It's on a day like this that you think it's time to give those herbs another go. Ross has armed us with hundreds of packets of seeds including some asparagus bulbs which will possibly bear fruit in 3 years time. So if you want to avoid disappointment, then log onto Green Garden Herbs and read their top ten desirables. This gorgeous French tarragon starts life as a packet of foil fresh seeds for £1.50 per pack including p &p. If you're in North Yorkshire then make sure you make a detour to their 5 acre nursery where they grow over 400 varieties of aromatic, culinary, medicinal and ornamental herbs.

Posted by Carole

Biomelifestyle is a website name which fails to stick in my brain, which is a shame because it's products are truly green and wonderful. It's one of the few stylish eco-friendly sites, that has really creative goods. This garden set is not exactly cutting edge, but it's one of the best starter kits I've seen. For £62 you've got every green gardeners desire from recycled plastic trug to bottle top waterers - a great start to a more eco friendly life.

Posted by Carole

As water butts go, this must be the most attractive looking one around. It holds 36 litres, costs £60 and is also available in a subtle cream. The Garden Trading company also have an extensive range of enamelled products, a great herb dryer fo £20 and a charming seed box, which would make a great gift. All Lisa Stickley fans will also be pleased to hear that they've opened a shop with the textile designer in Clapham.

Posted by Carole

What a fantastic and very green idea from Crocus to take the pain out of gathering up your falling Autumn leaves.
This loose weave jute leaf sack can hold thousands of fallen leaves and is a snip with one sack for £2.99 and ten for £20. The real joy is once the leaf sack is filled, do what the name says; simply Love 'Em and leave 'Em in a corner of the garden. The leaves and the leaf sack will biodegrade and there you have it, no sack, no leaves just lots of lovely compost!

Posted by Jane

I've been pretty wet about buying a rain catcher, mad given the amount of stuff falling from the sky over the last few days. So this 150 litre Sankey beehive butt will do just the job and look pretty non-plastic at the same time. It's reduced from £59.99 to £54.99 and is available from Capital Gardens who have a good range of garden products and butts.

Posted by Carole

I was trying to find this nifty apple bird feeder which Thompson - Morgan stock, but the site defied me. So instead you get this equally enchanting and practical seedling pot maker. It's a great way to recycle your paper and has the added benefit of being biodegradable once placed in the soil. Costs £11.99 for a lifetime of pot making. Not the niftiest title for a gardening site which has a serious seed collection and are holding their 14th open day in Ipswich on July 28th & 29th. Looks like you'll see some good floral action there.

Posted by Carole

I have a soft spot for the Re-found Objects site. It's simple and honest with an eclectic range of recycled and reused products for the home. These garden tools are a great product to recycle as they are robust and practical with a distinct whiff of vintage. Most of the tools start from £24, while the hand tools start from £12. While you're there take a peek at their planters and vintage watering cans.

Posted by Carole

If your lawn is looking as sad as mine, then it needs a stiff Gardening Expres s tonic in the form of Earthwork's organic fertiliser. It contains a cocktail of nutrients and a humus soil conditioner (whatever that is?) So spend £12.95 and you'll get 2.5 litres of on-going replenishment of the soil in the root zone. All sounds good to me.

Posted by Carole

Or the 'Nodding onion' -yes- that's the name of this little allium Summer beauty. I'd like to buy lots of plants from the red hens nursery. They have a really earthy and local site, there's nothing frilly or fancy about it, just clusters of bulbs (7/8) for around £2.50 plus postage. Where else could you buy environmentally friendly plants that have never seen a pesticide, fungicide or herbicide in their seedling life. Not sure they'll survive in our garden without drugs and chemicals - but worth a try.

Posted by Carole

What an inspired, postable and ecological idea for Mothers Day on March 18th. Log onto trees2mydoor and select which tree you think your dear mom would like to receive from £24.50. They'll pop it in a reusable joute bag with a care guide and card. This will be posted in a biodegradable cardboard tube along with messages of love, spring and wisdom. Whatever the occassion they have a tree to inspire and create a lasting memory. I can think of quite a few few people who'd like to receive a crab tree, it's long been associated with finding future lovers.

Posted by Carole

This hand woven gardeners basket comes in 2 sizes for £15 from Traidcraft . They've been helping poor people win their share of word trade since 1979 - thankfully it's currently very chic. As you pop a trowel and seeds into your shiny new basket, you'll know it was made from an organisation working with mainly rural women in Bangladesh which offers adult literacy classes and day-care for children. You'll also be supporting Fair Trade fortnight which ends on March 11th. Beats a trip to B & Q or John Lewis.

Posted by Carole

Don't be fooled by that yokel sounding Hen and Hammocks title, because this site is definately aspirational and very sexy. If you want a taste of it ,then purchase this package of six organic seed and potato babies. This summer you could be munching on - Bastion Pea, Blauhilde Climbing French Bean, Boltardy Beetroot, Marvel of Four Seasons Lettuce, Nantes Carrot, Witkeim Broadbean, Colleen, Charlotte and Desiree potatoes for £12. Now imagine how much boasting about your plants you can do.

Posted by Carole

There's nothing slack in the sourcing and production of these very green products from the Lazye site. Take this set of three flat trugs . They started out as car or truck tyres and are now useful garden vessels for planting or weeding or at a push a garden sculpture for £54. This is also one of the rare sites which has the integrity to publish an eco footprint - take note if you're reading this M & S.

Posted by Carole

I know it's only November but I'm already excited at the prospect of putting up our Christmas tree. This year instead of dashing down to B & Q, I might try and order one online from Crocus , this way I won't have to squash it in the car or lug it down the street. Just take a look at all their Christmas loveliness. From £29.99 you can choose a needle-fast cut Christmas trees or a traditional pot-grown Abies nordmannianas, that can be kept from year to year. Plus you get advice on how to keep them smelling and twinkling till you recycle them via your local council. I'm just working out what's the first date I can put mine up without appearing too keen.

Posted by Carole

Indoors or outdoors, this new Fishing chair from those creative people at Eco Homestore is very striking. They've taken some reclaimed steel tubing and made it into a chair frame, the decorative seat pattern has been created by using two colours of fishing line. It costs £110 and is made in Senegal on a Fair Trade Basis - can't say fairer than that.

Posted by Carole

Bamboo is the fastest growing plant on earth, and highly sustainable. So this enchanting gazebo from Natural Bamboo Products is well worth £920 for its eco-friendliness. Smaller versions start at £580. The bamboo bridges are worth checking out too.

Posted by Ros

What a fantastic site Re-found objects is, great navigation, unusual products and great selective taste. This millet handbrush and broom set costs £19.50 and would definitely make sweeping the yard more of a pleasure and less of a chore. Lots of recycled and fairtrade products, ones which I've never clapped eyes on before.

Posted by Carole

Isn't this an elegant summer house to relax or work in? It's the first time I've seen such a beautifully arched outdoor living space that is also off the shelf. If you're interested, then contact Forest Garden for a quote and while you're at it -check the price on this sumptuous decking.

It's the nicest I've seen in a long time and is from managed UK woodlands, so you can tread in comfort too. Let me know if you think it is affordable, I don't want to be disappointed.

Posted by Carole.

Given the change in planning laws around home wind turbines, perhaps you & I can do a Cameron and power our own lightbulbs. This wind turbine kit can produce enough energy to continuously power 5 or 6 energy saving light bulbs. It costs £599, plus delivery from Wind Trap who also have eco kettles, plugs etc. As they say every little bit of energy saved - helps. Let us know if you're already harnessing that wind, as we'd love to hear how you're getting on.

Posted by Carole

City Lawyer Cesca Williams was unable to find stylish yet practical things for her garden, so left the city and set up The Urban Garden . It stocks lots of unusual and green products like these cheeky chickens, which cost £14 and are made out of plastic and wire, sourced from recycling depots in the Cape Flats.

If chickens are not your thing, then how about this square hardwood decking tile, which is made from Ipe wood, an ecologically certified timber which grows abundantly in South America. The tile is 30cm sq and costs £12, they're easy to fit as they click together and can be cut easily with a jigsaw. Your urban garden will be an urban haven once you've finished shopping at this site.

Posted by Carole

21st Century Smallholder - From window boxes to allotments: how to go back to the land without leaving home, by Paul Waddington. Published by Eden Project Books. Fed up with the weekly trek to the supermarket? This book (at the discount price of £8.57 from Amazon) is packed with down-to-earth, well-presented advice and information for townies attempting even the slightest degree of self-sufficiency. The author has tried it all at his south London home. As well as a guide to fruit and vegetable growing, there are suggested designs to make the most of your available outdoor space, a guide to the comparative hassle and cost of keeping livestock (Waddington has an obvious bent for bee keeping), and ways to make a Victorian house eco-friendly. Stylishly presented on eco-friendly paper. A must for anyone who wants to cut down on the amount of hard-earned cash they give to supermarket chains.

Posted by Ros

Are you thinking of keeping chickens, or need a new home for your rabbits or ducks, then you must look at the omlet website. It has a thorough and well presented guide/ starter kit for chicken rearing and stocks these wonderful eglus . Other pets will be green with envy when they see these modern, easy clean and purpose designed homes. They're not cheap at £300 -36, but as they've been developed with animal behaviourists input, they'll house up to 3 rabbits in guaranteed style, comfort and with the space for them to 'express themselves'. Not for those wishing to purchase a starter home, but for those with a paw already on the hutch ladder.

Posted by Carole

If like me you've found that the rain has brought out all the slugs to play and eat your entire garden contents, then you need a dose of Nemaslug killer. Your killer pest control is biological (using one living organism to control another) and offers a 6 week protection during those initial tender plant growing days. It costs £9.95 and is available from Harrod Horticultural a site for all you serious (or aspiring) gardeners out there.

As well as being expert bug killers, Harrod's also stock great furniture, lights, labels etc and an extensive range of organic seeds, plants, feeds and fertilisers. These onion shaped squash costs £1.50 for a pack of ten and are one of several unique varieties on offer. Can't beat the satisfying feeling of eating something you have grown yourself.

Posted by Carole

Forget your standard yellow tinged solar lights which you spike into the ground - which we have. Illuminate your garden border or table with these gorgeous globes, available in red, green, amber, blue or white. There's no wiring, they are solar powered by an energy-saving LED unit and cost £22 per globe.

These lights are one of many great and green products featured on Nick Pringles British eco site. You could also add a solar powered water fountain, chicken shed or organic rooster manure to your shopping basket. If greens your thing, then browse their Green experiences which cover a range of green, natural, country, heritage and outdoor pursuits.

Posted by Carole

There's not much that Suttons don't know about their onions and seeds. Established in 1806 by John Sutton they have gone onto being one of the most recognisable names and providers in the world of plant, vegetable, bulb, bush and horticultural products for amateur gardeners.

With over 1,500 products to choose from, you could start with this Wild flower seed collection that will entice the seed- eating and hoverflies into the garden. There are lots of choices and prices, for every packet sold they will also donate 5p to the Wildlife trusts, so good growth for everyone involved.

Posted by Carole

At the end of this month Wiggly Wigglers launch their first book about how they renovated a tired old garden at Blakemere into a fantastic haven for wildlfe. Bringing a Garden to Life reflects the ethos and materials which are sold on their site, composters, bug boxes and wild flower plants to name a few. You can meet the creators on June 1st at the forthcoming Hay Festival and see their theories in practice in the wiggly garden they are building on site.

Posted by Carole

What a fantastic, novel and affordable idea from Purves & Purves. Assemble 14 pieces of corrugated cardboard, weight the structure down with gravel, pour in 240 litres of soil, spread a nice even layer of seeds and hey presto you have your very own living grass armchair.

At £65 they are currently out of stock, but still worth placing a back order. Just one word of wording having created a telly tubby grass mound in our back garden, I forgot that I would also need to develop some topiary skills.

Anyhow, for more eco friendly, weird and wonderful stuff then take a peek at my current favourite browse. The hippy shopper site has a fantastic range of well selected and thought provoking products.

(If you're a Londoner, I'd also suggest that you get down to Tottenham Court Road where Purves and Purves are having a Massive Relocations Sale and shutting their store on May 29th. Bye-bye for now dear Purves).
Posted by Carole

For once I hope the weather people are seriously wrong about the water situation because we've just laid a new lawn. If, like us, a water butt is an essential item for this Summer, then why not make it a recycled plastic one. This one from even greener holds 190 litres and comes with a stand, rain diverter kit and lid - it costs £35. If this looks hideously big then why not opt for a mini butt which holds 100 litres and costs £30.

While David Cameron and Gordon Brown battle it out to see who is the greenest and fairest of them of them all - get your water butts from the recycle now site along with your wormery and recycled garden trug for all those nasty weeds. The site also allows you to enter your post code and do a quick check on what your council collects and when. Maybe like ours in Hackney, they've just introduced a waste food collection scheme which thankfully removes the need and guilt of a compost bin.