According to Portland, Oregon based artist Dave Sage, “I love to carve yard debris wood. There is so much of it here in Portland. The homeowners and arborists are happy to give it to me and avoid a trip to the landfill.”

It’s a sustainable win-win … Trees receive a renewed life in a new form – as a planter, chair, table, bench or work of art; and virgin wood isn’t cut down to create each piece. Sage decides exactly what to carve, based on the unique qualities of each piece of found timber or salvaged wood. All items featured above and below are made from reclaimed Redwood.

find more one-of-a-kinds and contact info @ davesagedesign.com.

Over the years I’ve had many a bird feeder pillaged by voracious hordes of rampaging squirrels. I now believe a new approach may be in order – give our furry friends their own feeder to mitigate their raids on the bird feeders.

Andrew and Melissa of Andrew’s Reclaimed build their self-service squirrel feeders and other wood products out of reclaimed wood recovered from docks, fences, barns and other old structures – all very eco-friendly. $37 @ andrewsreclaimed Etsy shop.

Here’s a simple yet effective upcycling design. The ‘Jack’ self-watering planter was originally a liquor bottle, in this case a bottle of Jack Daniels.

After some retrofitting, the booze bottle has been transformed into a handsome upcycled self-watering vessel for growing herbs on your window sill -  saved from the landfill and now employed as a productive member of gardening society. Very nice.

Find ‘Jack’ at the patch store on cargoh.com for $40

related: previously on altCon – more gardening stuff

The Atlanta Botanical Garden has created a beautiful area of colorful landscape gardens and a green wall (below) constructed entirely of edible vegetables, fruits and herbs. The Edible Garden, which first opened in 2010, was created to demonstrate that fruits and vegetables are not only healthy, but make beautiful landscape plants.

The garden includes an outdoor kitchen where Atlanta’s top chefs present cooking classes and weekend cooking events. Any harvested food not used in educational programs is donated to local charities. (more…)

Chosen by Popular Science as 2010 Innovation of the Year, Groasis Waterboxx is an irrigation device that protects and waters trees during their critical first year of growth. Users fill the 4-gallon box just once, and the newly planted tree receives water for the entire year. The design creates and contains condensation, which keeps the water from evaporating. A wick drips about two ounces of water into the sapling’s roots daily.

$275 for 10 boxes; made of polypropylene, they’re reusable and last about 10 years. A biodegradable version is also available – made of Ecopure, it can be used once only and then provides nourishment to the tree as it decomposes.

In addition to growing trees in the desert, it can also be used to help: revive fire-ravaged lands in the U.S., grow acacias in the savanna of Kenya, cork oaks in arid Spain, as well as veggies like pumpkins and eggplants in dry ecosystems. more @ groasis.com.

Here’s an authentically rustic chicken coop for aspiring backyard farmers who like their eggs fresh and their chickens happy. The Modern Coop is made from nicely weathered, reclaimed cedar and features such amenities as its own exterior water supply, pellet feeder, expandable chicken run and roosting box with access door for egg harvesting. (more…)

It’s hard to express just how good it feels to harvest fresh greens for your dinner table from a garden growing just outside your door. It does something on a deeper level than simply provide fresh, homegrown, healthy food.

In today’s world, especially for people like me whose homes are surrounded by concrete, it can be too much of a chore to construct your own urban garden and reap the benefits. With many different types of self-made containers in use, I still swear by my Urbin grower system. (more…)

So you’re looking for some trinket to out-do your fellow cubicalists, but nothing seems cooler than your neighbor’s boastful tower of energy drink cans. Worry not, BLUEiQ has just what you’re looking for – a miniature ecosystem. It’s sort of like an aquarium, but nowhere near as expensive or hard to manage.

The BLUEiQ ecosystem comes with a hand blown glass container, owner’s guide, tweezers, tying thread, magnifying glass and thermometer. The ecosystem part includes: 5 dwarf shrimp, 2 snails, your choice of substrate and your choice aquatic plant. Once you’ve designed the environment to your liking, add filtered water, the substrate and the flora and fauna to the glass container and watch the ecosystem come alive. One of the beauties about this system is that it’s very low maintenance and low energy, requiring only a light source for the plant and occasional water replenishment. The BLUEiQ ecosystem can be found at amazon.com for $79.00.

Who needs one more thing? For the party entertainer looking to shed a little light on their next evening soiree — these free standing bubbles of light capture the sun’s energy by day (about 2.5 hours) and emit a nice warm glow for about 8 hours. Pink, Clear, Orange or Green. Waterproof. Designed to travel from path or poolside to bedroom with a light heave-ho. $35/each @ poketo.com

related: green gadgets