MNN - Mother Nature Network

Happy Friday! Before I proceed to the usual green home and garden (heavy on the latter today) link fest, I wanted to congratulate the winners —Todd Dwyer, Wendy Lynn Gantos, and Willa Jessee — of the Target eco-starter kit giveaway. Thanks for being a fan of MNN on Facebook and I hope the kits help you all start out on the right, green foot before you leave the house each day.

Greenopia recommends a few spring plantings that will turn your backyard into a songbird social club/cafeteria.

The Los Angeles Times observes the three Rs while gardening with a look at unlikely repurposed garden tools including plastic jugs, old pantyhose, and old cat food cans. 

Michelle Kaufmann pays a visit to the ecofabulous Marin County home of Zem Joaquin. I'm lovin' Zem's area rug made from salvaged leather purses. 

The San Francisco Chronicle reports on the increasingly popular trend of keeping a backyard "poulet chalet" (aka chicken coop). 

Re-Nest hits the showers with a look at 7 eco-friendly shower curtains including a PVC-free, DIY curtain from Urban Outfitters that comes complete with nontoxic markers. 

The Wall Street Journal is hyped about the Garden Conservancy's 15th annual Open Days program. This fundraising effort allows the public to tour 336 stunning private garden across the country for a nominal fee. 

GOOD checks in with Gordon Douglas, the intrepid urban gardener behind The Back Garden Project, as he makes a planter from discarded IKEA furniture. 

The New York Times goes shopping for green home supplies with Tony Daniels, a LEED-accredited architect and advisory board member of GreenHomeNYC. 

Ecofriend rounds up "12 Eco-friendly Water Purifiers For a Healthier World." 

Jetson Green hands the mic over to DIY Insanity's Gene Anderson for a post on the various ways homeowners can render an older home more energy-efficient. 

TreeHugger heads to one place I wouldn't mind calling home, Florianopolis, Brazil, to highlight a beautiful, eco-friendly condo complex that's slated to be completed in 2012. The one caveat: it's a bit out of the way making residents rely heavily on cars.

Design Milk is delighted (and so am I) by the Gymnasium Collection, a line of eco-furnishings designed by Søren Rose Studio for Danish furniture brand Mater.

ReadyMade instructs on how to make your very own pendant lamp out of an ostrich egg, electrical cord, and a few other supplies.