Originally published September 1, 2007 at 12:00 AM | Page modified September 1, 2007 at 2:02 AM
Window Shopping
Great gardening gear for small, stylish spaces
Walk into the new Fremont garden boutique Urbanweeds, and you'll leave with a couple of messages: 1. Gardening can be as easy as pouring...
Seattle Times staff reporter
Walk into the new Fremont garden boutique Urbanweeds, and you'll leave with a couple of messages:
1. Gardening can be as easy as pouring water into a paper bag.
2. No matter how plant savvy you are, garden with style.
Owners Tim Halloran and Steve Schuetz are here for the design-oriented, space-limited crowd that is growing rapidly along with the condo and townhouse building frenzy. They believe a lot more people want to garden than actually do, so their boutique tries to provide the tools.
"In small places, you need things that have two functions," Halloran said. "If I have a small balcony and put a plant out there, I also want it to look like a work of art."
Halloran and Schuetz applied the indoor-mixed-with-outdoor aesthetic now prevalent in condo buildings in their small but airy showroom, bringing in modern outdoor furniture, beautiful grills by Evasolo, mod bird feeders and even solar lanterns ($15.99). Sculptures and art from the Fremont Art Walk give the store a gallerylike feel.
And Urbanweeds tries to make it as easy as possible to bring greenery into your home, even if it means just growing a tiny cactus in a tin. They also carry plants that are attractive and low-maintenance, such as showy aeoniums.
Why should you go? Urbanweeds specializes in design for gardeners and outdoor enthusiasts, with a wide variety of planters and adorable birdfeeders such as a doughnut-shaped glass feeder from Evasolo for $53 or egg-shaped ceramic feeders ($125) in robin's-egg blue, gray, yellow or green.
A hanging planter with three cylinders secured with nylon straps ($370) seems like a natural solution for light and space. Those looking for a simpler and more affordable choice might stick with the easy-peasy gardens-in-a-bag ($7.50) from Northwest-based Potting Shed Creations. Just mix the seeds into the soil in the sandwich-size bag, add water and watch your herbs, flowers or veggies grow.
The store also carries a couple lines of outdoor furniture, such as the super sleek aluminum bar table from Modern Outdoor ($1,399). Or choose Loll's handy cubby bench ($499) with plenty of storage beneath. And of course, cute glass slugs ($11) are a lively addition to any pot.
What's functional? Urbanweeds carries practical items too, like seed meal, diatomite rock and natural fertilizers for your plants. There's a large selection of bigger planters tucked in a back corner and even bamboo tile sold by the piece ($7.50) that locks in place to form your own patio. Biological mosquito control helps keep away pesky bugs without using chemicals.
And Urbanweeds woffers a variety of plants that work well in containers, such as Lily of the Nile, Hakone grass and the pancake plant (Kalanchoe thyrsiflora).
In the winter, the store plans to carry hardier plants and other outdoor items like fire pits, Halloran said.
Nicole Tsong: 206-464-2150 or ntsong@seattletimes.com
Copyright © 2007 The Seattle Times Company
Finding beauty among ice at Shoreline's Kruckeberg Botanic Garden
Recalls: Cribs, toasters, bicycles and denim jackets
Warm up your home with cozy décor
Solution for cleaning laminate wood floors

Chehalis flooding
Chehalis residents make a trek through their neighborhood by feet and by boat while vehicles brave flooded roads.
AP's News Minute
All of today's news in one minute.
shopping

events for Thursday, Jan. 8th
- Violette Closing Sale
- Karan Dannenberg Winter Clearance Sale
- Oslo's A Men's Store After-Christmas...
editors' picks
More Shopping Guides- Pelicans fall out of sky from Mexico to Ore.
- 11 gay bars get letters threatening ricin attacks
- 20 miles of I-5 closed in Lewis County; possible closure near Fife
- Steve Kelley | UW football is "a sleeping giant" and Nick Holt plans to inject adrenaline
- Enumclaw-area animal-sex case investigated
- In Duvall, all roads lead to deep water
- Issaquah Creek spills onto streets
- As stores close, Starbucks buys a jet
- Kirkland's Jason Mesnick spills about "The Bachelor"
- Federal racketeering trial begins for Washington Hells Angels
- Israeli forces bisect Gaza, surround biggest city
584 - 11 gay bars get letters threatening ricin attacks
217 - Food crisis is global warming's biggest threat, say UW, Stanford scientists
115 - The great divide
108 - Western Washington dropping football
83 - Did Holt make a difference on USC defense?
82 - As stores close, Starbucks buys a jet
64 - January questions, volume two
45 - Seattle Post-Intelligencer for sale, could close
45 - Wednesday night notes
36
- 11 gay bars get letters threatening ricin attacks
- Pelicans fall out of sky from Mexico to Ore.
- Eating certain foods together helps with nutrient absorption
- As stores close, Starbucks buys a jet
- Homemade version of Buffalo Chicken Wings saves on calories, not on taste
- Happy Hour | A taste of Hawaii on Queen Anne at Genki Sushi
- Washout: Unprecedented flooding forces evacuations, closes highways
- Despite drying, cooling trend, flooding and road closures continue
- Divorcing husband wants kidney back
- 20 miles of I-5 closed in Lewis County; possible closure near Fife






