Seed bombs have long been a (non-violent) weapon of choice for guerrilla gardeners, but Flower Shells now aim to make your 12-gauge shotgun a key part of your go-green arsenal. Perhaps these will redefine ‘flower power’ for a new generation of eco-warriors, though a bad misfire might instead give new meaning to ‘pushing up daisies’.

“A personal project between art, gardening and gun smoke,” these are what they sound like: modified shotgun shells filled with seeds, all designed to make gardening more fun.

Their inventor, after “hour and hours of weeding, seeding and cutting” was working one planting meadow flower when the realization dawned: “this could be made much easier, faster, better using a shotgun. Said and done, soon I had emptied a shotgun shell of led and filled it with flower seeds.”

Encountered skepticism was turned into motivation: “I tested different seeds, different ways of closing the shell after modification, different amount of gunpowder, different angels of firing and different guns.”

A modern take on beating swords into plowshares, the project adapts devices designed to kill into ones that give life instead. “Walking through a field of meadow flowers, cornflowers, daisies and poppies an early summer sunday morning made me realize this was working. This flourishing field was my creation, it was all done with 142 shotgun shells.”

Part backyard office, part storage space, part sculpture: the ‘Shoffice’ by Platform 5 Architects is a multi-functional pavilion that curls over itself like a shell. The architects created this unusual detached office structure for a residence in northwest London, and it fits neatly into a small walled garden space.

Two-thirds of the shed/office combo is enclosed for use as an office, while the other third is open to the elements. The open area provides a space to store gardening implements and other items that would normally be kept in a shed.

The wooden shell curves from one side of the office all the way under its floor, creating a terrace in front for lounging in the sun. The structure is made with two steel ring beams, timber ribs and a plywood skin, and was mostly prefabricated for ease of installation.

Glass walls on two sides provide both daylighting and a view straight into the home, providing a visual connection but maintaining the peace and privacy desired in a detached office or studio.

The ‘Shoffice’ is just one of many such backyard retreats. See 14 more outside offices including work pods, ‘eggs’, modular structures and more.