With crossed fingers that the sun will come out and stay out, I plan to hit my local garden center at the end of this week. I'm notoriously bad about getting plants into the ground early in the season (somehow Massachusetts' unoffocial gardening start date of May 15 always comes and goes without a second thought), but I'm not feeling so bad about it this year given the rain-induced plant mildew that seems to be appearing. Anyway, Real Simple's list of 10 almost-impossible-to-kill "goofproof" plants will definitely come in handy as I put together my shopping list:
- Verbena (full sun, heat-tolerant, let dry out before watering)
- New Guinea impatiens (partial sun, partial shade, keep moist)
- Geranium (full sun, heat-tolerant, drought-tolerant)
- Euphorbia (full to partial fun, partial shade, drought-tolerant)
- Purple fountain grass (full to partial sun, partial shade, heat-tolerant, let dry out before watering)
- Coleus (partial sun, partial to full shade, heat-tolerant, keep moist)
- Calibrachoa (full sun, let dry out before watering)
- Sweet-potato vine (full to partial sun, partial shade, heat-tolerant, let dry out before watering)
- Begonia (full to partial sun, partial shade, heat-tolerant, drought-tolerant, let dry out before watering)
- Lantana (full sun, heat-tolerant, drought-tolerant, let dry out before watering)
Image: Cabaret White Calibrachoa
Image credit: Real Simple.com
I'm a big fan of slipcovers. In theory.
When my husband and I bought our first "real" living room furniture (read: not a hand-me-down futon on an unfinished frame with splinters that I slept on beginning my sophomore year of college) every piece was slipcovered. Dirty? Throw it in the washer! Bored with the look? Order another one! The washability was great, but when we did, in fact, get bored with the look, I dicovered it was going to cost $750 to get a new slipcover for an $800 club chair. If only I had bought that chair at IKEA and then, if only I had known about Bemz, things would have been different.
