Super Eco

Photo credit: Julien Bergignat

Plants, sun, water ... This très eco-chic gadget has it all. If growing indoor greenery isn't your forte, industrial designer Julien Bergignat's Mon Pot plant pot may change all that. The Mon Pot is green gadgetry even a brown-thumb could love: a solar-powered, rotating plant pot that alerts you when the plant needs more water. 

Decide how often your plant needs a drink (daily, weekly or every two weeks). Turn the pot toward the appropriate indicator. The Mon Pot uses its solar-powered base to rotate back to its original position, sounding an alarm when it reaches its original position to alert you that it's time for water. And during the journey, the plant receives constantly rotating exposure to the sun.

We'd be remiss if we didn't remind you that indoor plants play a key role in keeping the air in your home or office fresh and healthy. It's proven technology—even NASA is studying how to use plants to scrub the air clean in future space stations. Between VOCs and other toxins lurking about and just waiting to be inhaled, there's a lot of clean-up these little green friends can handle for you. Our friends at Care2 suggest growing one houseplant per 10 square yards of floor space (assuming average ceiling heights of 8-9 feet)—so two or three plants for an average-sized living space. And if those two or three plants are practically taking care of themselves, so much the better!