Urban Gardens» Garden Art | Urban Gardens | Unlimited Thinking For Limited Spaces

Gardens by the Water Closet

Robin Plaskoff Horton — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 15:00:30 +0000

Dubbed “un homme/une femme” (a man/a woman), these water-tight porcelain guy and gal wall vases could mark the entrance to your toilet–er–toilette, while adding a bit of botanical interest to your decor–er–décor.

And once you’re inside the commode, why not carry the…

Garden Sculpture Makes Environmental Statement

Robin Plaskoff Horton — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 15:00:14 +0000

Off the coast of Rhode Island, on a hill overlooking Block Island harbor, Brown University student Emily Alvarez has created an anti-butt campaign. Not a commentary on nudity, but rather one about preserving an island’s natural surroundings: Cigarette Butts Are Litter.

Alvarez gathered…

Good Old Stuff Repurposed Into Garden Art

Robin Plaskoff Horton — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 15:06:44 +0000

Say you just happen to have a couple of extra old Magnavox and other old record player “horns” lying around. Why not transform them into planters like these? That’s what the folks at Fine Garden Art have done with them and…

Tiny Urban Gardens

Robin Plaskoff Horton — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 19:32:09 +0000

Good green things come in extremely small packages. Marque Cornblatt on Gomi Style, a do-it-yourself blog, posted some wonderful wee gardens planted in recycled Altoid and other tiny candy tins: ”These tiny succulent cuttings and small herbs seem to be thriving in…

A New Urban Garden Gnomenclature

Robin Plaskoff Horton — Sun, 23 May 2010 15:08:02 +0000

Vitamin’s Urban Creature Gnomes, standing just under 8.5 inches, don’t wear the pointy hats of their ancestor figurines, those who hailed from 19th century Germany, where they became known as Gartenzwerg or ”garden dwarf,” then in the 1930s became known as garden “gnomes” in English.

Typically said…

Artistic Nesting for Urban Garden Birds

Robin Plaskoff Horton — Sun, 09 May 2010 15:35:12 +0000

Cubist Bird House

If I were small enough, I’d move into one of these really cool houses St.Louis artist Joe Papendick builds for birds and other living things. All crafted by hand from a variety of metals, the artist works from the base…

Drainspotting: Just Don’t be a Manhole

Robin Plaskoff Horton — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 21:30:33 +0000

Palo Alto, California manhole cover

When I come across a beautiful sewer drain cover, I feel a little flicker of joy seeing an object covering a not-so-pleasant space bringing a bit of beauty to the environment.

Matsimoto, Japan

In Japan there is a…

Inspirations from Paris

Robin Plaskoff Horton — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 14:12:45 +0000

I spent the day yesterday infusing myself with a strong dose of design inspiration at the Paris design fair, Maison & Objet. One of the themes permeating the fair is the blend of nature and technology and I was thrilled to…

Seeing the Forest Reflected Through the Trees

Robin Plaskoff Horton — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 19:42:32 +0000

Coloured Reflections, Hal Ingberg

As some animals in the have evolved to blend in with their environments, some designers have experimented with creating environments that do the same. They have done so by utilizing techniques and materials to reflect the natural images onto…

When Form Follows Fiction

Robin Plaskoff Horton — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 17:48:15 +0000

Ever want to sit down with, I mean, on a good book? Bill Woodrow’s Sitting on History I allows for just that. His idea was to create a sculpture that was only completed conceptually and formally once a person sat on it. Sitting…