 x 0.7 and ships at 1.2 pounds.

The tender sentiment, special occasion, holiday, season for celebration or just the simple need to express emotion to loved ones through a handcrafted work of art, The Ultimate Paper Crafts Collection comes with a wealth of creations for exactly the occasion you have been planning.

Related:
Paper Crafts Magazine - Get the magazine subscription that’s edited by Stacy Croninger.

Prevention of human illness starts with a basically healthy diet, using healthier soil, natural techniques and generally learning to steward the land rather than devastate it, as is so often done in traditional agriculture.

But J.I. Rodale knew this as early as 1930 and spent his life dedicated to changing that spectrum of limited human action through the simple, yet straight forward examples that we are given by gardening naturally.

Organic Gardening Magazine has been delving in the most environmentally friendly solutions available to agriculture since its first issue.

J.I. Rodale began putting them to experimental testing as early as the original title Organic Farming and Gardening magazine first set its roots into the American market in 1942 along with what is today Working Tree Center, a place of putting action where before there were only words.

As the most widely read gardening publication in the world, Organic Gardening Magazine provides sources, tools, ideas and the needed information for its readers to successfully grow anything at all without the use of chemicals, effectively becoming stewards of the earth for a more sustainable way of life on earth.

But getting the ships details right is not as important as actually knowing the details and stories that really make a model come to life in the imagination of those who look into the depths of a bottle.

Ships in Bottles is a book that shows step by step with five different projects, how to build the legendary hand-made ship in a bottle, one project more difficult than the other, beginning with the very basic of models to the hardest; making this summer loads of fun.

Since sailing began and the desire to make better ships sprang from the imaginations of seamen whittling away at pieces of drift-wood, gluing old scraps of canvas together with fragments of whatever twine was laying around, the mysterious andlegendary art of building model ships has inevitably inspired stories of great feats and adventures.

Bottles help keep ship models much longer, as they keep young hands away from fragile rigging, preserving the integrity of history and tales of adventure on the high seas farlonger than if the model were not inside a bottle, also making them easily transportable.

This 64-page paperback, written by Guy DeMarco, published by Schiffer in January of 2000, now in its second edition, with 38 black and white photos, 16 color photos, measures 11 x 8.2 x 0.5 and ships at 11.2 ounces.

Five historical ship model projects, kept for that magical scene in a bottle; one ship harder than the last, developing skill and manual dexterity into works of nautical art that will last generations, Ships in Bottles by Guy DeMarco will help your models achieve authentic grace and the embellished style of a professional.

It was once upon a time that Black Beard the pirate ravaged the waters of the Caribbean upon the decks of the Queen Anne’s Revenge, a fast and sleek slave ship commandeered for the purpose of the pirating trade, but quarter was given to those ships that surrendered and a code of honor was set forth.

Where did he hide his treasure? Did his crew spend it all? Did they simply die in the pursuit of even more bloodshed after going into retirement for so many months only to die in a hopeless battle among the inlets of Ocracoke Island NC, flat broke?

Or is there still hidden treasure below the sands of our very shores? Chests of bloodstained and stolen Spanish coin? Pearls and Jewels?

No one knows for sure where these reckless souls may have stored their wealth if even they ever did see such riches, but in truth, the real fascination with searching for buried treasure is in the excitement of searching, not the find itself.

It need not cost us years of archeological research, nor many days perhaps even months of studying navigational charts or maps to go on a treasure hunt, each find has a story, and the story itself is worth every second of anticipation, every moment of that adventure.

This professional metal detector by Bounty Hunter, detects up to two feet deep, the waterproof search coil will submerge seven inches underwater, even saltwater.

It has two audio tones, discriminates between useless metals and precious ones as well as paperclips and coins or even different kinds of precious metals.

When we look for lost pirate treasure in the sands of North Carolina or across the stretches of old gold mining ghost towns in the far west this summer, a metal detector can really set the mood for adventure and story.

This metal detector is easily settable to certain frequencies for terrain that comes with mixed mineral traces, has a headphone jack for private listening, requires two nine volt alkaline batteries, measures 20.5 x 6 x 9 and ships at 1 lb.

Silver Seeker metal detector is the perfect tool for fun in the sun, even if all we find are old chains and anchors, or fools gold, the fun is not just in what could have been found but also the story each and every find has to tell, be it an old piece of rigging or pickaxe, arg!

Teaching children to develop their creative ration sounds like a job for the schools and the board of education, but when we take kids home for the summer, does that mean their education is going to stop?

Of course not, because there is a little McGuiver hiding inside every kid (even little girls), and what better way to bring creative ways of thinking about the world, than with a little ingenuity?

Sneakier Uses for Everyday Things is a book that does just that while enchanting our imaginations AND challenging our speed of thought more than any creative writing or math assignment through fun gadgets and gizmos that will make this summer unforgettable.

This 160-page paperback, written by Cy Tymony, published by Andrews McMeel in October of 2005, measures 6.8 x 4.9 x 0.4 and ships at 8 ounces.

Little boys just love watching McGuiver shows and James Bond movies, and for those young fathers and grandfathers with curious boys that love to mess around with gizmos and gadgets, this bookis filled with activities that could fill a summer vacation with learning and creativity.

Originally developed to keep mountain bikers and motor cross riders well hydrated without taking their hands from the handlebars, CamelBak now offers a wide selection of models for other areas with many specialty series that fit the specific use of each athlete.

The reason why CamelBak offers so many different models and sizes is because scientific studies show that athletes tend to drink more fluids when they are readily available, and continuous consumption during activity will improve both performance and overall hydration for an overall healthier activity.

For men, the most popular model is the MULE with a 3 liter liquid capacity and a 9 liter cargo capacity including an MP3 water-resistant pouch for individual sports and for kids there ios the mini-MULE.

For women, the CHARM is probably the most popular, with the largest variety of colors available, holding 1.5 liters of liquid and a simple water-resistant ziplock pouch for keys and other small valuables.

CamelBak hydration packs differ in the amount of liquid they can carry according to the need of the user, from 28-50oz (0.8-1.5L), 70-72oz (2.07-2.13L) and 100oz (2.95L); as well as the cargo they can carry, (calculated in cubic inches) from 20-200, 400-750, 751-1000, 1200-1400, 1400 and up.

They come in a variety of colors, (which are limited somewhat depending on the chosen model), including mens (green, blue, orange, black and brown), womens (light blue, red and grey) and childrens (pink, blue, brown, green and black) colors.

The original hands-free hydration packs, CamelBak hydration packs are made for a variety of sports enthusiasts, from biking, trekking, running, outdoor, skiing, snowboarding, rafting or any activity where optimum hydration is of key importance to maintain ones performance and secure ones overall health from dehydration during the activity.

This ten-piece cookware set comes in three colors of porcelain enamel in orange, green and blue, Hard Anodized black (with orange handles) and stainless steel (also with orange handles).

The ten pieces that come in this set are the most commonly used pieces of kitchen cookware:

• 3-quart/10-inch covered sauté pan
• 10-inch skillet
• 8-inch skillet
• 6-quart covered stockpot
• 3-quart covered saucepan
• 1-1/2-quart covered saucepan
• 4 glass lids as pan covers.

With silicon handles that are oven safe up to 400 degrees F and nonstick finish, the glass lids allow the cook to maximize observation and heat, recommended to be washed by hand, with a limited lifetime warranty, measuring 23 x 13.5 x 12.6and shipping at 20lbs.

For a complete set of the most important pots and pans, with glass lids in the kitchen, Rachael Ray Cookware Set is the perfect ten-piece, that will hang well, and look good!

Media:
Rachael Ray’s Official Website

As the trend on urban agriculture and gardening grows more and more in the US, other countries follow suit, along with their own independently thought up ideas and projects.

Getting this information out on the web is our responsibility, but more importantly than allowing people to see the info, is motivating them to actually take hold of the reigns and do-it-themselves, experimenting with new ideas, perhaps even making a profession out of what appears to have grown only as a hobby.

How few of our younger generation is interested in gardening, much less urban agriculture or a variety of other more sustainable ideas that take us farther and farther along the road to self-reliance and more environmentally friendly practices that meet the needs of our growing society.

Why not take this kind of a project on with your own children as a home-schooling project? It will give them a more complete vision of how Mother Nature really works with interconnectivity.

Just imagine a company, placing an aquaponic model on the roof of the factory, connected to solar panels with signs that illustrate how important all elements in a system contribute to productivity?

Aquaculture and Hydroponics need to be blended to provide a more sustainable system with less ecological footprints; and BackYardAquaponics shows us how to do it in an easy-to-grasp user-friendly manner that really inspire the passionate to make their dreams come true.

Take Damion Hinksons System for example, that appears on the Forum, this is one more example of how innovators can revolutionize our ways of thinking, by using what means he had available, in a country with freshwater challenges and access to the internet, he built his very own aquaponic system at home.

The more people investigating this area, the more it will flourish, faster and the sooner it will become as common a household word as vegetable garden.

You may not be an expert in hydroponics or maybe you are, or perhaps neither an expert in aquaponics or maybe you are; but no matter what your expertise or level of schooling, if you have the passion to dream about doing your own aquaponic system and the courage to ignore the skeptics, be free, do-it-yourself and show others what is possible with aquaponics!

Aquaponic Do-It-Yourself Videos - Build and test your own concepts as this guy shows you on YouTube.com!

Aquaponic Gardening System - Part #1

Aquaponic Gardening System- Part #2

Being self-reliant and having your own indoor hydroponic garden with fresh fruits and vegetables all year round can really make the difference.

Or perhaps you are just looking to be certain that your yields will be free of harmful bacteria and diseases that can thrive in solids.

A single head of lettuce takes only 30 days to grow hydroponically, so if a single power grower will hold three or four heads of lettuce, then six or seven modules would be enough to have a fresh head of lettuce every day of the month!

A group of seven modules would only occupy four feet across. And the potential surrounding the area of hydroponics as a locally grown, healthier food source, make systems like the Power Grower very attractive to the next generation of self-reliant Americans.

Included are a 5.7-gallon reservoir, 3-gallon growing chamber, pumping column, support tube, drip ring, ½ grommet, drain level tube, elite 800 air pump, 9L clay pebbles and 3-part flora kit, it measures 15 x 15 x 15, ships at 22 pounds and made by General Hydroponics.

Have your very own hydroponic Power Grower systemat home, starting with a single unit that can be expanded with up to seven modules that fit neatly together only four feet by four feet, and provide your family with a plentiful supply of healthier, fresher foods from your very own kitchen garden for a more modern age.

Power Grower is a hexagonal hydroponic drip system providing your home with a more sustainable technology that takes the backbreaking work out of basic human needs, and the fun back in!

A great project for parent and child over the weekend or summer vacation, figuring out what kind of knowledge and work really goes into hydroponics are the key elements in this basic how-to manual that is short and sweet, filled to the brim with only the most relevant information, including tips and solutions to common misunderstanding in the field.

Anyone who has taken care of a mini windowsill greenhouse, will know that neither of these areas propose any considerable challenge for the average person, but learning and discovery are really what these small scale experiments are really about and hydroponics is no different.

This 80-page paperback, written and published by George Van Patten in December of 2004, measures 5.6 x 4.2 x 0.1 and ships at 1.6 ounces.

For students, educators and newcomers that see a more sustainable future in the realm of hydroponic growing, this book covers all the hydroponic basics, from plant science, the environment, gardening, supplies to doing-it-yourself construction.

Making food available locally means fresher food. If everyone made their own produce in the backyard, or in community gardens, there would be a LOT more choices and at far cheaper prices than what we pay for from the country farmer.

The CO2 emissions alone that are created daily in the transportation of one of this nations most valuable resources, fresh foods, is incredible, but by taking our backyards to market for the local neighborhood, we not only are doing a community service, but we are offsetting our CO2 emissions by helping the environment indirectly, eliminating a few eco-miles off the yearly toll on the ozone layer.

Building your own backyard market garden, or a community market garden, is not only going to do something for the environmental air quality around your home and neighborhood, it is going to provide your household and your neighbors with a quality source of fresh foods that fully pays for all the hard work and stimulates community awareness about sustainable practices.

Entrepreneurs that would like to show what stewardship of the Earth can mean in an urban setting, will most certainly find this little manual has the most relevant, need to know information, all in one place.

This 352-page paperback, written by Andrew W. Lee and Pat Foreman, published by Good Earth Publications in August of 1992, measures 8.8 x x 1.1 and ships at 1.2 pounds.

Making a profit from the fruits, flowers, herbs, vegetables and perhaps even small livestock in the backyard, is not only possible, it is done, and Backyard Market Gardening will show the novice everything s/he is looking for to do it right the first time through, for a more self-reliant planet that takes care of the needs of the future, today.

When we think of the future, we think of the availability of clean, organic and most importantly, fresh vegetable foods; hydroponics, offers itself as a solution that makes sense.

Just think, a fresh salad everyday, with fresh tomatoes and fresh lettuce. Just imagine what that would do to your quality of life, not to mention the appeal it will create with visitors as they question and ask about the fascinating realm of hydroponics, that until recently was a mystery to most.

Condensing your grow area into a nutrition-filled solution and using the advantages behind square foot gardening, you can grow anything that you would be able to grow in soil, but faster and without the parasites that thrive in soils, providing a far better yield than if the conventional amount of space were being used for soil beds.

WaterFarm makes use of its self-contained system and will easily hook up to a larger circuit if necessary, making it possible to add-on to your year round garden as much or as little as your familys needs demand.

The One foot by one foot, square design with hydroponic catchment system underneath and grow bed above with gravity drip system WaterFarm is simple, easy and fun to put together, for those looking to get an advantage on the grow season all year round, right in the comfort of ones own home.

This plug and play system is a General Hydroponics product that measures one foot by one foot, ships at 16 pounds and is a complete set including a four gallon reservoir, two gallon growing chamber, pumping column, column support tube, drip ring, half inch grommet, drain level tube, Elite 800 air pump 9L Hydroton and three part Flora Kit.

WaterFarm was designed for the average American home owner, concerned about the environment and the quality of fresh produce, allowing anyone to take the worlds future, into their own hands, right now.

The world we have come to know is suffering from the threat of environmental collapse, and we know this, what will make the difference? Knowledge and the courage to use that knowledge on a more sustainable path for tomorrow.

A tomorrow that has an impact on our lifestyle, and hydroponics can help us teach our children about cause and effect.

A tabletop hydroponic mini-greenhouse like the Hydro Greenhouse 2 is the perfect thing for children eight years old and up and adults will enjoy it as well, especially because it can be placed near the workspace, capable of growing flowers, plants, herbs, vegetables and even fruits, without soil.

Growing without soil may be one of our planets most important future technologies, and it will happen sooner than we might expect, as we open our minds to more alternate lifestyles, lifestyles that are healthier and wiser than the ones we have been living until now.

As computers have taken this most recent generation of children into a virtual reality unlike any other most adults knew as children, hydroponics may be one of the leading supplies of human food sources as those same children grow into adulthood; Uncle Milton believes it is better that they learn about the future while they are still young.

This starter kit in hydroponics is for all ages, comes with a grow bed, nutrient rich solution, greenhouse incubator, auto-feed system that lasts two weeks without need of refill, nutrient reservoir and gardening tools, measuring 19″ x 10″ x 12″ and shipping at 2.5 pounds.

The Hydro Greenhouse 2 tabletop hydroponic mini-greenhouse is the perfect starter kit for all ages, and anyone looking to get a deeper understanding of sustainability; just plant the seeds, add the liquid fertilizing solution, water, watch the plants grow at astounding rates, and harvest, for a better, more sustainable future for the children ofour childrens children, that starts with you, right now.

The idea of the spa or retreat, goes back as far as ancient Greece, when the dream priests of the temple of Asclepius, would welcome visitors to relax and meditate among their gardens of tranquil healing, where even the walls were engraved with the cures of patients past.

Having a doorway into that realm of healing, where things are stress-free is the objective of mini-greenhouse gardens like this one, with three important healing plants; aloe, hyssop and eucalyptus, all three, powerful and aromatic plants that add an aesthetic tone to any room.

Growing exotic plants from around the world in windowsill greenhouses is considered an art to all and a passion by many; allowing varieties to sprout readily, and grow for years.

Chosen for their beauty, healing properties and their ease of growth, aloe, hyssop and eucalyptus can even be used in herbal baths and purification rituals.

Aloe has more than 200 active biological compounds and has been used in folk medicine for thousands of years, eucalyptus, one of the tallest trees in the world, is renowned for its antiseptic properties, while hyssop is one of the oldest medicinal herbs, used in purification baths and rituals, left on the wound to cure infection and promote healing.

Including growing and care instructions, perlite drainage pellets, planting mixture, natural gravel, decorative sensory stones, sprouting and growing terrarium, three color seed packs with hyssop, eucalyptus mix and aloe mix, for ages 4 and up, it measures 9 x 4.5 x 6and ships at 1.2 pounds.

Inducing a restorative environment with a mini greenhouse healing garden for the windowsill will reduce the stress levels in the room and refresh the souls of any who gaze into that meditative realm of natural medicine, even if for only just afew seconds out of each day.

Nothing says I want to go green better than a hydroponic setup in the kitchen windowsill or in the office, because this technology is on the forefront of a more sustainable lifestyle because food is something everyone in the world needs to survive.

Hydroponics are new to a lot of people, and as it is traditionally one of those purely do-it-yourself alternatives that we read about in popular mechanics, few people have actually taken the steps to get one at home.

Emilys Garden makes an excellent gift for those without the time or knowledge to go DIY, but still find themselves interested in hydroponics enough to already get started with no fuss.

When we think about the world of tomorrow, and we are reminded of how so many people of the world have so little, we must look to educational alternatives that may make a difference in the lives of the children yet to come, and by simply owning a small hydroponic system like this one, people will ask, and thus, people will learn.

This hydroponic starter kit manufactured by Hydrofarm, has six grow beds(measuring 6 x 6 x 7each), a two gallon reservoir, nutrient rich solution, seed starter cubes, nutrient pH testing kit, pH neutral clay aggregate, air pump, tubing, formed cover, water level indicator, illustrated instructions, it measures 16 x 24 x 6, sits easily on a bench, shelf, table or patio and ships at 26 pounds.

Emilys Garden is a great hydroponic starter kit for those looking to make a difference for the future, starting now, by making the effort to show how far alternative methods can take us toward a more sustainable reality, with technology that virtually takes care of itself, just add nutrients, water, seeds and harvest regularly.

Media:
Emily’s Garden Instruction Sheet

Daily meditation has been said to do good for relieving stress levels, and while not all of us have the time to stop into a church, a quiet garden or take a two week vacation into the hills during lunch, much less for just five minutes when the work is really piling on, we can create a window into the wonderful world of nature, right at the desktop.

With this USB Powered Mini Greenhouse, you can make sure that the plants are being taken care of properly, straight through the USB cable that does all the interface monitoring from your PC.

The plant you decide upon is your decision, but with mini greenhouses like this one from Generic, it is important that you choose one that is important to you, because its a lot like having a window into yourfavorite place in nature, except that this one comes with PC support, and unlike a pet, wont rip the sofa apart if you leave it alone, just remember to add water/light and it will be happy.

Ever been to the tropical Amazon rainforests of Brazil, and would like to travel their again to see your favorite tropical flowers? What about the deep heart of Africa, where some of the worlds most sensitive plants thrive in abundance? Plants can take us places very special and dear, if for even just five minutes, and that is enough to bring us back in touch with ourselves.

This Mini Greenhouse from Generic, comes with a USB power cable, to be plugged directly into your computer, with interface that monitors growth rate, calendar, wallpaper, bookmark settings anda watering reminder; while the greenhouse has a four-foot cable, adjustable growth light, easy view window for maximum plant protection, removable tray and a starter pack with marigold seeds and artificial soil, the package itself measures 6.7 x 6.7 x 8.9 and ships at only 3 pounds.

The USB Greenhouse from Generic comes with marigold seeds and artificial soil, for a complete start-up kit that just needs to be plugged into the PC and regularly added water, for your own little window into nature, that cuts down stress levels; making things better, with color, life, and that special quiet moment each day to yourself.

Every year, Christmas brings the same Yule tide chores, including the wonderful experience of going through the storage and getting the tree out, lugging it up or down stairs, putting it up, taking it down, and then having to store it somewhere out of the way for next year.

Most people just dont enjoy transporting the Christmas tree around as much once the Christmas carols have been sung or the presents opened, nor do they enjoy packing them up when it comes time to move.

This is why Christmas Tree Bags were invented, and at the beginning of next season, a bag like this one will really make the difference when it comes time to put the tree up and take it down.

Nine feet is about as tall as they come nowadays, anymore than that is just too tall for most ceilings, but six footers are already big trees, and as long as your tree is made from separate parts, great, most of the decorations will fit for smaller trees, which is why this bag measures 56 x 13 x 28, that is about all the space most people need to use to store their artificial trees.

A Christmas Tree Storage Bag can keep imitation pine trees and even decorations all in one place, protect them from moisture, dust or damage during transportation and storage, all year round, for a more fun loving family moment.

Before the dark-ages, more than two thousand years ago, the Roman Empire had already perfected the use of limestone and clay to keep their city-state safe from invaders and they already knew the secrets we use preciously today.

Let the ancient décor of lost Keptchu civilizations, Egyptian, Greek, Persian or perhaps even Mayan or Aztec delight the surroundings of your home in a meditation that takes you into a world of inspiration, through concrete.

Design ideas, instructions to address all sorts of solutions, from fireplaces surrounds, garden art, garden planters, pathways, floors, stepping-stones, counters, sinks, tabletops, columns, pyramids, spheres, cubes or whatever the imagination is capable of creating, this book is filled to the brim with emphasis on extravagance.

Finishing techniques such as, surface designs, paint treatments, polishing, sculpting, carving and texturing with mosaics and insets; you can tell stories in elaborate decoration that rival even the vast empire of Rome itself, all it takes is focus and intent on your inner most desires, and let them loose, in a permanentform.

With sixteen different projects to get you started, fully comprehensive step-by-step how-to photos, these easy to follow directions make each new piece of artwork an adventure in and of itself, taking you just that much closer to your own paradise at home.

This 192-page paperback, written by Jeanne Huber, is now in the second edition as of July 2007, published by Sunset Books, with 385 colorful photos, more than a 100 images and 50 pages more than the first edition, measuring 10.50 x 8.1 x 0.5 and shipping at 1.3 lbs.

Decorative Concrete is a DIY book for those looking to transform their home into a special meditation, filled with vast expanses of human art work in concrete, it is open to anyone willing to study the masters; this is self-reliance, taking concrete artwork onto a whole other level, one that transcends even thousands of years, permanently, in the vast expanses of your own home.

Traditionally speaking, rock gardening has taught the warrior to manipulate his surroundings and use them to his advantage, but stonework goes beyond this, launching into the realm of unlimited dreams and fetching them into stone.

Thousands of years ago, the very first hospitals, known as the Temples of Asclepius, had such awe inspiring stonework done to provide a permanent form for the healing dreams that had cured patient after patient, each work of stone teaching a different lesson on different ailments and cures.

Essentially, that is what one learns from placing a piece of stonework in an outdoor space, be the project as simple as an arrangement of bolder rocks, to the complexities of 13^th century gargoyles chiseled by hand and the size of a crouching animal ready to attack.

Safety, natural features, unique walls, stylish paving, Zen-style gardens, garden table, retaining wall or even flagstone steps; everything has been fully photographed and perfectly well detailed through construction diagrams and cross-section drawings, that permit a concise easy to read and fully comprehend text.

With sixteen different DIY projects that range from simple novice to the more complex, this book offers a wide range of styles to choose from, and with every new project, a new lesson can be learned, about ones self and how to better use the infinite power of human imagination to form hard stone, into a permanent dream that can be appreciated generation after generation.

This 128-page paperback, written by garden expert couple Alan and Gill Bridgwater, published by Storey in January of 2001, measures 10.8 x 8.4 x 0.4 and ships at 1.2 lbs.

For easy to build yard or garden projects that enhance beauty, Outdoor Stonework focuses on sixteen different projects for your outdoor spaces that are certain to make you look like an expert, step-by-step, project after project and inevitably, experience after experience for generations to come.

Teaming with Microbes by Jeff Lowenfels, Wayne Lewis and published by Timber Press offers a friendly and comprehensive tone of voice that really is interesting to read, filled with useful information that not only makes you understand what its like down there, but really inspires the kind of passion a gardener her/himself feels and has been looking for in others.

Lownfels and Lewis advocate for a more organic approach to gardening, but instead of just stating their opinions, they go in depth to details about the very way of life of your garden inhabitants, without adding in.

Always quick and to the point, each word is placed so carefully on the page, as if these two were writing a Short Story, to give meaningful statements that need not repeat nor say how they feel, but show through concrete examples that we as readers can agree with and most of all, understand as fellow forms of life.

Teaming with Microbes is the kind of book you get when you want to actually be transported into the soil below your flowers and vegetables as if you were on some distant sci-fi world of swords and magic, playing out an adventure in gardening.

Measuring 9.1 x 6 x 0.9 and shipping at 1.3 lbs, this 196 page hardcover is published by Timber Press Incorporated and was reprinted in July of 2006; still a classic for anyone looking to delve into an organically perfect universe below their very feet.

Teaming with Microbes was written to appeal to human beings, not just rational scientists, by showing scientific knowledge in a way that any average reader will be inspired to read on into the realm of the soil food web without needing to be a professional botanist or fall asleep.

Teaming with Microbes is the perfect thing for those looking to understand the soil food web in minimal details through exciting and real examples that any reader will relate to.

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Read Excerpt:
Google Books

Also available in green, what makes this can cool, is the reversible nozzle that will extend when in use and screws back against the body of the watering can while instorage, with a pressure sensitive extension nozzle that plugs into the filling hole when not in use, avoiding mosquitoes.

The nozzle also comes with marking measurements that figure in with the amount of water in the main body to give you a more exact measurement, while taking care of your bonsai, herbs or other miniature garden pots as the case for water conservation may be.

Measuring 8 x 3.5 x 3.5 and weighing 6 ounces, this orange watering can by OXO holds one quart (ideal for house/office plants and container gardens, where water conservation is vital) and allows your garden to be just a little bit more self-reliant.

This orange OXO Pour & Store Watering Can provides a continuous soft sprinkle/traditional nozzle and useful non-slip rubber on both handle and nozzle, with higher quality measurements that also allow for a more economical storage, and a more sensible tomorrow; through the conservation of our earths most precious resource, life giving water, one garden at a time.

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Other OXO products:
OXO Salad Spinner

The history of herbs in Italy is a long one, dating back to Ancient times, in cultures and civilizations that lived in city states, each with its own style of cooking (as Italy unified only in 1861) such as Greek, Roman, Goth, Norman, Frank, Gallic, Germanic, Turkish, Chinese, Arab, Slavic and Hebrew, this miniature window garden reflects those cultures with the use of three robust and basic Italian Herbs; Basil, Chives and Oregano.

Measuring 5 x 6 x 6 and shipping at only 1 pound this is an excellent addition to your kitchen window, complete with Terra Cotta Planter, full growing instructions, recipe book, premium seeds from all three species and peat pellets.

This mini Italian Herb Garden Planter for your windowsill, gives you a perspective on the origins of Italian herbs and a feeling for Italian Cuisine that is unlike going to the store to simply purchase what you need.

The beauty in this Italian Herb Garden Planter is feeling it first hand and provides the first time herb grower a hint of what it really means to grow-it-yourself, in a world that is becoming ever more self-reliant, for a tomorrow that remembers its great past, today.

Educational:
Cooking With Herbs In An Italian Kitchen by Deborah Mele

Starting this hobby can be a lot easier with a Bonsai that has already been started; like this Japanese Red Maple that was carefully grown in a controlled environment in China for five years and allowed to grow from 12 to 16 inches tall.

Brussels Bonsai Nursery has been selling bonsais in the mail since the 1970s, and has been traveling professionally to Asia since as early as 1980, with more than 20 years of international experience in the field, Brussels brings you this Japanese Red Maple as an excellent choice for the American Bonsai Master in training.

The large trunk base, balanced root spread, evenly tapered trunk with brilliant summer leaves and paler red fall leaves, this outdoor deciduous bonsai makes a great gift and ships for only 7 pounds.

A Japanese Red Maple Bonsai is a look at the world in miniature, a place where the senses coalesce into a moment of Zen-Buddhism, blending the artificial with natural, into a single blue ceramic pot that is simplistic, yet conceptually ideal in all its aesthetic beauty.

The box may ship with packing peanuts only in the event of unusually shaped bonsai, but on the whole, some defoliating may occur.

So, as soon as you receive your tiny blue-potted maple, be sure to remove it from the box in a shaded location, this will keep it from experiencing climate shock.

Slowly, inspect for damage to the branches or trunk, water if wet and keep in the shade for at least a week or two before allowing it back into full sunlight, as they are very sensitive and will react badly to harsh environment changes.

If this is to be a gift, you may want to send it to yourself first, then take it to its new owner after it has fully adapted to the new climate, this will ensure that it stays healthy and fills with enchanting red leaves next summer.

This Japanese Red Maple is the perfect outdoor bonsai tree for your watergarden, kitchen, patio or relaxation gazebo, fulfilling a philosophical role that will be felt by those who visit you before it is even seen with the human eye.

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Green Eggs and Hammocks has more than 1500 manufacturers designers, innovators and artisans of handmade hammocks in developing and industrialized countries worldwide and Xchair is just one of the finer results.

With a broad based supply, new products are always in development and wholesale prices consistently lower, making Xchair both cutting edge and affordable for you.

Over 27 million people in Northern and Central America sleep in hammocks every night, and Xchair supplies that kind of comfort in a reclining chair style that gives the sensation of floating; supporting your body at all points exactly as it demands.

Both an indoor and outdoor hammock, fitting four feet by four feet of floor space, Xchair measures 48 x 14 x 6 inches and weighs 54 pounds, made from soft cotton, with a powder coated steel frame.

Xchair is a great way to provide sustainable income for more than a thousand artisans around the world that protect this ancient art and create a fashionable yet affordable wholesale hammock that your family and friends will enjoy.

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This rollable 2.5D x 2.5H planter is for easy indoor/outdoor use, perfect for the flower and herb lover, providing the lightweight herbs, flowers or even strawberries that you most enjoy.

If you enjoy cultivating your own teas, cooking or making floral arrangements every now and then, this stackable planter allows you to choose from 20 different pots; your choice of perfection.

Made from heavy duty plastic, this stackable planter is weather proof, UV protected with no fading, and allows you to be creative with your herb, spice, berry and flower rack.

When not in use, this all American stackable planter collapses for easy storage, assembles easily and comes with a one year limited warranty as the voice of trust.

Let a tasty display of herbs, or a cascade of flowers bloom in the entryway to your home, bringing good energies to peoples hearts as they arrive and fill you with the knowledge that your stackable planter is your very own creation, reflecting your tastes with perfection.

Company Info:
Stack and Grow

Ever dreamt of cultivating your very own herbs? As the ancient samurai of feudal Japan once did, this art form is not just a philosophical endeavor among those that dabble in the way of sword, it is open to everyone from spiritualist to scientist; this is a book for putting special flavors into your backyard garden.

Working with herbs is one of the founding blocks of ancient medicine and as this becomes a growing area among medical doctors of today, the demand for gardeners that know how to cultivate eventhe simplest of herbs also grows, this book is for every family with children or homeowner that thinks ahead.

Your Backyard Herb Garden is a safe way to approach herb gardening for the first time, with a full spectrum of ideas that range from cooking, crafts, insect repellants, health care, cosmetics and more; including a fully illustrated herb directory that gives practical advice and tips for success on your first attempt.

This 160 page paperback by Rodale Books was first released in January of 99, measures 9.7 x 7.5 x 1.1 and ships at 1.1 lbs.

Fifty of the most popular herbs and information on uses, harvesting, care, growing, pest control, watering, fertilizing and soil building; allowing you to cultivate teas, vinegars, potpourris and crafts of all kinds.

Enjoy Your Backyard Herb Garden with Miranda Smith, a charming writer and skilled gardener that teaches how to build your own self-reliant herb garden, right at home.

Buzzy makes some of the best seed starter kits around and has over one hundred years of collective experience, making sure that you get only the best quality seeds available.

This hanging strawberry basket is a starter kit for the do-it-yourselfer looking for a product that was made locally (Kulpmont, PA) right here in the great USA.

Measuring 10.25 x 5.25 x 10.25 and weighing almost two pounds, this kit comes with ten inch wire chains, potting soil, strawberry seeds, natural moss liner and growing instructions; all you need to do is plant, water and eventually harvest sweet strawberries you grew on your own without hardly any work.

This is definitely one of the more popular items from Buzzy because it is a verticalized mini-garden that provides in abundance and was designed for stylish performance in small spaces, great for those who dont enjoy kneeling or over bending.

If you enjoy, just water your plants after they have been planted and maybe even sing or talk with them, this starter kit is perfect coming with one packet of Strawberry Temptation, which will produce strawberries even in the first season, no matter if you give the plant attention or not (only water and sunlight are necessary).

Blending the latest trends with solid trial tested performance, this hanging strawberry basket from Buzzy is a symbol of what sustainability and self-reliance can really mean to a proud nation such as ours, in a moment when understanding of nature is at its most needed.

Motivate your fiends and family to see (and taste) the truth of a more sustainable tomorrow, with your own elegant hanging strawberry basket, Made in America.

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Everyone enjoys such concepts as verticalized gardens, suspended gardens and more sustainable practices such as home gardening, but how often do you see them in an aesthetic fashion that will provoke comments from your visitors?

The ten-inch wire basket weighs as little as two pounds and comes with a chain, natural moss liner, potting soil and seed packets.

This is a self-contained mini-garden, no weeding, no kneeling, no mulching, nothing that would effect a ground based tomato plant, like your pet rabbit, because it is suspended in the air, making watering a snap.

A hanging tomato basket is beautiful, useful, easy to water, grows on its own and will produce lovely tomatoes that will flourish season after season.

Have your own mini-garden just outside the kitchen with a hanging tomato basket that allows you to grow and pick your very own tomatoes without all the weeding and kneeling of garden work; making life just that much more sustainable, for a better and greener tomorrow.

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These Hanging Plant Bags from Patrician are an interesting solution to space for your lightweight plants and they also keep slugs or other ground critters away, allowing a better use of the vertical space in your backyard, greenhouse or garden has necessary.

Perennials, Portulaca, Strawberries, Ivy, Pansies, Impatiens or Herbs of any small size are perfect for hanging in plant bags because they are lightweight and will take firm hold of the soil you choose without complaining over invaders or weeds with the plastic serving as mulch and insulation.

These Growin Bags will hold up to gravity, season after season, and can be hung on virtually anything from a nail to a mounted hook in the ceiling beam, but were made for convenience, so you can put them exactly where you want them with exactly what you want to display.

In the kitchen window, on your patio at chest height or just hung in the greenhouse with all the other plants in an array of hanging gardens that defy logic in a cascade of floating magic, hanging plant bags such as these are limited only by your imagination.

Let the art of gardening more intelligently into your life with these hanging plant grow bags that are made from a durable plastic measuring 0.1 x 8.5 x 24 and weigh only 3.2 oz each.

Hanging Plant Bags take care of your most precious bulbs so well they could be prize winning by the time they finally mature. They make the most of vertical spaces in the simplest way, perfect for growing your very own lightweight flowers and herbs more efficiently.

Hanging Plant Bags combine the ancient technology of Babylon with the powerful wisdom todays engineers to provide you with a more self-reliant and sustainable gardening item that allows light weight plants to be abundant in your life, in even the smallest spaces.

A combination of Felknor Ventures Patio Grow Pole with the Topsy Turvy, the Topsy Turvy Tomato Tree allows you to raise a combination of three plants; tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, herbs, flowers or other vegetables.

In balconies, patios, decks, small yards, apartments or even mobile homes as you find necessary, without needing elaborate dirt planters or big backyards. The secret to Topsy Turvy Tomato Tree is a verticalized gardening solution for the urban and cramped space dweller.

Topsy Turvy Tomato Tree blends sustainable architecture with sustainable gardening to produce an incredible solution at a moment when the American people are most in search of self-reliance and the adaptability to overcome.

Four feet by four feet is just about as small a space as you are going to find anywhere, if not the absolute smallest for raising as many as 100 tomatoes that can be trimmed, fed, harvested and watered without any stooping, weeding or mulching.

Topsy Turvy Tomato Tree is a self-contained solution for a more sustainable tomorrow, and once again, Felknor Ventures brings the American community a revolutionary product that meets our societys home gardening needs; weighing only 15 pounds empty and easily assembled and planted upon delivery (seeds not included).

Topsy Turvy Tomato Tree is a practical solution to small space indoor/outdoor gardening for even those with mobility challenges; unlocking the gardener at the depths of our soul with a productive flour, herb or vegetable garden that breaths the very life of Mother Nature herself, back into those overbearing human-made structures with a passion that is in all of us.

Topsy Turvy Tomato Tree branches-out three upside-down-plants from the same self-contained planter at standing height, allowing you one of the largest gardens available in one of the smallest spaces available, only four feet by four feet on the ground and six feet high.

Written by Charlotte Green, Gardening Without Water is a 64-page paperback published by Search Press in August of 99 that measures 11.4 x 8.5 x 0.2 and ships at 11 ounces.

Charlotte Green is an expert in using and reusing rainwater to better our lives and the lifespan of our gardens, no matter how arid, dry or desert-like our home seems to be.

Her own 40-acre woodland contains more than 250 species of wild plants, but her knowledge goes beyond, traveling the world, studying exotic flora and fauna to get a better idea for what will grow where, what will survive and what will not.

Drought-resistant plants, dozens of herbs, vegetables and flowers, roofwater harvesting, gray-water from the drains and learning to increase the water supply for your garden even during the driest monthsof the years through technology, knowledge and a little creative thinking.

Selecting plants with a lower water requirement, planted in such a manner that fruits and vegetables alike will mature on frugal amounts of water, using mulch to reduce water lossand knowing how to keep a garden looking good are just some of the tips you will find in Gardening Without Water.

How to grow, design and maintain a garden are things you will find anywhere; Gardening Without Water is different in that it teaches how to collect, store and use water sparingly to achieve more sustainable methods of gardening while still maintaining our main objective; inspire beautiful art, through nature.