View full sizeAbbey House Gardens doesn’t look like it welcomes naked people, but it does.BARE AND BRITISH: I don’t know how the British got the reputation for being uptight. I read the most outrageous things about them, and this article beats ’em all.
Abbey House Gardens in Wiltshire opens six days a year for those with no clothes. On the last such day this year, “a retired court stenographer, who gamely took off his pants, sipped his cup of tea and explained that being here allowed him to indulge in two pastimes beloved of more English people than one might imagine: being in a garden, and not wearing anything at the time. He cannot do this at home on account of his uptight neighbors, he explained, and so he weeds and trims while covering potentially alarming body parts with a tie-dyed sarong he bought at a garage sale.
“I am as near to naked as I can be while I cut the grass,” Mr. Monroe said. At Abbey House, though, he can admire the flowers while dispensing with the sarong.
Well, then. What more is there to say? Oh, I know. The garden is known for its 2,000 varieties of roses. Ouch.
POTTED PLANTS: Houseplants don’t do it for me. For years, I carried paper towels around with me as I watered inside. Inevitably, I’d turn to another plant, forget to wipe up and the wood floors would warp. Of course, I never bought good plant caddies to keep the water from leaking out, so I guess it’s my own fault. The dirt gets to me, too. When I had hand-me-down and garage-sale furniture, it wasn’t so bad. It’s a different matter now I bought a couple of good pieces.
Not everyone agrees with me about gardening indoors. And for some people, it’s their only option. On the Sustainablog (great name), Ann Smarty writes up some ideas for houseplant success. She also recommends three related iPhone apps, including one for hydroponic gardening.
— Kym Pokorny
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