Of all of the herbs readily available, it’s sometimes confusing to try to make a decision about which ones to include in your garden. Why spend your dollars and hours of your time in growing herbs that you may never use? Often, too much of a good thing is a bad thing.

In the classic 1960s movie, The Magnificent Seven, starring Eli Wallach as the “bad man,” Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, James Coburn, Robert Vaughn, Brad Dexter and Horst Buchholz were the “magnificent seven,” who performed miracles and saved the town. Why not narrow your choices down to seven herbs and create your own Magnificent Seven Herb Garden. Concentrating on only seven herbs will allow you more time to learn about, and experiment with, a manageable amount of herbs and use them to create your own culinary miracles.

A good design for your Magnificent Seven Herb Garden would be in a pie shape. Draw a circle, as large as you want, in the area you’ll plant your herb garden, and divide it into six pie slices. Enrich the soil with a little compost and create a border for each pie slice, using stones, bricks or whatever you have on hand. In the center of the pie, leave space for a medium to large pot. This is where you will plant the invasive lemon balm.

Of the magnificent seven herbs listed here, basil, dill and chives are annuals (although chives will probably re-seed and return next season). Lemon balm, rosemary, sage and tarragon are perennials and should re-emerge every spring, except in very cold climates. Feel free to substitute any one of these herbs if you have a favorite that’s not included here. Enjoy your magnificent seven herb garden this summer. Below is one recipe for each herb to get you started cookin’! You’ll find many more by doing an internet search for each herb.

Basil

Basil Pesto

- 2 packed cups of basil leaves

- ½ cup olive oil

- 2 Tablespoons pine nuts

- 4 cloves garlic

Blend the above ingredients in a blender, then mix in by hand ½ cup of freshly grated parmesan and 2 Tablespoons of softened butter.

Chives

Sautéed Chicken Breasts with Creamy Chive Sauce (Serves 4)

- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, (about 1 pound), trimmed of fat

- 1 teaspoon salt, divided

- 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, divided

- 3 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

2 large shallots (or small onions), finely chopped

- 1/2 cup dry white wine

- 1 14-ounce can chicken broth

- 1/3 cup sour cream

- 1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard

- 1/2 cup chopped chives, (about 1 bunch)

– Place chicken between sheets of plastic wrap and pound with a meat mallet or heavy skillet until flattened to an even thickness, about 1/2 inch. Season both sides of the chicken with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Place 1/4 cup flour in a shallow glass baking dish and dredge the chicken in it. Discard the excess flour.

– Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook until golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate, cover and keep warm.

– Heat the remaining 1 teaspoon oil in the pan over medium-high heat. Add shallots (or onions) and cook, stirring constantly and scraping up any browned bits, until golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon flour; stir to coat. Add wine, broth and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt; bring to a boil, stirring often.

– Return the chicken and any accumulated juices to the pan, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook until heated through and no longer pink in the center, about 6 minutes. Stir in sour cream and mustard until smooth; turn the chicken to coat with the sauce. Stir in chives and serve immediately.

Dill

Cheddar and Dill Biscuits (Makes 12 biscuits)

- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

- 1/4 teaspoon salt

- 1 teaspoon dry mustard

- Few grinds black pepper

- 4 tablespoons ( 1/2 stick) cold, unsalted butter, cut up, plus 1 tablespoon melted butter for brushing

- 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

- 1/4 cup snipped fresh dill (no thick stems)

- 2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

- 1 large egg

- 1/2 cup buttermilk

– Preheat oven to 400. Set out a large baking sheet.

– In large bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, mustard and pepper. Add cold butter and cut in with pastry blender or your fingers until mixture forms fine crumbs. Stir in cheddar, dill and parmesan.

– Break egg into buttermilk and beat with a fork. Pour into flour mixture; stir until soft dough forms. Turn dough onto lightly floured board. Flour hands. Knead 10 to 12 times until fairly smooth. Scrape board and dust again with flour. Pat dough into 1/2-inch-thick rectangle, about 9-by-7 inches. With floured knife, cut into 12 pieces; arrange apart on baking sheet. Brush tops with melted butter.

– Bake 12 to 15 minutes, until golden. Transfer to wire rack to cool. If sticking, let stand 2 to 3 minutes, and they will loosen from sheet. Best served the same day.

Lemon Balm

Lemon Balm Bread (Makes one loaf)

- 1/2 cup unsalted butter

- 1 cup sugar

- 2 large eggs

- 1 pinch salt

- 1/2 cup, packed, lemon balm leaves, finely chopped

- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted

- 1 teaspoon baking powder

- grated rind of one lemon

- 1/4 cup chopped walnuts nuts

– Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

– Cream butter and the lemon balm leaves together.

– Add sugar and mix well.

– Add the remaining ingredients and pour into a greased loaf pan.

– Bake for 30 to 45 minutes.

– To test for doneness use a toothpick.

– After bread is done, remove from oven, punch tiny holes into the top of the bread with a toothpick and pour glaze over it.

Glaze for Lemon Balm Bread

- juice of one lemon

- 1/2 cup sugar

- 1/2 cup hot water

- 1/4 cup, packed, lemon balm leaves, finely chopped

– Mix juice of 1 lemon, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup hot water and 1/4 cup lemon balm.

– Allow the glaze to settle in loaf for 4 to 6 hours

Rosemary

Rosemary Potatoes (Serves 4)

- 4 large potatoes, scrubbed

- 1/2 cup olive oil

- 3 large garlic cloves, peeled and slivered

- 3-4 Tablespoons chopped, fresh rosemary

- coarse salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

– Cut each unpeeled potato into 8 spears. Place in mixing bowl and toss with olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper. Marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes.

– Preheat oven to 350.

– Spread potatoes in a roasting pan and bake for 45 minutes, tossing occasionally. Sprinkle with rosemary and continue roasting until potatoes are crusty brown, about 15-20 minutes.

Sage

Yellow Squash Dressing (Serves

- 2 cups diced fresh yellow squash

- 2 cups cooked and crumbled cornbread

- 1/2 cup margarine, melted

- 4 teaspoons fresh sage

- 1 (10.75 ounce) can cream of mushroom soup

- 1 egg, beaten

- 1 large onion, chopped

- 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

- salt and pepper to taste

- 1/4 cup milk

– Place squash in a pot fitted with a steamer basket over boiling water, and steam 10 minutes, or until tender.

– Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

– Lightly grease a medium baking dish.

– In a bowl, mix the squash, cornbread, margarine, sage, cream of mushroom soup, egg, onion, sugar, salt and pepper, and milk. Transfer to the prepared baking dish.

– Bake 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly browned.

Tarragon

**Be sure to plant French tarragon; it is much more flavorful than Russian tarragon.

Tarragon Cream Chicken Breasts

- 1 Tablespoon butter

- 1 Tablespoon olive oil

- 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

- salt and pepper to taste

- 1/2 cup heavy cream

- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh tarragon

– Place chicken between sheets of plastic wrap and pound with a meat mallet or heavy skillet until flattened to an even thickness, about 1/2 inch

– Melt the butter and heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper, and place in the skillet. Brown on both sides. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and continue cooking 15 minutes, or until chicken juices run clear. Set aside and keep warm.

– Stir cream into the pan, scraping up brown bits. Mix in mustard and tarragon. Cook and stir 5 minutes, or until thickened.

– Return chicken to skillet for one minute on each side to coat with sauce. Drizzle chicken with remaining sauce to serve.

Here’s an “extra” recipe that uses three of the magnificent seven herbs.

Deviled Eggs with Dill, Tarragon, or Chives

- 6 hard boiled eggs

- 1/4 cup mayonnaise

- 1 teaspoon herbal vinegar

- 1/8 teaspoon salt

- 1 teaspoon prepared mustard

- freshly chopped dill, tarragon, or chives (as much as you want)

– Slice each egg lengthwise; remove the yolk and mash it with a fork.

– Stir in mayonnaise, vinegar, mustard, and salt. Stuff egg whites with yolk mixture.

– Garnish with chopped herbs.

Most of the landscapes featured on YardShare are residential areas designed by homeowners (and they do a great job!) But we also get a chance to peek at how the other half lives, too. The concepts presented in these glamorous resort landscapes can be used to make your own yard look even better. Here are a few take-home ideas based on creations from the YardShare community.

Poolside Plantings

Consider putting tall plants by the pool’s perimeter and lower vegetation further away. This pool is turned into an exotic spa by the placement of palm trees right up at the water’s edge. They look like they might be growing out of the pool – but that’s just an illusion. Tall plants by the poolside also make for more interesting reflections on the water’s surface. Be sure to pick plants without an invasive root structure so the pool lining won’t be disrupted.

Expert Camouflage

There will always be less attractive areas of your yard where a little cover up would do some good. This trash bin has been cleverly concealed with a wooden lattice work enclosure. It has a hinged panel on the front to allow easy access. You might craft something similar around an air conditioning unit in your back yard.

Compass Check

The difference between a sweet view and a stunning one lies in how well you orient your central landscape feature. This carved limestone waterfall is quite an eye-catching piece on its own. But the sun setting over the falls is a touch that no amount of money can buy. If you have the chance to use sunrise or sunset as a natural backdrop, take it!

Sometimes, your budget may hold you back from making major changes in your landscaping. You’ve got to look for ways to create an attractive outdoor environment while saving money. Unfortunately, extreme couponing won’t help you pay for stump removal. So, you have to work around unsightly dead tree remains until you can afford a more permanent solution. Here are a couple of ways our YardShare members have incorporated tree stumps into their landscape design:

Now You See It,

Now you don’t. This stump blends into the rest of the yard after being turned into an impromptu occasional table.  Here’s the before…

It’s hard to tell if that’s a decorative vase or a beer bottle sitting on the flat stump surface, but that just adds to the down-home appeal. One reason this design kinda works is that there’s a carved wooden statue of about the same height on the opposite corner of the lounge area.

When guests visit, the owners could claim that this wood totem used to be a tree stump too. Then, they could imply that they just haven’t gotten around to carving and staining the remaining stump and turning it into a work of art. With a straight face (and a sufficiently beer-lubricated audience), it might be possible to pull off this “before and after story”.

The Giving Tree

Dave in Kentucky didn’t have the heart to uproot this 100 year old water maple after it died. Instead, he left the stump in place – right smack dab in the middle of the backyard patio. The heart of the tree had rotted out, so he stuck a table umbrella in there and cemented it in place. Dave removed the bark with a chainsaw and cut in a footrest around the table base. Then, he stained and lacquered it to match the premade wooden stools. With proper care, this outdoor table might still be in use another hundred years from now!

Strawberry Shortstump

If you have a tree stump in your front yard, turning it into a table probably won’t work very well. But what about making it the base of an unusual flowerbed? Strawberry pyramids are a type of raised garden bed constructed out of concentric circles. You could easily adapt one to be set up with the stump in the center. The sides of the stump would be concealed by the rings of flowers and you could set a decorative urn or other planter on the top to finish it off.  Here’s an example you can buy from Miller Nurseries.

We love taking a gander at what YardShare members do to turn a yucky yard into a lovely lawn. For some people, this takes years of hard work. But when you have a small plot and a lot of determination, you can make a night and day difference in a single season. That’s what you’ll see in this makeover by Neal Teixeira. The previous owner had a ramp installed that took up quite a bit of the yard and obscured the front of the house. Given the state of the rest of the lawn (dry ground and sand with sparse vegetation), it’s likely that this was a location where the resident aged in place and simply couldn’t keep up with the landscaping. Neal decided to strip everything and start over.

The siding was still in good shape, so the front of the house was simply updated with new doors and repainted shutters. Coupled with the American flag and little blue mailbox, this restored the original “small town pride” look to this tiny home. However, the rest of the landscape has been modernized. The Japanese cloud style topiaries in the front garden beds are fresh and trendy.

The curving gravel pathway providing access from both the driveway and sidewalk is another very 21st century touch. It keeps the diminutive yard from looking too uniform as it would with just a square grass lawn. This yard could use some lighting to replace the dilapidated lamppost that was removed. Other than that, it looks perfectly finished!

The caveman instinct within us comes alive when we cuddle up to an outdoor fire. That need for warmth, a way to cook our food and a hot blaze to light up the night. It’s a comfort that we all instinctively crave. And why not? Mankind has survived for eons with the help of burning embers. You could say that next to air, water and food, we all need fire to survive.

Seriously, even though today we get our heat for warmth and cooking from means other than blazing flames in an out-of-doors location, the magnetic pull of that outdoor fire is still embedded in our psyche. A fire pit in your yard could be the way to keep those flames from the past alive.

A well-constructed fire pit is steps above the campfires of the past. It is safer, long-lasting, and with an attractive design, it can be an enhancement to your yard and outdoor living space.

When considering a fire pit for your yard, first check with the codes on open fires in your area. If everything is “go,” proceed with selecting the area in your backyard to locate the fire pit.

Here are some things to consider when selecting a site:

1. Never place the fire pit near the walls of your house or garage.

2. Don’t place it on wooden decks without a fireproof underlay, including a backdrop to protect from sparks.

3. Place the fire pit in an open-air location, with no overhangs or enclosures nearby.

4. Stay away from dry grasses or brush that could easily be ignited by sparks.

5. Don’t locate it near overhanging tree limbs.

There are a number of choices in materials to consider for your fire pit. For a permanent outdoor fire pit, some choices include tile, stucco, stone, and brick. Less expensive are the “moveable” fire pits made of copper, cast iron, or steel. Another option are chimineas, a traditional Mexican design (with chimneys) most commonly made of clay, but they are also available in cast iron and cast aluminum.

Consideration must also be given to the type of fuel your fire pit will utilize.

- Wood burning: If you’re wanting the traditional bonfire atmosphere of a crackling fire, wood will be your choice. But remember, it takes a bit more effort to start and maintain a fire with wood than one with charcoal or natural gas.

- Charcoal: Briquette or lump charcoal is most often used in fire pits where the main function is grilling. It produces very powerful heat without the large flames that accompany other fuel sources, making it a safe option. Just remember, you’ll need to keep it cleaned out.

- Natural Gas: The easiest fuel to use is natural gas. Just contact your gas company and have them tie into your home’s existing gas line. Fire pits using natural gas as a fuel requires little maintenance.

- Propane: Propane is also quick, easy and affordable. And like natural gas fire pits, there is little maintenance.

Light up your night life with a backyard fire pit. Hire a professional to construct a really elaborate one, build your own, or purchase a pre-fabricated one. Shop online for further information by entering “fire pit” into a search engine. You’ll find a number of options both in price and design.

With summer fast approaching, your teenagers will soon be out of school. This time of year, teens need a place to gather that’s safe and fun. Why not make it your back yard? If you make your yard inviting enough, yours can be the “cool” house where all the neighborhood teens gather. What’s in it for you, you ask? Not only will you be able to keep an eye out to make sure your own teen is safe, but if you keep your ears open, you might get to overhear them actually speaking to each other so you can find out what’s going on in their lives – providing you can get them to put down their cell phones for a minute, that is.

Whether it’s a casual gathering with friends or a big blow-out of a graduation party, you just need a few areas to guarantee some fun in the sun for your teens and their friends.

What’s the most important thing on a teenage boy’s mind (besides teenage girls, that is)? Food, of course.  You’ll want to set aside two areas: one for cooking and a separate one for serving and eating. If you want to do the cooking yourself, add a full-sized gas or charcoal barbeque.

Alternatively, you can set up a fire pit and your teens can cook their own hot dogs or marshmallows on a skewer. Depending on your teen’s age, this might also require some adult supervision.

Teens will feel more grown-up when they serve their friends beverages (non-alcoholic, of course!) from their very own Tiki Bar. Go simple and rustic with a plank across some chairs or upside-down buckets or build an elaborate bar like the one shown below. Either way, let your teenagers paint a sign and decorate it with some raffia or palm fronds. Just add ice!

For daytime summer fun, nothing beats a swimming pool. Either in-ground or above, pools are a great attraction for teens to hit a few beach balls back and forth, swim a few laps, or just relax and cool off. Summer pool parties are always a hit with teens.

If your yard is large enough, create a sports area. It doesn’t have to be fancy. Just string up a volleyball net, put up a basketball hoop, sprinkle in some sand, and you’ll have an instant way for teens to get some exercise with their friends while they work on their sports skills.

After all that exercise, they’ll probably be tired (and hungry again), so be sure to set up an area with lounge chairs and some nice shade trees or awnings. You’ll want to have an electrical outlet nearby so they can plug in a boom box to play songs from their iPods or CDs. Or add a couple of guitars (with or without amplifiers) and they’ll create their own instant entertainment.

The fun doesn’t have to stop after the sun goes down. Keep the music playing for dancing and keep the fire pit glowing for s’mores and the party can keep going all night—or at least until curfew.

If your back yard is the go-to place to have fun this summer, your teens will be the most popular kids in high school in September. Who knows, they might even thank you for it one day!

One of the most charming landscape styles is the English cottage garden. This type of design works particularly well around older, smaller homes with wood, brick, or stone facades. This isn’t your frightfully well bred and proper formal British garden. Instead, a cottage garden is typically densely packed with a mish mash of colors, textures, and fragrances. On a warm spring day, it looks like you’ve crammed 10 pounds of flowers in a 5 pound bag. Here are some YardShare members who have given their gardens the old cottage try:

Hardscape features are a staple of most cottage gardens; but that doesn’t mean you have to install a picket fence. This design uses a simple pathway arch arbor to mark the boundary of the property. Climbing roses are a traditional choice for such an arbor. However, this homeowner has chosen a thornless vine that is less likely to snag visitors. The plants in this garden are mostly self-seeding perennials. This makes the landscaping easy to maintain from year to year.

The key to creating the old-time cottage feel is making sure there are no straight lines or clear divisions between plant types. Every bed should look like a bouquet with clumps and clusters of one plant blending into the next. This means you need to pick a wide variety of plants that do well with the same soil/water/sun combo. Stay away from aggressive species that will crowd out your other plants and create a homogenous bed. It’s OK to let a few native weeds grow among your carefully selected cultivars if they have pretty foliage or flowers. They won’t be noticed.

A little Beatrix Potter décor is a nice touch for your English cottage garden. The messy, slightly wild appearance of this landscaping style gives you ample opportunity to incorporate animal statuary. Just stick with rural country species like hedgehogs and rabbits. A lion or toucan would stick out like a sore thumb.

From a design standpoint, a cottage garden gives you a lot of leeway. However, it is a good idea to at least pick a broad color theme to offer some visual consistency. Mixing flaming orange with pale blue is just too jarring to be pleasant. In the garden above, Pamela has decided on pastels with lavender undertones – mixing blues and pinks that all have the same dusty warmth. The area still looks natural, but the planning pays off by making the garden soothing and appealing.

A beautiful garden path is an attraction in its own right, but pathways can serve many purposes in your yard. They invite you and your guests to stroll through the garden, admiring the plants and landscape. They provide a way to get from here to there without wearing a rut in your grass. Then there’s that garden bench, strategically placed around a corner and hidden from view, a place for sitting in thoughtful solitude. Your garden path can lead you there.

Garden paths provide interesting design elements to your yard, and adding a meandering pathway to your garden will also accomplish a number of other things. It will make your entire garden available for viewing from a variety of different viewpoints. It will open up areas that can’t be viewed from certain vantage points—a beautiful area of plantings that are blocked from sight by trees or other obstructions, for example. You can design your pathway—or a series of pathways—to twist and turn to take in all of the beauty of your yard.

Your yard and the location of your property should help you in determining the materials you might use for your garden path. A more formal garden might lend itself better to straight lines that lead to a focal point. These walkways are often made of brick. Cottage-type gardens, or informal gardens, can have winding paths that disappear around curves, creating a bit of mystery as to what lies around the bend. These walkways can be made of a variety of materials, some of which are highlighted below.

Material for Walkways

- Crushed Stone or Gravel

- Stepping Stones

- Flagstone

- Concrete

- Bricks or Pavers

- Sand

- Mulch

Artful Additions

When planning your garden walkways, you might want to create special interests around each curve of the path with plants and artful objects. Consider adding a few artistic touches, such as a fountain, bird bath, vases or statuary. How about having the walkway lead underneath an arbor or garden arch covered with climbing roses or sweet-smelling vines? A small bridge to cross over a rocky or wet area? Or, create a “wild area” and mow a garden path through it, perhaps leading to a bench.

Planning Your Garden Paths

So before you begin your walkway project, spend some time thinking about the overall appearance that you want. You might draw up a plan on graph paper, or simply jot down your ideas. First, decide on the route you want your path to take. Where do you want to begin? What will be the location of the end of the path? Then, plan to do the construction in stages, with the first stage leading to the next stage, and then to the next. Soon, you’ll have a series of garden paths in which to do your “walkabout.”

Actually, these homeowners tossed 3 million pennies in their pond to make their landscaping dream come true. Thirty grand isn’t a bad price for a water feature of this size and complexity. Here’s a blow by blow of the entire landscaping project.

The first step was to shore up the steep hill sloping down toward the house in the backyard. Each stone was laid by hand. As long as the first few layers of stone have been set below ground level, this type of wall should be very reliable.

Because of the steepness of the grade, it took multiple walls on different levels to complete the area. You can see them in the background here. This approach allowed room for a large poured concrete patio that acts as a sundeck near the pool. Staining the concrete patio and steps was another DIY project. The variegated effect looks like natural sandstone. Here, you can also see the pond dug out and lined with a standard pond liner.

The little outbuilding behind the waterfall conceals the saltwater pump that serves the pond. Since the water feature is located at the lowest point of the property, choosing a pond instead of a traditional pool was a smart move. Keeping the water crystal clear would be impossible since a certain amount of sediment and runoff will inevitably make its way down the slopes and over the retaining walls. Saltwater has greater buoyancy than freshwater, which makes it ideal for floating. The finished pond is 4 feet deep – plenty deep enough for lounging on a foam noodle at night underneath strings of Japanese lanterns.

They’re from the same family; in fact, cacti (plural, cactus, singular)—are part of the larger group of plants known as succulents. The primary difference between the two is the exterior; succulents have smooth skins; cacti have spiny skins. Most succulents and cacti originated in dry areas with high temperatures and low precipitation. Therefore, they have adapted to collect and store water when rain is available, which allows them to survive long, dry periods. Contrary to popular belief, these plants do need ample water. It’s just when there’s a lack of water, they are often able to survive from water they’ve stored up in their leaves or body structures. Kind of like the water absorbing pellets you might add to your potted plant which release moisture back into the soil when it becomes dry.

Many cacti and succulents do well as house plants, and in warmer climates, they make interesting additions to the garden as well. Inside, they require bright light, so place them near a south or southwest facing window. Take them outside in late spring or early summer when the temperatures have warmed to at least 80 degrees. But keep in mind that, like any houseplant, they can become sunburned if they are not first acclimatized to the hot sun. Let them spend a few days in light shade, and then move them to filtered sunlight for a few more days to “toughen up.” Keep a close watch for a few days; if they begin to change colors to a lighter green or even a tan color, they are getting sunburned. But usually, they’ll be ready to move to full sun within a couple of weeks.

When potting up cacti or succulents, here are a few tips to help you get them off to a good start:

- Plant in a wide pot, rather that tall and deep; it suits their rambling roots.

- Use a potting soil made especially for growing succulents and cacti. Contrary to popular belief, cacti won’t grow well in just sand. You can create your own mix by using equal amounts of a regular potting soil and builder’s sand. (Do not use play sand.)

- Before adding the soil to the pot, place a layer of pebbles or broken clay pot shards in the bottom of the pot to allow better drainage. Wet roots will kill cacti and succulents.

- When handling a cactus to pot it up, use a pair of kitchen tongs or wear thick leather “rose gloves.” When handling a larger cactus, use a rolled- up newspaper and wrap the cactus in it.

- Don’t overwater cacti or succulents; it may cause the roots to rot. But, when you water, water well with lukewarm—not cold—water and then allow it to dry out between waterings.

- During winter months when there is less sunlight, water thoroughly when you water, but do it less frequently and be sure to empty the saucer beneath the pot of any water that has drained from the pot. Don’t let the pot sit in water! Let the soil dry out completely before watering again.

- Remember, these plants will require more frequent watering during the hot summer months and less during the low-light winter months, probably just once a month.

- These plants have relatively low nutrient requirements. Fertilize only once or twice a year, during late spring and mid-summer when they are growing. You can purchase a fertilizer made especially for cacti and succulents, or use Miracle Grow, diluted to half strength.

If you live in zones above 9, you can still create your own cactus and succulent garden outside. Locate an area in your yard that gets full sun and create a mound of soil—any kind—at least three feet deep and as wide as you want. Then bury your pots of cactus and succulents to the rim and add mulch to hide the rims and cover the soil. Viola! Instant “south-of-the- border” garden. Remove the pots from the ground in autumn, wash them off and take them inside to spend the winter.