Recession Fun # 14: Growing Basil

When it comes to gardening, it doesn't get easier or cheaper than growing Basil. A dollar to a dollar fifty for seeds, a nice long container or miscellaneous pots, potting soil and water. You literally just need to sprinkle the seeds, add a thin layer of soil and water. Voila! You're done.

No worrying if you've planted the seeds too deep or that a squirrel is going to dig them up for a snack like sunflower seeds. Our basil pot is full of tiny plants and thriving. I'm already looking forward to pesto.

Photo from Cooking Light and check out the tasty article "Use Your Basil Bounty". I want to try the Purple Basil Lemonade.

Recession Fun #6: Country Roads

One of our simplest pleasures this summer has been driving on country roads and stopping at the various farm stands. My favorite stand is not actually part of a farm but a little stand run by a couple who sell vegetables and beautiful bouquets from their garden. It consists of just a table, an umbrella and a hand-painted sign in their driveway but the bouquets are better than any you could get at a florist. They overflow with bicolor zinnias, black-eyed susan, and forget-me-nots. The stand operates on the honor system and has a sign that says you can leave an IOU if you need to. How lovely is that?

Recession Fun #3: Jumping in Leaf Piles

Well the economy continues to tank and I have joined the ranks of the unemployed, so it seems appropriate to start back with another entry in my Recession Fun (Things That Cost Little or No Money to Do) Series. This past week the trees suddenly lost all their leaves in a matter of two days. As I face racking and bagging them all up, two things come to mind, how much fun it was jumping in leaf piles as a kid and how great it would be to have a leaf blower. Last time I did the yard myself I ended up with forty bags of leaves (thanks in part to three very large trees but also because of neighbors with very large leaf blowers). Lucky for me racking leaves is free too.

This leaf pile was made by Don Davis. Quiet impressive.