Quinine should not be used for leg cramps, due to potentially deadly side effects and interactions with other medications. ""We believe unapproved quinine products represent a serious health risk because of the widespread use of this product for treating leg cramps," Steven Galson, MD, MPH, says in the FDA news release. Galson directs the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. "Quinine needs to be dosed carefully, and FDA-approved labeling reflects the fact that the risks associated with the use of this drug for treatment of leg cramps outweigh the benefits," Galson says." Of course, using a 3X homeopathic quinine preparation (a 1:1000 dilution) would lower chances of toxicity, while raising the likelihood that you're just wasting your money with a product that's virtually all inactive filler.

Hi Everyone! Well I spent the rest of the winter patiently waiting planting time and as of yesterday, am mostly finished. I went to a local nursery (Farmer's Daughter in South Kingstown, lovely place) and spoke with the gentleman there who was the expert on roses. For my arbor, I ended up walking away with Zéphirine Drouhin - since it has few thorns, is easy to train, and is relatively disease resistant. For my bed, I ended up with a double Knockout. I thought since I was a newbie it would be best to start easy - plus the color (deep fuchsia almost red) works with the rest of the bed. I know it's not really a rose to some rose gardeners but baby steps. :) So I'm patiently awaiting being able to start training the ZD - she already has lots of new growth so that's a good sign. Anything in particular I should know about this rose? Anyone have experience with it? So thank everyone for their input! I'll still be looking to go to the rose show in Wickford and to the rose gardens in Providence just to gawk and get inspiration.

I find fennel to be most attractive to BST in my yard. I gave 19 eggs and caterpillars to a teacher friend. She said the students were really enjoying watching them grow. She divided the eggs between the second grade teachers. Then, I was able to find another 14 for myself. I collect them ASAP as eggs. I take the fennel sprig with the egg and place those into a deli plastic container. Small holes in the lid, insert the sprig through the hole into the water. I usually recut the bottom of the sprig before I place it in the water. I monitor the water level in these containers. It takes a good 5 days for the eggs to hatch. By the time the eggs hatch, they need some fresh fennel. I use another deli container and place that near them so that they can crawl over to fresh food. If they don't move, I carefully snip the piece of plant that they are on and place that on the fresh fennel.

I'll reinforce some of the others' suggestion, and maybe change some. If you're looking for the cheapest possible way to create a landscape, try the following: Go to your library and check out some books on garden design. While you're there, get one or two about plant propagation. Read, read, read. Take notes. Plan on paper. Keep in mind when you plan that what you're planning isn't cast in stone. If the yard is completed slowly -- to accomodate your budget -- then you'll have plenty of time to change your mind. And in the end, there's something very satisfying about seeing a plan become a reality. Also, it's not necessary to buy nice paper or colored pencils. Printer paper and crayons work just fine. Or notebook paper (you can draw lines the other direction to make a grid and use the grid to approximate space in your yard so you're not overplanning the space). And if you have a computer, that's even better: I don't know about Macs, but the IBM version of the Windows operating system comes with a very basic program called Paint which works just fine, and you can change the layout to your hearts content without throwing away a scrap of paper. If your soil is heavy, start collecting leaves and plant material scraps *now* and create impromptu compost piles. Get stuff from your neighbors: grass clippings, fallen leaves, trimmings, etc. If your yard is unplanted you have plenty of room to create piles for composted material. With time, patience, a lot of hard work, some indulgence from your neighbors, and a few large and unsightly piles, you can have a decent amount of soil amendment for cheap or free. (Though you may have to compost for as much as a year to generate enough for your purposes). I definitely second the getting-cuttings-from-your-neigbors approach. Or drive (or walk) around town and find plants that really strike your fancy instead of limiting your selections to your neighbor's tastes. And make sure you understand propagation (getting and using cuttings) before you go, not just so that the cuttings survive and thrive, but in case the owner of the plant you lust after takes some convincing because they don't understand propagation and need it explained that what you're after won't damage their plant. For pots to grow cuttings in, yogurt containers work fine, and you can pot up to gallon milk containers when you need to. The things that will be tough to find for cheap or free are the hardscape items. One recomendation I have is for mulch paths (or mulch in general): you can usually get mulch from power companies when they have to cut down brush or trees for maintenance purposes. If you tell them you want the mulch from the next job, they'll make it and drop it free of charge (or exceptionally cheap), though you have to be willing to accept an unknown (usually large) amount and you'll have no control over the timing. If you're worring about getting too much, try making arrangements with your neighbors for taking any excess off your hands. With patience, time and (sometimes huge) effort, you can have a nice landscape for the price of rooting hormone, soil-less sterile mix (for the cuttings) fertilizer, and some hardscape materials. Now, you may not want to go about it in this bare-bones a manner, but I took my suggestions to the extreme just as a reminder that landscapes do not need to be store-bought and expensive. Good luck!