Xmas 2006 Gifts II (GardenDesignOnline)

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Solar-powered Garden Gifts

Somebody buy these and let me know how they work:

Is this not cool? A solar-powered planter from the Herrington Catalog. And they come in a whole rainbow of colors: lemon, green, blue, white, and (natch) terracotta. At 20" high and a 21" diameter, they'd hold a good-sized plant. There's a separate solar panel mounted on a ground stake, with a re-chargeable battery pack. It stores power during the day, then comes on automatically at night. The planters themselves are made of resin, and Herrington suggests they can also be used as coolers during patio & pool parties: No more trouble figuring out where the drinks are located. $169.95 each.

And if people have trouble finding your front door, well, just remove a couple of those pavers and install a solar-powered brick or two. These sun bricks, also from Herrington, are completely self-contained and come on by themselves when the sun goes down. Installed flush to the ground, they provide up to eight hours of light each night. Hard to say from the picture exactly how much light they generate, but it seems that a few strategically placed here and there would easily guide any visitor up the front walk to the entry.

(images: Herrington Catalog)

Finally, Herrington offers a solar-powered fountain in either blue or terracotta glazed ceramic. The catalog does not mention the size of these fountains, but they look to be a couple of feet high. These are also powered by a separate solar panel that re-circulates the water from bottom to top.

Fountain is 99.95 and comes with an AC adaptor so that the fountain can be brought indoors for the winter.

And for those in the market for something a little more arty, how about a solar swirl?
These orbs, from Allsop Garden and others, collect sunlight during the day and glow away for six to eight hours at night. The red globe is pictured, but they also come in blue. They can simply be left on the ground or mounted atop a 36" stake. Definitely a new twist on the old gazing ball.
Around $40.