How green is your garden? Solar powered lawn mower concept

Looking more like a concept car than a lawn mower, Red Dot design award went to Studio Volpi for their electric lawnmower.

Billed as being ideal for the smaller garden, the lean green machine features a solar panel which charges a removable polymer-ion battery.

As lawn mowers go, it looks pretty cool and given the amount of times the grass should be cut in the summer, well times that by the number of gardens and that's some serious power / energy savings to be made.

Click here to visit the Red Dot design page.

Hanging baskets powered by Solar Energy - Quirky!

Spotted last week over at Solar Knowledge - the quirkiest use of solar power yet.

A solar powered hanging basket rotator.

Now before you collapse in fits of giggles, It does actually make sense. By evenly distributing all sides of the basket to the sun, the makers claim you'll benefit from a healthier basket.

This could be especially 'fruitful' if you're growing herbs or even salads in your basket - higher yield means less spent at the shops. Home produce ultimately impacts on the carbon footprint of buying such things.

I'm indebted to Solar Knowledge for bringing this little gadget (which costs around £18) to our attention. Click here to read more.

photo credit: emmamccleary