Apt Garden

Free Agave Plant by Mail

2012-01-11T02:49:00.000-08:00

Photo: Agave "Century Plant", Free Plant of the Month by freeplantsbymail.org Free Plants By Mail (freeplantsbymail.org) was started by local growers as a way to use the surplus plants from nurseries and also as a way to support The Nature Conservancy. Free Plants By Mail offers a new free plant each month. This month they are offering Agave "Century Plant". It takes 100 years for this agave

Make a Worry List

2012-01-09T03:01:00.000-08:00

Photo: 365 Health and Happiness Boosters by M.J. Ryan Take a tip from M.J. Ryan, and boost your happiness by creating a worry list. Just put your pen to paper and write down any and all worries that come to mind until you have flushed them all out. It really is incredibly effective. M.J. suggests rating your worries from a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the extreme so that you can gain

Track Down Lost Money

2012-01-06T03:06:00.000-08:00

You may have unclaimed property waiting to be returned to you! Below are some sources to help you start your search: State-held Money. State treasuries hold unclaimed property from uncashed dividend checks, returned utility deposits, uncollected insurance benefits and more. Visit the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA) at http://unclaimed.org/ and click on your

DIY Cardboard Christmas Lights Organizer

2012-01-04T03:36:00.000-08:00

Don't throw away those Christmas boxes just yet. You can tear down a couple and turn them into inexpensive Christmas lights organizers. Materials:Scissors Pen or Marker Rectangles cut from cardboard boxes Directions:Fig. A Fig. B Fig. C Use the scissors to cut the box along the creases. You should end up with several rectangular pieces. Then use the scissors to make about of 1 inch long

365 Health and Happiness Boosters

2012-01-02T23:19:00.000-08:00

Photo: 365 Health and Happiness Boosters by M.J. Ryan True happiness isn't contingent on circumstances. It is a sense of contentment that exists independently of the good fortune that might find us. I would describe myself as a strong, happy, positive person. I generally can find the silver lining in any situation, find solutions to problems, and have the discipline and strength to resolve

Michigan Bulb - Free Shipping Code, No Minimum Order

2011-12-29T02:50:00.000-08:00

As you probably already know, I am a huge fan of Michigan Bulb Company. They have great prices and a lifetime guarantee on their plants. I received a couple of great coupon codes in my inbox, and I wanted to share them with you. Free Shipping on Any Michigan Bulb Order - No Minimum (Expires 12/31/2011) Enter Coupon Code: 0820062 Save $20 off your purchase of $40+ or Save $40 off your

Recycled Magazine Makeup Brush Holder

2011-12-28T03:15:00.000-08:00

Photo: Recycled Magazine Makeup Brush Holder I finally got around to trying that recycled magazine project I blogged about earlier this year. I decided to create a makeup brush holder by using pages from my Glamour magazine to decorate a tin can. It was a lot easier than I thought, and it took me less than a couple of hours to complete this project. Continue reading to see step by step

Winter Gardening in California

2011-12-24T11:24:00.000-08:00

I love California for many reasons, but one of them is being able to garden throughout the winter! Here are some of the things still growing in the garden in December: Photo: Romaine Lettuce Photo: Bok Choy Photo: Mustard Greens Photo: Cilantro Photo: Salad Greens going to seed Photo: Bell Pepper Photo: Fennel going to seed Photo: Tomato seedlings planted in late summer Photo: Scallions (Green

Harvesting Tarragon Seeds

2011-12-12T03:11:00.000-08:00

Photo 1: Flowering Tarragon Herb Photo 2: Tarragon Seeds (left); Tarragon Flower Heads (right) Tarragon is an herb with a licorice-like taste. The plant produces yellow flowers that eventually develop seeds. See Photo 2 above. To get the seeds, just break the dried flower heads. The black slivers are tarragon seeds.

Personalized Address Planters

2011-11-19T15:08:00.000-08:00

Personalized Address Planter ($59.95 + Free Shipping) These personalized crocks would make a wonderful housewarming gift and a nice addition to your own home. Personalize these crocks with your family name and/or street address and then set them on the porch or walkway. Black, blue and green colored fonts are available. They are currently $59.95 at Plow & Hearth, and you can get free shipping

Better Homes and Garden Holiday Store

2011-11-14T17:44:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite magazines, Better Homes and Garden (BHG) has a Holiday Store! Currently, you can get $3.95 shipping on any order, any size. You can shop by issue or by topic. They also have holiday exclusives! For example, you can get 40% off holiday fruit boxes and get free shipping as well.

Cover Those Gray Roots in a Pinch

2011-11-14T03:34:00.000-08:00

Photo Credit: Everyday Goddess So you are getting ready for a hot date or an important meeting, but as you are primping yourself in the mirror all you can see are those pesky gray hairs staring back at you reminding both you and the world that you are not that young anymore. Well, here's a quick, inexpensive tip for covering up those gray hairs in a pinch. All you need is eye shadow in the

Today's Finds: Grass Animals

2011-11-12T01:47:00.000-08:00

Alpaca ($4.29 + Free Shipping) Puppy ($4.38 + Free Shipping) Bunny Rabbit ($4.42 + Free Shipping) Squirrel ($4.43 + Free Shipping) These are so adorable, and a fun way to dress up your desk this winter. They are crafted out of artificial grass so there is no need to water or maintain it. They are under $5 each and shipping is free at Tmart.com.

Happy Veteran's Day!

2011-11-11T03:00:00.000-08:00

Glamour ran an article called "31 Days of Giving." The article gives readers 31 ways to give back to people. You can read the online version at Donating to Charity: 31 Days of Giving by Glamour.com. The article inspired me to compile a list of ways to help our troops and their families in the spirit of Veteran's Day. Send a teddy bear to the child of a deployed marine. For $25,

Pumpkin Update

2011-11-10T17:32:00.000-08:00

Photo: Jack-o-Lantern from the Garden I planted pumpkin seeds in July, but as you can see our pumpkin was not quite ready for carving. My daughter and I decided to carve the pumpkin anyways. We were inspired by the jack-o-lantern in the Bubble Guppies episode about Halloween. We both bonded over the experience, and were happy with the final product. Next year, I will try planting the seeds

Free Christmas Cactus by Mai

2011-11-06T12:50:00.000-08:00

Photo: Christmas Cactus, Free Plant of the Month by freeplantsbymail.org Free Plants By Mail (freeplantsbymail.org) was started by local growers as a way to use the surplus plants from nurseries and also as a way to support The Nature Conservancy. Free Plants By Mail offers a new free plant each month. This month they are offering Christmas Cactus. Although the plant itself is free, you do

Send Postcards to Our Troops for Free

2011-11-04T12:33:00.000-07:00

You can create and send a postcard to our troops by visiting: http://www.cosmopolitan.com/cosmo-kisses-postcard. Cosmopolitan and Maybelline New York will donate $1 to USO for each postcard sent.* Many of my family members and friends are in the military. They do so much for us, and I know that they will appreciate the fact that we took the time to write them a kind message. So please take

Cow Mug

2011-10-12T18:09:00.001-07:00

I love my cow mug! This little guy never fails to bring a smile to my face every morning! I am also in love with Italian Sweet Creme flavored creamer by Coffee-Mate. I wasn't a regular coffee drinker before, but I am now.

Reduce Your Magazine Clutter

2011-10-10T03:00:00.000-07:00

Photo: Magazine Binder If you subscribe to several magazines like I do, you know that those magazines can easily pile up. Perhaps this would not be such a bad thing if you actually read those magazines again, but let's be honest --- we rarely do. So let's tackle that clutter in a smart way. How to Create a Magazine Binder Materials: large 3-ring binder (Note: You could always upgrade to a

Apartment Gardeners Can Compost

2011-10-07T03:14:00.000-07:00

Photo 1: Thick top layer of hand shredded newspaper Photo 2: Shredded newspaper, egg shells, carrot tops, coffee grounds, and banana peel decomposing Photo 3: Red worms working on scraps. Photo 4: Finished compost ready to use directly in garden or to make compost tea. For apartment gardeners and people with small gardens, I suggest trying a worm compost bin. The bins are cheap (

Harvesting Marigold Seeds

2011-10-05T02:50:00.000-07:00

Photo 1: Dried marigold flower head full of seeds Photo 2: Dried orange petal fluff removed. Base of plant is holding a bunch of marigold seeds. Photo 3: Base of plant holding a few marigold seeds. Photo 4: Bag full of marigold seeds My marigolds are dying back in the garden and the stems have turned brown, which means it is time to harvest the marigold seeds. Collecting marigold

Harvesting Butternut Squash

2011-10-03T02:54:00.000-07:00

Photo 1: Butternut Squash Flower Photo 2: Young butternut squash growing on the fence. Photo 3: Butternut squash almost ready for picking Photo 4: Butternut Squash Harvested (unwashed) I am a huge fan of butternut squash soup! I planted 2 butternut squash plants earlier this year, and they have taken over the garden. So far we have harvested 3 nice size butternut squash, and there are still

Seeds from Flower Arrangements

2011-10-01T03:03:00.000-07:00

Photo: Flower from Flower Arrangement Setting Seeds It looks like a flower in my flower arrangement produced seeds. I can't tell if they are good seeds, but I decided to chuck them in the garden anyways and see what happens. Maybe one will sprout!

Korean Star Melon Surprise

2011-09-30T03:52:00.000-07:00

Photo 1: Korean Star Melon Photo 2: Korean Star Melon Seedlings. I threw scraps of Korean Star Melon into my worm compost bin weeks ago. When I checked on my compost bin, I discovered the seeds had sprouted! I transferred the seeds into my garden. Let's see what happens.

How To Tell When To Pick Carrots

2011-09-28T03:39:00.000-07:00

Photo: Danver's Half Long Carrot It is difficult to tell whether carrots are ready for picking by just looking at their leafy, green tops. To avoid accidentally pulling up carrots prematurely, try this tip. Pull the soil away from the base of the stem until you expose the top of the carrot root. See Photo Above. Generally, if the top of the carrot root is as thick as an adult carrot, it is