Ever get a pang of the green eyed monster when you then of the services and variety that is on offer in the States?  Normally not buy into the convenient, disposable lifetyle that seems to dominate US life, but I have to admit that sometimes get it very right.

A perfect example of that is the genius, innovative  company namely, thredUP.  threUp is a new online kids clothing exchange which allows America’s busiest and greenest families to conveniently exchange kids clothing online. (more…)

If you find youreself in the Kildare region this month, a visit to Castlefarm is a must.  Castlefarm is nationally renowned as one of the top food destinations in the country.  As well as being awarded Bridgestone plaques for the past four years Castlefarm is a Teagasc organic demonstration farm.  Castlefarm sells its own farmhouse cheese, organic beef and pork, organic vegetables, organic eggs and seasonal chutneys and jams as well as other locally produced and Irish food.  Castlefarm not only produces good food but it also educates people about good food offering group tours of the farm as well as cookery demonstrations and producer talks. (more…)

We all love Easter eggs…. sadly one of the most over-packaged products on the market.  A huge cardboard box……. plastic moulding to hold the egg in place, a shiny foil wrapping – all to hold one little hollow egg, weighing maybe 110g!

Let’s keep the bunnies smiling and buy some seriously delicious chocolate eggs with the least packaging – choose ones that are only wrapped in foil, or give an Easter gift instead. How about traditional hand-painted Easter eggs and papier mache eggs using the plastic packaging from an egg as a mould?  This could then be decorated and filled with sweets or gifts. (more…)

In an earlier post  I was mentioned  that traditionally springtime has budding gardeners across Ireland itching to get back into their flowerbeds and rockeries after a long winter break.  Doctors have warned that many gardeners overdo it and end up needing treatment for a host of injuries including gardeners’ back, weeder’s wrist and pruner’s neck, (yes, there is such a thing). It’s not just gardeners that need to relax and take it easy…we all do. 

I got hold of an acupressure Mat a few weeks ago to see if it helped my back…It did.  This might be becuase it’s based on the ‘Bed of Nails’ principle or might be the fact that I now take time out to relax and do nothing for nearly an hour a day.  Whatever the reasons I find myself in a better frame of mind…….and it’s an all natural alternative therapy. I like it much so that I have decided to sell them myself.

To get the new website  going I am offering a FREE mat to the lucky winner of the Free Prize Draw on the homepage of the  shakti.ie   website.  Please feel free to enter and good luck………..The closing date is the end of March 10

Cheers

Ian

OOOOH. IT’S JUST WHAT I’VE ALWAYS WANTED

Most of my family probably don’t agree, but I actually enjoy getting presents. Over the years I have somehow managed to give everyone the impression that I am not bothered about receiving gifts. This is more than likely due to the fact that if anyone asks me what I would like for Christmas, I usually shrug my shoulders and say “I’m not bothered.” Which really means, “Use all of your imagination to bring me something that will entertain me for longer that ten seconds, improve my quality of life and of course make the world a better place.”

WHAT DO YOU FANCY?
It started when I was a young lad, my mother used to ask me if there was anything particular I wanted, but as you all remember, there wasn’t really anything to buy in the 60’s and 70’s. After the bike, all three changes of clothes for your Action Man, a train set and a Scalextric there wasn’t much left apart from the ubiquitous hand knitted jumpers and jigsaws. I did get a top of the range Scalextric set one year which was fantastic, it was called “You Steer” which gave you the illusion of being in control and helping the cars around the track by turning a large steering wheel stuck to the controller. This turned out to be a very limited option though as the cars were still embedded into the track to ensure the metal strips made an electrical contact. This was my first real disappointment at Christmas. The box had lied to me.

TOLERANCE
Toys teach you all sorts of things. I once overheard one of Julie’s self help cd’s that said the primary function of toys is to teach children tolerance levels in life. I am sure if we could read children’s minds they would be full of questions such as, “How hard can I hit this?” “What will happen if I push this in here?” And “Will this cause a reaction if I throw it at dad?.” So don’t be too upset if your youngsters break most of their toys before the New Year, they will be all the wiser for it.

I have a great photo of me last year hugging a pair of socks with all of my might. I had a massive smile on my face and looked so pleased to be getting a pair of socks with no holes in (the days of darning socks have well and truly gone in our house). This photo was shown around the family and everyone was convinced that I have a look of over enthusiasm with a hint of sarcasm at receiving the gift.

I’ll tell you now. It was genuine. As was the smile on my face when I received the jar of pickled onions, (even the fact that my mother in law put the jar inside of an iPod box didn’t dampen my joy), curry paste, a giant saltcellar and a pack of sun-dried tomatoes. These are great gifts and fulfil all of my criteria for a good gift (apart from making the world a better place maybe).

GARDENING BOOKS
Gardening books are something that I don’t really get as presents anymore, perhaps they think I am a bit of a know it all when it comes to gardening or perhaps they know I use the internet to answer my gardening questions rather than books these days. In the past though I relied on printed material for my horticultural education. In the past a good present one year was an annual subscription to Gardeners World and the Irish Garden magazine. These were great for keeping up to date with what’s going on all year in the garden and all the latest gadgets and trends.

Other books I was reared on were the Hessayon “Expert” books. My first copies were off my father who bought them in the early 1960’s and still had his scribbled notes on the pages from when he was planting his crops and dealing with vine weevil. The Rose Expert, The Lawn Expert and Pests and Diseases were three that I remember and these are still in print although they are a lot thicker than the originals. Maybe there’s more to learn or more pest and disease than in the olden days. I doubt it; maybe they just have bigger pictures.

IMAGES
I like pictures in books, I tend to go for the coffee table types, the RHS A-Z book helped me immensely when I was selling plants as I could just turn to the page and show the customer how big a plant would get and where would be the best place to plant it. It was so well used that the covers fell off and it was all dog eared. You would be surprised to see just how big most shrubs can grow. It made customers realise that you don’t need as many plants as you would think in the garden. In hindsight, that’s probably not the best idea when you are selling something, oh well.

There were two other books that I got a lot out of. Garden Design by John Brookes helped me no end when I was studying. Another favourite that I inherited was The Lazy Gardener, which was printed in the 1940’s. This small paper backed book followed the exploits of an extremely practical pipe smoker, dressed in a very smart suit who spent most of his time relaxing in a hammock with a gin and tonic in hand telling us what to avoid doing in the garden….I have always been a great advocate of do less, accomplish more whilst working outside and thinking back ‘The Lazy Gardener’ was definitely a strong influence in my formative years.

Happy New Year. May your garden grow productively and beautifully in 2010.

Struggling to think of a present for someone who has everything? Here are some lovely ideas that are also green and sustainable.

First up, tickets (or a gift voucher) for a theatre, concert or an arts venue. After all, who doesn’t enjoy an evening out?

Alternatively, a year’s membership of a favourite organisation.

One lovely option for people in Dublin, is to become a friend of the National Gallery of Ireland.  It costs €65 (individual) /€80 (family), and includes a year long programme of talks and other events.

How about a plant from your garden?

Or the offer of an evening’s babysitting or to cook them dinner . . .

We all love getting and giving presents. But sometimes, it can be hard to find the perfect present.

I find that the simple, and green and sustainable solution, is to give people something ‘insubstantial’.

As an added bonus, these presents don’t need any packaging, and won’t add to the world’s growing clutter mountain. (And let’s face it, most of us  probably have enough stuff already, anyway.)

Give a gift voucher for a local arts venue, and you are supporting jobs and the local community, while encouraging people to support the arts too.

The list of insubstantial possibilities is as long as your imagination.

And if you like these ideas, you’ll find plenty more useful suggestions in Drive like a Woman, Shop like a Man — Greener is Cheaper.  This practical guide to sustainable living is packed with over 100 tips that will save you time, money and resources.  Just €8.99, in all good bookshops.  And some of the tips will save you literally hundreds of euros!

(c) Mary Mulvihill, 2009

It may not sound like “tree-hugging,” but cutting down a real tree for Christmas is actually greener than going with the artificial kind.

Because of concerns over deforestation around the world, many people naturally worry that buying a real tree might contribute to that problem, Springer says. But most Christmas trees for sale these days are grown not in the forest but on tree farms, for the express purpose of being cut.

Live trees actively photosynthesize as they grow from saplings, which removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The tree farms that grew the trees also replant after the trees are cut.

Artificial trees, on the other hand, don’t come out even in the carbon balance. Petroleum is used to make the plastics in the trees and lots of carbon dioxide-creating energy is required to make and transport them.

So get chopping guys and enjoy your beautiful real christmas tree without any guilt!

via:  www.enn.com

I am delighted to see that the magic of a good Christmas market is casting its spell over more and more Irish towns each year. Traditional Christmas Markets, held in cities, towns and villages throughout the country, are becoming increasingly popular. Not only do they evoke an enchanting festive atmosphere but in the ever present economic doldrums, they present the perfect and powerful answer to supporting your local economy!

For my book, I can simply not think of a better way of getting hold of that unusual or rare Christmas pressie that doesn′t smack of commercialism.  These markets are full of craft work, artisan foods and gift ideas that are not mass-produced but guaranteed real quality. Add to that a good splash of mulled wine and your favourite Christmas carols and I think you′re in for a real treat!!  Below I have listed the Chrismas markets I myself know about, and also those that our readers have kindly flagged to me!!  No doubt I have missed lots, so if you know of one that isn′t listed here, please drop me a quick email and I will be happy to add it! (more…)

You don’t need an orchard to grow your own delicious apples.
 
Irish grown Coronet Family grows two different apples on the one tree!  Self pollinating which means it will set its own crop of apples without a partner. 
 
A novel gift suitable for the smallest of gardens, patio or balcony.  The variety combination is James Grieve and Elstar, It crops in its first year, remains miniature permanently and is easy to grow
Supplied at a height of 3 ft and growing to its full size of 5ft after 10 years. 
 
Baby & wedding gifts that grow….. a pretty little apple tree to grow and fruit for many years, you can make it a little extra special with a personalised engraved copper tree tag to remember the occasion. Our trees are 100% Irish grown, beautifully gift wrapped and come with full planting instructions and hand written gift card
 
Available on line from www.livingifts.ie

This lovely plarn bag featured recently on the Guardian

Plarn,  or plastic yarn.

One day you’ve never heard of it, next day it’s everywhere.

Lately, I’ve become interested in crafty ways of transforming rubbish, and especially plastic rubbish, into useful things and even attractive presents.

One of the simplest tricks I’ve discovered is making plarn from  lengths of plastic carrier bags.

It is amazingly quick and easy to do, and would be perfect for kids and school projects.   I’ve posted a little ‘how to’ note here with a link to an excellent 2-minute YouTube video tutorial.

Once you’ve made your plarn (a matter of minutes only), you can knit, crochet or braid it into any number of things.

Judging by the internet, rugs and bags seem to be most popular but I’ve even seen it braided into a pair of waterproof sandals!

The gorgeous knitted clutch bag pictured above is from a recent article in the environment section of the Guardian.

I particularly like the the fact that plarn gives a new lease of life to plastic bags that might otherwise end up in landfill, where they will spend centuries slowly decaying.  ‘Plarning’ — have I just coined a new word?  — may mean we can dramatically reduce the amount of plastic rubbish that we dump.  Something that would greatly help our ‘rubbish diet‘.

I know some people think this kind of ‘recycling’ is nothing more than “slow motion landfill”. But I have to disagree: if we can transform the plastic into something useful, such as a bag or rug, it means that item is not being made anew, so we are helping to reduce the consumption of scarce resources.

Of course, it goes without saying, that we should all be trying to reduce the number of plastic bags we end up with!

(c) MaryMulvihill.net 2009