Drawing power from integrated solar panels, both devices connect to Wi-Fi to relay relevant information about the soil to your phone or tablet. It will even automatically water from the hose using weather forecasts.

Created by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, University Tower at The New School in New York's Greenwich Village features a green roof, 20 percent recycled materials, and a banded brass face and lower-than-average glazing ratio (31.5 percent compared to the typical 70-80 percent) to minimize the energy impact of the city's volatile climate.

The Urban Cultivator is a dishwasher-sized micro-garden that appears to be a wine rack for plants. It is poised to slide into pre-existing kitchen designs, making it an easy way to add a drawer of fresh herbs to your home.

Architect Stefano Girodo explains the building has a “completely prefabricated and modular structure.” It was built using recyclable and environmentally friendly materials and designed to ensure easy mechanical assembly once on site.

The smart garden stake analyzes pH levels, humidity, and light intensity, then factors in local meteorological readings as it instructs the water valve to hydrate plants as needed.

After analyzing the soil and getting a GPS reading, the Edyn app will tell you which plants are best suited to your soil and local climate, and what time of year to plant them.

Bulbo Quadra and Cynara Part of the movement to utilize LED lights to popularize and expand indoor farming, Bulbo adds a touch of Italian panache to your indoor soil-and-seed endeavors. The unobtrusive design and light footprint—the Cynara, pictured above, looks like a small, overturned pot—make them easy to use in a variety of situations. Photo by Ottavio Montanari

Girodo describes LEAPfactory’s architecture as being “molded according to the needs and stresses imposed by context.” In this setting, strong winds and snow loads are serious concerns. The shell’s composite sandwich panels and aluminum shingles ensure that the school can withstand the elements.

You don't need a full greenhouse to successfully grow herbs, just a dedicated spot that will get at least six hours of sun a day. In fact, your indoor herb garden can be as simple as a row of potted plants.

Grant Mudford, Las Vegas, Nevada.

Ledner's second shoot took place in early spring 2012, once the fence had been installed and the flowers were blooming.

Just one month later the garden was much lusher.

The fruits of their labors: beautiful cut flowers, which Silverlake Farms sells at local farmers' markets in signature iron-and-glass jars.

Pots (price upon request)

Pikaplant and Pikaplant One Water is free, but your time isn’t. If you’ve suffered through the guilt of letting houseplants brown and yellow due to lack of attention, the Dutch company Pikaplant has two products that do almost all of the work for you. The glass-and-steel Pikaplant One shelf is designed with a passive watering system that only requires a occasional fill-up, and the Pikaplant Jars are all-in-one terrariums for the watering deficient. Unless you’re clumsy enough to knock it down, you’re set.

Bocci 38 Lamps Inside a former biscuit factory in Vancouver, the artisans at Bocci have been shaping and manipulating glass for nearly a decade, fashioning incredibly ornate lighting solutions. The new 38 Lamps boast organic curves and cavities that are ideal for growing plants and flowers of a similarly delicate nature. Photo by Spencer Hung

Ingrid and Jane get to work planting seedlings.

Backtracking in time to March 2011, here's one of the first plantings on the property, as captured by photographer Catherine Ledner. Note the fence hasn't yet gone up.

Benjamin Moore's Vintage Vogue paint coats the exterior.

A core element of the design scheme is a series of outdoor classrooms and play areas.

Light will stream through the pathways between classrooms at Kokokali school.

The School of Dance designed by Porro.

Interested in attending Dwell on Design New York? Get your show passes now for a chance to participate in three days of discussions, installations, and more.

Mackintosh drew inspiration from Scottish castles and tower-houses for his Glasgow School of Art. The large, industrial windows offset this historical influence, giving the building an eclectic sensibility unique to Mackintosh. Photo courtesy Mackintosh Architecture, University of Glasgow.

A rendering of the elevation plan shows how the concrete forms will envelop the indoor and outdoor rooms.

The Guiuan National High School, illustrated as mass shelter during a natural disaster. Says To: "The challenge was, 'How can we create a school that is inviting and resilient at the same time without looking like a bunker that would always remind people of the next possible typhoon hitting land?'"

The plaza at the culinary school by graciastudio. Photo provided by graciastudio.

The model's elevation shows the school plan taking shape.

The model of the school shows the layout, based on a simple ribbon.

With little beach to speak of, sunbathing is confined to a craggy bit of rock just above the water at this house near the town of Las Caletillas. Don't miss a word of Dwell! Download our FREE app from iTunes, friend us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter!

There have been other connected soil analyzers like the Koubachi or Parrot Flower Power, but the Edyn is special for marrying detailed soil analysis with an automatic irrigation system. The result is an optimized and well-informed garden that actually tends itself.

The Microgreens Indoor Garden Kit is a foldable, indoor greenhouse made by Infarm with partner Tomorrow Machine. Inspired by origami, the kit folds into a miniature greenhouse that is made of a transparent, waterproof material. The innovative product allows users to grow nutrient-rich greens in a kitchen, living room, or any interior space. With a small profile, it brings gardening into even the smallest apartments or homes. This item launched at Dwell on Design and is available for preorder at the Dwell Store.

The Chore Glove, $18 at bestmadeco.com These Italian-made cowhide gloves are considered the gold standard for those who want to avoid getting their hands dirty.