Solar Powered Garden Gadgets

by Deb Powers

 Is your garden green? Want to make it greener? Want to have a little fun in your garden? Take a look at these fun gadgets for your garden that use the sun as their main power. They range from do-it-yourself to very cheap to possibly expensive but too cool to pass up, and all of them are as green as your garden.

Oh jolly playmate come out and play with me...

When I was growing up, my grandmother had the last rain barrel in the neighborhood. Rain barrels are coming back into vogue. Set into a place where they can collect the run-off from your roof during a rainstorm, a rain barrel can provide nearly all of your watering needs during a typical summer in the temperate zone. Check out the offerings at New England Rain Barrel to see some of the accessories you can use with their rain barrel.

 Enjoy your garden in the evenings with this very stylish, very cool Sun Table. Set the table out in a sunny spot in your garden where the built-in solar panels can collect and store energy. The table fully charges in about four hours of sunlight and holds enough solar electricity to run your laptop for about four hours or a lamp for about six hours. The makers suggest that you charge it in the day and use it in the evening, but it's great for early morning coffee and web-browsing, too.

This sleek outdoor shower is totally warmed by the sun. It attaches to a garden hose and heats water to a comfortable 86 degrees in its base and hose. In just about two hours, you can heat up enough water for two 8 minute showers - and you can even adjust the heat with a flow regulator that mixes cold water directly from the hose into the flow from the solar-heated water.

Water features and fountains add a note of relaxation to your garden, and the spilling, flowing water adds moisture to the air. Gardens with a fountain are more likely to attract birds and butterflies, and they seem cooler. However, most fountains use electricity to keep the water in circulation. The solution? A solar-powered water fountain like this one, available in ceramic blue, copper and brass.

Love your kitsch? Liven up your garden with solar-powered garden gnomes - and you thought they couldn't possible get any tackier. You'll find a wide variety of them at Amazon.com - carrying lanterns, shining spotlights or just plain glowing to light your garden path at night after soaking up the sun all day long.

Photo credits: Rain Barrel: piekhaar; Solar table: Solartable.net; Outdoor shower: Hammacher Schlemmer; Water fountain: Solar Garden Gadgets;