The suriest way is to hire a garden sitter. One that comes with references. I provide this service to those that can afford me. I require an A/C room with private bath/shower Access to your kitchen and a stocked refrigerator. My taste are simple. Steak and beef roast, pork chops, and chicken breasts will do fine for meat and unless you live by the sea don't even think about sea food. My veggies I will secure from your garden. I drink quite a lot of Coke so at least two, two liter bottles of caffine free coke per day. I also require that you provide appropreate wine. For the beef I would like a nice red, dry please. For the Pork and Chicken a nice dry white will do. Allow at least one bottle per day for the wine and please send me in advance a list of what you prepose to provide. Errny and Jules will not do. One of my added services is that I will cook for your Hubbie in your absence. Please be prepared for him to gain a few pounds as I am a so called Gumay cook. In addition to the drinking wine for meals I would also like several bottles of sherry and port as I use a lot in cooking. If you live a distance away from me then also please provide first class air fare both ways. The use of a car while there goes without saying. Your car will be fine as long as it is not a Chevy. I prefer BMW or MB or at least a German car of some kind. A VW Beetle is better than a Ford Tbird.I think that about covers it so check my page and email me for the details. OH, and have a nice trip. OH, one last thing. I will not work in NJ.

There may not be a one size fits all regimen, but there IS a one size fits 99.9% regimen which has proven to bear fruit for a LOT of growers. I probably have about 300 plants covering at least 200 species and I don't know how many genera - maybe 125 to150. All those plants are treated exactly the same, except for allowances that a little more than half of them snooze the winter away, dormant, in a cold garage where they need no care other than the snow I toss on top of them occasionally through the winter so roots don't dry out. The houseplants and succulents grow under the same lights, get watered ON A SCHEDULE at the same time, get fertilized with the same fertilizer, and manage to remain in excellent health, year after year. It's true that when all you have is natural light, plants will need to be sited in consideration of their light preferences, and temperatures are a consideration, but the portion of the cultural conditions that are provided by the grower that are most apt to spawn trouble will relate to a triangle formed by soil choice, watering habits, and proper nutrition. These three factors are so intimately related that it's difficult to discuss one without including the others unless you're growing in a soil that allows you to water correctly. The idea that different plants require different treatment (other than light and temps) comes largely from the fact that some plants are better able to tolerate adversity. 'Tolerate' somehow translated to 'appreciate', and soon people were believing some plants LIKED soils wetter than other plants. Most of the plants you'll grow perform best when their soils are barely damp - not wet, and never soggy. If you're interested, read the link I left below. It will help you avoid most of the frustration suffered by people new to the growing experience if you put it to practical use. Al Here is a link that might be useful: More here

Yes Coleus is the commonly used name. The botanical name has changed - Solenstemon scutellarioides or Plectranthus scutellarioides (coleus is much easier to say!!!) Here is a link that might be useful: more info

Unless your state is much more well off financially than most, it's highly likely that even if social services decides his mother isn't the best caregiver for your grandson, they will try to place him with a family member. That's generally what happens around here, at lease, if there's anyone at all in the family who is remotely interested and capable of caring for the child, so I wouldn't be overly concerned that a call for a little help would necessarily shunt him immediatley into the foster system. However, it probably would be a good idea to check around to make sure how things work in your specific jurisdiction. What about calling a home health service? Explain the situation to them and ask what help they can offer and what it will cost. After all, young mothers sometimes need to have medical procedures, so I'm sure the appropriate temporary help is available--you just need to find it. What about hiring a responsible babysitter? Will your medical 'time off' be in the summer? you might be able to find a teacher or responsible college student who might like a couple of extra weeks pay during her vacation. If you belong to a church or other group, you might find a few women there who would be happy to pitch in. The one thing I wouldn't do is force your dd to take care of a child she has no interest in. I know it's an extreme case, but wouldn't little Kaleigh (sp?) Anthony have been better off if her mother had been allowed to put her up for adoption, rather than being forced to keep her by her mother? I'm definitely NOT saying your dd is like Casey, but I also don't think it would be in your gchild's interest to have an unintersted mother caring for him. Sorry to say, but her behavior is very symptomatic of a person with an addiction. there's plenty of help around for you--I'm confident you and the other grandmother will find a way. One solution might be to put the child in daycare during the day (M-F) so the other grandmother only has to watch him a few hours a day. There are child care/day care facilities that will take short term cases like this, but you may have to do a little digging to find one. Good luck