A Simply Delicious Bouquet

I had some friends over the other night and one brought the most unique green bouquet for me! She had cut celery and zinnias from her garden and arranged them together. The bright green celery made the vibrant zinnias just pop and the celery's fresh scent greeted every time I entered my kitchen. The best part of the beautiful gift is, as the flowers fade I will compost the flowers and eat the celery. My creative friend shows a perfect example of how being green sometimes means just thinking outside the box.

Love Your Mother Earth

Mother’s Day is this Sunday, why not show your love for mom and the planet with some great green gifts.

1. Instead of cut flowers which only last a few days, buy mom a potted plant, a plant for her garden, or plant her an organic herb garden she can enjoy throughout the year.

2. Treat your mom to a day at an eco-friendly spa or put together a home spa gift basket. Find a fun reusable container and fill it with natural, organic, and paraben free spa products.

3. Give mom some sweets. In honor of World Fair Trade Day on May 9th, give mom a fair-trade and organic chocolate sampler or bake a batch of homemade organic cookies with chips from www.sweetearthchocolates.com

4. Encourage mom to go green by giving her a reusable tote, a reusable water bottle, and a book on living greener.

5. Cut down on waste by giving mom a day of fun and enjoy some special time together - take a trip to a local museum, head to the beach, pack a picnic and go on a bike ride, or head to the local theater for a play.

Green Gift Ideas Under $35

Give a great earth friendly gift without breaking the bank. Check out my great finds for under $35:

1. Tees For Change tees - these fabulous tees are incredibly soft and sport great 2 word messages on them like breathe deeply, live simply, etc. For every shirt sold the company plants a tree. The organic cotton or bamboo tees are $32 and the tanks are $28 www.teesforchange.com

2. Prepare a gift basket of eco-friendly and healthy beauty products. Include some wonderful all natural soaps from Sustenance Soaps www.sustenanceskincare.com some silky lotion from Pangea Organics www.pangeaorganics.com and some terrific cosmetics from Peacekeeper Cause-metics the first cosmetics line to give all of its after-tax distributable profits to women’s health advocacy and urgent human rights issues www.iamapeacekeeper.com

3. Give the gift of green knowledge in the form of a magazine subscription. Check out Positively Green a great new magazine with wonderful tips for going green. A one year subscription is only $16.00 www.positivelygreen.com or for those on your gift list with kids, Kiwi magazine is great for parents trying to raise their kids a little greener and you can't beat the price of $11.95 for a year's subscription! www.kiwimagonline.com

4. Want to give the gift of a little scandal? Check out Scent of Scandal's awesome candle line with it's great vegan soy candles with naughty little names like - Tighty Whities, Santa's Pole, and One Night Stand you are sure to find the perfect scent for everyone on your list. The company even has two candles that support organizations that work for animal rights - Farm Sanctuary and Sea Shepherd - the star of Animal Planet's new series Whale Wars.

5. Make a gift basket of little indulgences such as organic fair trade chocolate, locally grown wines, fair trade coffee, and fresh fruits from the farmer's market.

Give the gift of time...

It's holiday shopping time again, but instead of heading to the mall why not give a different type of gift this year and help a friend or family member by sharing your time and talent. Everyone has little projects that get put off due to lack of time or the skill to complete them. Think you don't have a talent to share, check out some ideas:

1. Help someone by organizing their photos, closet, pantry, or collections.
2. Prepare some homemade meals to help stock a friend's freezer.
3. Help organize items for a garage sale.
4. Help with home decorating projects.
5. Lend a hand with any handyman projects - installing lights, cleaning gutters, lawn care, painting, etc.
6. Prepare and plant a garden.
7. Sew curtains, pillows, or perform wardrobe repairs such as hemming or sewing buttons.
8. Computer help - set up a blog or family website.
9. Help train a new puppy or attempt to teach an old dog a new trick.
10. Everyone has a special talent that friends admire them for, find out what yours is and share it with those you love.

Giving a gift of your time is green since it adds less stuff to the planet. An added benefit is that every time your friend looks at their well organized closet, they will remember the love you shared with them.

Unique Green Gift

I got a great gift for my birthday that would make a unique earth friendly present for someone on your holiday shopping list - Retro 51's Bamboo Tornado pen.

This pen is fantastic - it is lightweight, beautiful, and writes like a dream. The pen barrel is solid bamboo, which despite it's hardiness is not a wood but is actually the fastest growing woody plant. The pen has a cute picture of a panda engraved on it, as bamboo is a favorite treat for pandas. In addition to its eco-friendly bamboo barrel, the pen also is refillable which is much better for the environment than disposable pens.

Despite it's great looks the best feature of the pen is when you purchase the Bamboo Tornado you are saving 250 square feet of endangered rain forest through the Arbor Day Foundation's Rain Forest Rescue Program. This great program has already saved more than two billion square feet of rain forest. Why is saving the rain forest so important? Despite the fact that the rain forest only covers 2% of the earth's surface, it is home to thousands of plant species that may help us find a cure for cancer and other diseases.

For more information on this gift that you, the recipient, and the planet can all feel good about visit www.retro51.com

Sustainable Holiday Shopping

With the holiday season approaching, shop for gifts that everyone including Mother Earth will love. Choose gifts that are made from sustainable materials, recycled content, or are fair trade certified. Here are some great ideas for everyone on your shopping list:

For kids:
1. Xeko - a unique trading card game in which players learn about endangered ecosystems and the plants and animals found in these hotspots. The cards are made from recycled paper and are printed with soy based inks. To support Conservation International and their work in ecological hotspots, Xeko donates 4% of the net sales of the game.
2. Earthopoly - a Monopoly style game where players work to save the Earth. The gameboard is made of recycled paper and printed with vegetable inks. The game pieces are all natural or recyclable.
3. The Lorax - this great book was written by Dr. Seuss in 1971 and is now available in an earth-friendly version printed on recycled paper. It tells the story of the Once-ler and his destruction of the Truffula trees and is a great story to teach children about humans and their impact on the environment.
4. Gift memberships to local museums or zoos.
5. Tickets to local theatre performances.

For the home:
1. Plates and glasses made from recycled glass. My favorite recycled glass find is the great glasses made from recycled wine bottles available from Green Glass Co.
2. Give the gift of a good night's sleep with organic cotton or bamboo sheets.
3. Look for earth friendly products made from bamboo a fast growing grass that has natural antibacterial properties. Bamboo can be made into kitchen spoons, cutting boards, bowls, towels, table linens, and so much more.

Hostess Gifts:
1. Fair trade chocolates or coffee - fair trade certified items empower farmers and workers buy insuring they have safe work conditions and receive a fair wage, they use practices that protect the environment, and are taught the business skills they need to compete in the global marketplace.
2. Gift baskets filled with local produce, local wines, and homemade food items.
3. Gift certificate for a massage, green cleaning service, or homemade gift certificates for babysitting, or help with household chores.
4. Introduce a friend to the joy of journaling with a beautiful banana paper journal from Green Apple School Supply. The journals and sketch books have paper made from banana bunch stock fiber and post consumer paper which look like gorgeous handmade paper. The front of the books are adorned with beautiful sketches of animals like treefrogs and dolphins. Green Apple also sells great office supplies like pens, marker, highlighters, and rulers that are made from recycled materials

Once you have the perfect gift, wrap it in a reusable gift bag or a canvas shopping bag that can be used after the holidays.