Well, you've just spent an incredibly long week at work, shut inside your cubicle working on the quarterly report. You've had little time outside ? basically the time it takes you to go from your house to the car to the office and back. By the end of the week you ate your lunch from the vending machine in the lounge rather than take the time to run out to visit your favorite hot dog vendor, just to get the work done. Now that you've finished and are ready for a much-needed and well-deserved weekend, you head home with nothing but relaxation on your mind.



Stepping into your apartment, you are greeted with a hungry cat (did you feed Speckles this week????), a basket of dirty laundry (the elves didn't pick it up?) and a dead houseplant. Not very inspiring.

Spruce It Up!

What to do? You've neither the desire nor cash to head out to the mountains for the weekend (packing, unpacking and then more laundry), but can't see spending a dreary two days with these uninspiring surroundings. It's easier than you think (and less expensive) to liven things up for yourself. Since you probably plan to eat this weekend and to do so must go to at least one store to get said food, take a look at what your friendly supermarket has to offer in respect to plants and flowers. Go ahead and buy yourself a bouquet. Get a big one that you can separate into smaller arrangements to spread throughout your home. Try again with the houseplants?pick out a few hardy looking ones and bring them back with you. Pick up a new watering can ? just having something new to use can inspire you to actually use it. It's a lot more satisfying to water the plants with a groovy little watering can than with your coffee pot.

Once you've returned home with your new plants or flowers, open up! Even if it's hot or cold outside, it's a good idea to freshen up the place with some outside air. You may only be able to keep the windows open for a little while, but it will do you and your place a world of good. (Of course this wouldn't apply if you're currently in the midst of a dust storm, blizzard, hurricane, or plague of frogs'I would assume that if any of these things were happening you would not be looking to bring quite THAT much nature into your surroundings?)

If you've the benefit of a balcony, patio, or even a communal outdoor area where you live, take advantage of it. Get out there with a lawn chair and soak up some rays. You might discover that you have one or two interesting neighbors that are worth getting to know. One of them might even have some pointers for your houseplants. You could invite them over for a drink on those cool summer nights by your toasty chimenea; or you could plan a clean-up and planting day followed by a BBQ or a glass of wine or cup of coffee. You'll reap the benefits in more ways than one.