GMG's Friday Find: Lucky Bamboo for St. Patty's Day!

Costa Farms

What's a cool, lucky plant to give on St. Patty's Day besides the shamrock?...the Lucky Bamboo! 

Interestingly, Lucky Bamboo is actually not a bamboo at all, but rather a Dracaena! It comes in a variety of shapes and sizes and is the primary plant recommended for improving Feng Shui and for creating spaces where you feel safe and more energized to meet the demands of today's high-pressured world. They are very eye-catching and come with an ancient Chinese tradition-- the number of stalks represent distinct meanings and bring specific fortune. 

Costa Farms

• Two Stalks – This commonly represents love, good luck or both.

• Three Stalks – This is meant to bring happiness, wealth, and a long life.

• Five Stalks – This helps with five areas in life; Spiritual, Mental, Emotional, Physical, Intuitive.

• Six Stalks – This is a good gift for prosperity and good luck financially.

• Seven Stalks – This is commonly given to help with good health physically and mentally.

• Eight Stalks – This lucky bamboo plant is meant to give a gift of fertility.
• Nine Stalks – This is a general good luck – and a very beautiful plant!
• Ten Stalks – This is given to symbolize peace and contentment for a person.
• Twenty One Stalks – This is the ultimate expression of good luck and fortune that you can give someone. In addition, it is quite beautiful while still being an easy to maintain houseplant.

So, definitely heed these meanings and give your recipient the gift most appropriate.You can find these Lucky Bamboo at home improvement retailers nationwide. For more information and care instructions, head to Costa Farms.com.

Happy St. Patrick's Day! 
~Peggy
Garden Media Group

A Green Project Round-Up ~ From Palm Trees to Tricycles

While browsing the web for ideas and stories weekly, I often come across innovative and oft times odd designs for new projects and concepts. It's always interesting to see what people come up with, what ideas form in their brain and what they make of it. Here's a round-up of a few things I've come across in the past week.

Aktina
The AKTINA project designed by Greek architects, CityIndex, encourages the distribution of small-scale stand-alone power stations in the urban field. Aktina nurtures the idea of alternative mobility and the vision of productive furniture. These solar-powered hot spots provide a self sustained renewable energy point to recharge electric bicycles and mobile devices as well as serving free Wi-Fi.

We need to get some of these in my area, because who doesn't love free Wi-Fi?
Source: CityIndex and DesignBoom

The Palm Tree House
Developed as a house that awaits a palm tree in the patio 'to take over' with growth, this home leads a life of it's own. The home is pretty minimal and contains only the basics like a kitchen and bathroom as well as some other open spaces so that the palm tree will eventually be able to grow to full size within the home.

Source: Trend Hunter and DesignBoom

A Tricycle... House?
Bizarre as this might sound, a temporary house might be the answer for those who can’t afford their own land... well... in China. (We probably have laws for this sort of thing in the US.) PAO (Peoples Architecture Office) and PIDO (People's Industrial Design Office) have developed an accordion like single family unit that can be compressed to be smaller than the size of the average vehicle. It attaches to the back of a tricycle and includes a tricycle garden that provides a small "yard" when parked adjacent and allows you to plant vegetables, fruits, etc... in order to grow your own food.

Source: Tuvie and Urban Gardens

I happen to find these ideas quite different and refreshing from the usual fanfare I see. What's your opinion? would you live in a tricycle home? or allow a palm tree to grow inside your house? let us know!

~ James
Garden Media Group

Garden Media Group has a Fresh, New Logo and Website

Introducing the new Garden Media Group!! 

Tonight we will roll out a new visual identity, including a new logo and enhanced website, at a private party held at the 64th GWA Annual Symposium in Tucson, AZ.

The new identity is part of an overall realignment of Garden Media’s brand strategy to make gardening fresh and inviting for a broader audience.

“Our new brand and website truly represent the caliber and quality of Garden Media, our services and our clients,” explains Susan McCoy, founder of Garden Media. “Our new identity reflects both sides of Garden Media’s brand persona, professional and fun, and is easily recognizable and contemporary,” explains McCoy.

The improved website is full of crisp imagery and user-friendly features that encourages people to click and browse the content, including the latest garden trends and industry news.

“The new design makes navigating through the website a breeze. In minutes you can see our clients’ media placements and learn what a good public relations campaign can do for you,” explains McCoy.

With the rise of information sharing, McCoy says today’s savvy consumers are looking for authenticity, value and interactive experiences when navigating the web.

“Our new look makes it easy to peek behind the PR curtain and understand how we help companies clearly and effectively communicate brand messages that result in media buzz and sharable customer experiences, ” McCoy explains.

The website includes Garden Media’s annual Garden Trends Report that gives a snapshot look into global mega trends and garden trends backed by industry specific research and worldwide retail information.

“Retailers and consumers look forward to reading our Garden Trends Report that shares influencers shaping buying and lifestyle habits in the years ahead,” says McCoy.

The new brand logo was created by graphic designer John Crocker of Portland, OR.  The enhanced website and blog were designed by James Hammond of Garden Media.

“We couldn’t be more pleased with the results,” says McCoy.

To learn more about upcoming garden trends, please download the 2013 report.

Top 10 Gifts for Gardeners under $25

Stumped on what to get your favorite gardener for the holidays? 

We've got ideas that are ALL under $25! Check them out here.

Study Says Plants Improve Air Quality

Research from the National Foliage Foundation says plants do clean the air that we breathe!

Plants: Special Agent "Air Cleaners" Reporting for Duty

The Green Industry holds in their hands the keys to reducing carbon footprints and ultimately cleaning the air we breathe. Good health is now as important to some consumers as having the biggest, newest or shiniest status symbols, and "healthy lifestyles" is now one of today's top consumer trends.

Project Carbon, a recent research project at the University of Georgia, proves that plants do remove carbon from the air we breathe. This study is the first of its kind to provide quantitative data of carbon removal by plants in an interiorscape setting. Plants in homes and offices are not only aesthetically pleasing, they can improve the quality of air we breathe!

Project Carbon, funded by the National Foliage Foundation (NFF) and supported by Green Plants for Green Buildings and the Florida Nursery, Growers and Landscape Association, allowed researchers, Dr. Bodie Pennisi and Dr. Marc van Iersel, to identify the amounts of carbon removed from the air by plants, both under simulated conditions and in actual interiorscape environments. A little over a year later, research proves there is an advantage to having plants in homes and offices.

Research Highlights:

• In addition to absorbing carbon, plants improve indoor air quality by removing pollutants.

• While all plants take carbon out of the air, larger, woody plants absorb and keep in their bodies more carbon than small herbaceous plants over time.

• Plants must be in healthy condition to continue removing carbon from the air we breathe.

For more detailed information on this study, visit http://www.fngla.org/news/NFF/060911.htm.

-Stacey, GMG

O2 For You Hits the Big Time!

Woo Hoo! Good Morning America!! We are so thrilled that our very own Mark Highland, the Organic Mechanic, was on GMA this morning to chat about the amazing role indoor plants play to help filter toxins and CO2 - and give back fresh air!

The segment showcased plants that help filter nasty volatile organic compounds (VOC's) emitted from tobacco, carpets, paints, printers, and common household cleaning products.

From the all-around clean-machine, the Peace lily (that cleans a broad range of toxins) to ferns and more, indoor plants are a natural solution to indoor pollution!

So cheers and hats off to Costa Farms - for their terrific 'O2 For You' public service campaign, the hard-working girls at GMG, and to Mark Highland, for a super segment that brings the message clearly home! :)

Check out the segment here on GMA!

~Lynne

No Soil, No Problem

While plastic pop bottles continue to pile up in our landfills, scientists and growers are working together to make this growing problem a growing solution.

Plastic pop bottles, for many of us, are another way of referring to polyethylene terephthalate (PET).

This thermoplastic polymer is most commonly used to create the containers we use for foods and beverages. It’s also one of the most commonly recycled materials in the world.But did you know that PET is now making a push into the arena of growing media? You read correctly, growing media.

So the next time you polish off a bottle of your favorite soda over lunch, make sure to toss it into the correct recycling bin. After all, it may revisit you down the road during your next production run. Check out the recent article in Greenhouse Grower.

Grace Design takes top landscape design award!

Congratulations to Margie Grace of Grace Design Associates, Inc., a Santa Barbara-based landscape design and build company, for being honored the top award – the “International Designer of the Year” by the Association of Professional Landscape Designers (APLD), the leading trade group for landscape design professionals worldwide.

Grace Design’s winning project was for a Santa Barbara residential design -- an “eco-friendly” home and garden. They also won top honors for that same residence, the “Gold Award for Residential Design.”

Margie's work has been featured in Traditional Home, Better Homes & Gardens, California Homes, Sunset, and California Home +Design magazines.

The Lazy Environmentalist

Just found this great post on HeliumBalloon:

The Lazy Environmentalist I know you want to go green. You try so hard to remember to recycle, turn off the lights and not leave the water running when you're brushing your teeth... but it's hard. I know.Enter Josh Dorfman. Josh is the author of two books dedicated to being a lazy environmentalist. On a Budget: Save Money. Save Time. Save The Planet and A Guide to Easy, Stylish, Green Living.Check out his website to learn easy, stylish and super convenient ways to green your lifestyle. No guilt-trips. Josh presents cutting-edge "green" products and services and emerging trends. He posted about a solar powered gear for camping last week and you KNOW I'm all over that!Discover more about green living at Josh’s website. Kt

GMG Goes 'Green' at The Philadelphia Flower Show

GMG was seeing 'green' and lots of it at the 2007 Philadelphia Flower Show where the theme this year was 'Legends of Ireland.' The Philadelphia Flower Show is the oldest flower show in the United States and the largest indoor flower show in the world, attracting more than 250,000 visitors annually from across the country and the world.

Visitors found inspiration for their own gardens in the 10 acres of breathtaking gardens, floral exhibits and entertainment celebrating the emerald isle. Each exhibit brought yet another piece of Ireland's beautiful lush countryside to our own backyard while also providing great gardening tips and ideas for the gardener in us all.

All show proceeds support The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, including its acclaimed urban greening program, Philadelphia Green.

Photo Provided by The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society.