In this case, I had a six hour drive home, and my brain can cover a lot of ground in 6 hours!  It’s a great location, he’s got nice furnishings, his place is sparse but well appointed, he’s obviously not one who chucks perfectly good, working appliances because retailers tell him he needs the new model…   But, if it were me, I’d hang gauze curtains on that balcony and sleep out there all summer!

When I woke up this morning, I realized, that while before I’d always thought, “Gosh, I wish I could render landscapes, in watercolor, the way Alan Titchmarsh does” (on the old Ground Force series), now I can.  I exploded out of bed. 

First to render the balcony as it is:

A touch of color (cobalt blue, squared, tapered planter); a perennial beauty and some verticality (Fortnight Lily (Dietes vegeta); some Purple Fountain Grass (Pennisetum setaceum ‘Rubrum’) to soften things, catch the breeze and tie in the lovely burgundy sofa; a squared terra cotta 3-level fountain for those sounds you can’t ever live without once you’ve had a fountain, and some repetition for a harmonious, no care container meadow effect.

Shazzam! A cheap, easy, movable planting that requires minimal maintenance at most, and as little water.  Well, now you know what I’d do, if it were me—but it’s not.

The balcony is rendered from memory, and the sofa perspective is off, but you get the idea.  You’ll have to imagine the curtains, pulled back during the day.  Heck, it’s my first Titchmarsh episode.  I don’t know about Mr. Titchmarsh, but I’d be having a lot less fun without Photoshop!

Cathy Rogers and Jason Gibb had successful careers in television production in Los Angeles, with homes both in the U.S. and their native England. Finding themselves restless, they wanted some physical work that would challenge them and produce something of which they could be proud. After some searching around, they decided that moving to Italy and making organic olive oil would be a grand idea. Oh yes, they added a brand new baby into the mix as well.
…

Q The instructions on seed packets refer to starting seeds or transplanting seedlings a certain number of weeks before the last frost date. What is this?

A Gardeners mark the growing season according to the last spring and first fall frost dates for their area. The last spring frost date is the average date when temperatures dip below freezing for a particular area. It is a useful benchmark for timing when to start seeds so transplants will be ready to move to the garden at the proper time. The last spring frost date is also useful for timing transplanting: Cold-tolerant crops like cabbage can be transplanted to the garden several weeks before the last spring frost, whereas heat-loving plants like peppers shouldn’t be moved outdoors until several weeks after it. The first fall frost date is the date when temperatures typically dip below freezing for the first time. It is used to time sowing and planting for fall crops.

Keep in mind that these dates are based on averages, and the last spring or first fall frost in your garden in any given year may occur before or after the published dates for your area. Check the Internet or your local Cooperative Extension Service for information on your area.

Reprinted from The Veggie Gardener’s Answer Book
Copyright 2008 by Barbara W. Ellis, with permission from Storey Publishing.