Course it’s the END of August, but I just got my first fall planting catalog tease in an email.

The smart folks over at Territorial Seed want us to ‘go green’ this fall with lettuce, spinach and mustards.

Now if it wasn’t ’so’ hot, I’d probably take them up on it! I am flagging the message so that I can come back to it just as soon as it starts to cool off a little bit.

Are you planting this fall?

My reference books are overflowing their shelves!

My herbs are growing out of their respective beds!

And there’s a new service to help bloggers like me determine ‘what’ pulls people to their blogs, and what content people are using elsewhere.

It’s called Blog Copy and they’re new to me. I’m just trying it out. I’ll let you know if I learn anything!

My folks have a sunroom. Mother loves to redecorate it every season. Right now everything plays off a mint green chest used as a side table. They have coffee there in the mornings, tea in the afternoons and watch the birds frolic in the birdbath from the large windows in the evening.

Sunrooms are the perfect room to fill with earth-tones and greenery. You could start with a frugal painted concrete floor or go high end with a gorgeous san diego granite floor. Both are so easy to clean up. You don’t have to worry about a pot overflowing when you water it – it won’t seep in – water just wipes up. Granite, however, will last you a lifetime, something a painted floor just can’t do.

Add in a wicker couch and a couple of side chairs, some throw pillows and choose from colorful San Diego Bedspreads as a toss (for a chilly day). Play off the colors and choose a complimentary design. Sunrooms are meant to be fun!

You can add a couple of whimsical side tables like a stack of vintage fruit boxes, all the plants you can squeeze in and you’ve set up a sunroom that’s sure to start your day off with a smile. (Or end your evening watching the sun go down all from the comfort of your ‘indoor’ room!)

Is your sunroom too hot in the afternoon? You could add a gorgeous complimentary custom San Diego Window Shades to the offending windows. Shades come in so many styles these days that you’ll be sure to find something that catches your fancy.

Don’t be afraid to ‘go out on a limb’ when planning a sunroom. They’re meant to be fun – and relaxing!

kitchen sink

Yes, that’s my kitchen sink.

My OLD kitchen sink.

I set it atop some cement blocks and added a water hose to the inlet hole. The drain just drains down onto some mulch then down the hill towards the herb bed.

Is this not a great way to reuse your old sink?

This way you can rinse off your veggies and herbs before you head into the house!

I decided that the kitchen needed a little upgrade and an undermount kitchen sink was just the ticket. You can tell, the old one was REALLY old!!!

There are tons of choices today in undermount kitchen sinks, so much that you might have a little trouble choosing the right one for you!

They’re very affordable. When you buy a new sink online you can save hundreds! Check out their new line, especially if you’re dying to use the old one in the garden!

When I mentioned that I’d like some “Sweet Annie”, (aka Artemisia annua) well they went a little wild and planted a whole row of it.

Come harvest time, Dad cut it all down and make big bundles out of it. The bundles were a couple feet wide and 6-8 feet long.

He then popped them in the bed of his big old Fod pickup and hauled them to me, a nice little trek.

The whole time, he was just a little bit worried that he might get pulled over. Not for speeding. Not for weaving or anything like that, but because he had a whole pickup bed full of some ‘weed’.

Luckily nothing happened, but all that worry could have been resolved if he’d looked up ford truck accessories and got himself a bed cover!

truck cover

And yes, now I have sweet annie growing here too! LOVE that scent!

When you choose plants that are native, they will naturally be better able to cope with the particular weather characteristics of your area.

Xeriscaping will be different across the country. For instance, San Diego drought tolerant plants such as the Eucalyptus tree, the Hollyleaf Cherry or even the Honey Mesquite are native to the area and will naturally require less water and maintenance.

Great groundcovers for the area include the African Daisy, Daylily, and the trailing iceplant. Gorgeous flowers that can tolerate less water. Of course your ’show’ flower beds can always gain vigor by creating your beds with topsoil San Diego.

Curious as to ‘where’ to obtain these specialty plants? Don’t wild pick please! Go down to your garden center San Diego and ask them for help in pointing out the xeriscape plants.

You’ll be amazed at the plants available as well as the color combinations, height and width choices and the low water requirements of the plants.

They’ll help you determine the best spot in your yard or bed for each type of plant. They’ll also carry mulch. The addition of mulch to your beds will help retain the moisture they receive naturally from nature.

Xeriscaping is smart!

You can learn more about accutane and ulcerative colitis and determine for yourself if your current symptoms are related to an earlier use of the medication.

I think I survived that little episode of my life. Today I use much more natural ingredients on my face. I like to use ‘real’ soap on my face (and body) and moisturize with a pure natural product, like extra virgin coconut, or almond or grape oil.

Friday April 16 & Saturday April 17th

York Expo Center – Memorial Hall
334 Carlisle Ave, York PA

This herb event is held each April and features nationally recognized speakers, workshops and plenty of vendors. You’ll find plants, herbal crafts, gardening items. Find out more at PAHerbFestival.com

There’s a new health plan called Tonik California that specializes in health plans for Generations X & Y.

The people in these generations are still relatively young and many of them choose to go without health insurance thinking it unaffordable.e Tonik decided to create a plan just for them. Tonik’s new plans are easy to understand, include medical, dental and vision, offer a flexible ppo and 3 simple deductions.

Plans are affordable, starting at under $80 per month.

Tonik is a Blue Cross product.

The allspice tree is planted in many of the Hawaiian parks. On the larger islands you’ll find banana passion fruit and look for a cinnamon tree. There’s coffee of course, and guava and some unusual species too, like java plums, and lilkoi.

You’ll be intrigued by the macadamia nut trees and mangos, mangos everywhere! Hawaii must be part heaven.

“““““““““““““`
brought to you by
Plastic Surgery Hawaii