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1. Turn an ordinary arbor vitae, spruce, or other inexpensive evergreen into a topiary. While being able to create topiary animals is a skill most of us will never have, you can try giving your tree the appearance of a spiral or a set of stacked spheres. Even a simple change (such a leaving a portion of an arbor vitae trunk bare) can give an ordinary tree an exotic look.

2. Bring your indoor tropicals outside for the summer. Make sure you set them in a location that has the proper light, humidity, and rain exposure for the plant. Also, you will need to gradually acclimate the plant to outside conditions by setting it out for an hour, then two, then an afternoon, and so on. If the plant does not look healthy, be sure to spray for insects before bringing it back inside.

The pot should be heavy enough to keep from tipping over in the wind. If it is not, consider weighting it with rocks, wedging it on between some large landscape stones, or finding a place where it will be out of the wind and have support.

3. Display your vines by letting them climb trellises. A cucumber vine looks like a weed on the ground, but with an inexpensive metal trellis, you can use it to make an outdoor "wall" that will serve as a shade/privacy screen. Other good climbers are grapes, raspberries, and blackberries. If your family enjoys fruit, the plants will quickly pay for themselves once they start producing, which may take a year or two.

4. Use containers for plants like geraniums instead of planting them in the ground. Many of my neighbors planted geraniums last year and let them die. At the moment, my potted geraniums are all blooming in my indoor "greenhouse" (actually, it's the breakfast nook, but I've appropriated it for my plants). The bold crimson flowers bloom in giant spherical clusters more interesting than roses but similar in the intensity of their color.

By taking them in instead of treating them as annals, I get to enjoy their blooms throughout the year, and though of course everyone loses plants, I doubt I will ever have to purchase another geranium! (Read the next tip.)

5. Propagate your own plants as much as possible. I take cuttings from my geraniums, hibiscus, and schefflera plants frequently. Hibiscus cuttings are difficult, schefflera are intermediate, and geraniums are easy. Be sure to put a plastic bag over the cuttings as they root. Keep it loose to allow air flow. The bag is to prevent dehydration, but you don't want to smother the leaves either. There are more detailed instructions here:

http://www.helium.com/tm/ 705087/perhaps-scrawny-scrap-p hilodendron

6. Use attractive containers. If you don't want to spend a lot buying pretty pots, this will give you some ideas for making your own:

http://www.helium.com/tm/79404 7/almost-container-holes-botto m

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