May 2010: Shopping List for Gardeners

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Issue: May, 2010, Page 116

CHECK MATE
Have a little fun at your next cookout, or jazz up your patio with the Courtly Check Grill from MacKenzie-Childs. The hand-painted enameled steel grill with bronzed stainless steel trim features a black-and-white checked pattern—a classic Mackenzie-Childs touch. Find it at Cornelia Park, (602) 955-3195.

PERFECT PAIRING
These handmade organic Bamboo Grow Pots from Potting Shed Creations unite contemporary design with stewardship of Earth’s resources. Their lacquered lids double as drainage saucers for the durable pots, which sit perfectly in the Grow Pot Rack (sold separately). Find them at Changing Hands Bookstore, (480) 730-0205, or pottingshedcreations.com.

SPIN CITY
Staked in your yard on a windy day, this Pinwheel Spinner from Ancient Graffiti could make you dizzy with joy. Designed with two 23" rusted-steel pinwheels, it features ball bearings that help the wheels go fast. The whimsical garden stake stands 69" high. Find this and other spinners at Southwest Gardener, (602) 279-9510; swgardener.com.

MAKING MUSIC
In celebration of the Native American music that has filled Phoenix’s Desert Botanical Garden (DBG) over the years, the garden and Canyon Records have collaborated on a CD, Music in the Garden, Vol. 1. Featured artists include Robert Tree Cody, R. Carlos Nakai and Anthony Wakeman. Proceeds from the CD benefit DBG and can be purchased at the garden, or online at dbg.org.

NATURAL WONDERS
Ever wonder what the difference is between seeds, spores and pollen, or how plants have adapted to make themselves appealing to their particular pollinators? You’ll find the answers in The Bizarre and Incredible World of Plants (Firefly Books) by Wolfgang Stuppy, Rob Kesseler and Madeline Harley.

The colorful book provides insight into the lives of plants, as well as the insects and animals that play a part in their pollination. Examples include bees, fruit bats and even slugs. The illustrations of magnified seeds and pollen combined with otherworldly-seeming photographs of plants make this book a visual treat.
--Laura Gold