THE GREAT OUTDOORS

By JON GOLDSTEIN

For most of the country, admittedly, this isn't exactly prime time for thinking about lawn and garden care. With temperatures from Hartford, Conn., to Boise, Idaho, averaging around the freezing mark in the month of December, most sane people--carolers notwithstanding--stay indoors as much as possible. But spring springs eternal, and so do fond thoughts of cookouts, lawn mowing and garden planting.

While it may be cold outside right now, the popularity of the Queen of Green, Martha Stewart, and last year's $73.6 million in sales for gardening-supply giant Smith & Hawken are clear signs that getting dirty is a full-fledged American fad. Couple that with our perpetual scramble for the latest and greatest techno gadget, and that means the more green technology, the better--everything from automated tractors to high-tech barbecue grills. After all, for aficionados, life outdoors is much more than just keeping lawns in shape and boxwoods trimmed.

The outdoor products in this section celebrate the wedding of the green-thumb revolution currently sweeping the country with the digital age's demand that every new product be faster, easier to use and more laden with features than its predecessors. While the job of a landscape architect used to take a T square, years of training and a very fertile imagination, now anyone with the right software and a PC can design six or seven backyards in an afternoon. Mowing the lawn is not generally regarded as a fun chore, but souping up your mower with electronic cruise control and power steering makes it a vastly more enjoyable experience. True, the tractor costs almost as much as a compact car, but if El Nino and global warming are what they're cracked up to be, those added features may just be the weapon you need to help battle back the coming attack of crabgrass next spring.

--By Jon Goldstein. With reporting by Rebecca Winters

With reporting by Rebecca Winters