NewsFusion | 088

NewsFusion for July 2025

Science...

• Vera Rubin Observatory poised to find many more intersteller objects (Space.com)
• First robot soccer match was action (and AI) packed (Gizmodo)
• Synchron brings new functionality to brain-computer interface (WIRED)

Design...

• Shade in the city: heat waves inspire adding more shade to urban planning (Fast Company)
• Mediterranean gardens are trending in outdoor spaces (Veranda)
• Rezoning threatens NYC's garment district (Business of Fashion)

Culture...

• Indigenous youth launch kayak journey to celebrate dam removal (AP News)
• Morvern Graham shares Scottish myths and folklore through storytelling (morverngraham.co.uk)
• Maasai-owned Oldarpoi Mara Camp offers unique perspective on community, culture, and conservation (oldarpoimaracamp.co.ke)

Progress Chic | Modern World Watering Can

They saying goes "what's old is new again". That certainly holds for any of the items that are part of our Progress Chic spotlighted products. But in the case of the Blomus Verdo Watering Can, the word "newer" is even more appropriate. It is clearly an ultra contemporary update to a traditional gardening tool but the wood handles bring both a touch of rustic and an additional modern element to what would otherwise be just another modern watering can.

Fab Facets | Geo Planters

Terracotta goes tech. The Geo Planters from Sprout Home are the perfect gift for the geek in your life that also has a green thumb.

Stylized State Flowers

Combine gardening, graphic design, and geography and what do you get? The State Flower Collection print by artist Kristen Ley. Inspired by the wildflowers of Texas and a quote from Lady Bird Johnson, "Where flowers bloom so does hope", Ley created the illustrations herself and used the colors form the State flowers themselves to define the colors of the images.

Book Club | The Earth Knows My Name

Future-ish is very excited to announce the first book in our Future-ish Book Club, The Earth Knows my Name: Food, Culture, and Sustainability in the Gardens of Ethnic Americans by Patricia Klindienst, Winner of an American Book Award for 2007.

Purchase the book from: Beacon Press | Amazon | Powells | Your Indie Book Store

From the book:

"Inspired by her own family's immigrant history, master gardener Patrica Klindienst traveled the country, gathering stories of urban, suburban, and rural gardens created by people rarely presented in American gardening books: Native Americans, immigrants from across Asia and Europe, and ethnic peoples whose ancestors were here long before oru national boundaries were drawn. In The Earth knows my Name, Klindienst writes about the beautiful yards and fields she discovered, each one an island of hope, offering us a model - on a sustainable scale- of a truly resotrative ecology."

Patricia Klindienst is a master gardener and an award-winning writing teacher. She lives and gardens in Guilford, Connecticut. This is her first book.

Hydroponics gets personal

Hydroponics, growing plants in nutrient-rich water, has been around for several decades. But it has mostly been the turf of hard-core growers and gardners. The GrowBottle available at Branch changes all that by giving us all the opportunity to grow our own herbs hydro style. They're small, they're stylish, and they're sustainable.

Progress Chic - Fab Feeder

The "tweet" bird feeder from CB2 will surely catch the eye of the local birds and your neighbors.

Garden accessories

Looking for the perfect gift for the Mom who has everything? Why not garden tools from Hermes...stylish and sustainable.