A tiny garden can bring you closer to nature as you tend the plants with special care and watch them grow.

It could be a niche in a corner of the yard, a raised bed of flowers or vegetables, a window box or two or a container garden on the deck. In any case, the compact garden takes less time and work. The satisfaction comes from working with each individual plant.

For most flowers and vegetables, consider a spot that gets morning sun and afternoon shade. If your place is shady, search for shade-loving plants with greenery or flowers that may be planted under an ornamental tree.

Adding a wooden bench or chair will give you a place to relax in your niche. You could add a sundial, a birdbath or trellises for your climbing vines.

Men particularly enjoy building a rose garden. One costs a little more to start, but with proper care the roses will come back bigger and more beautiful with each passing year.

Roses are very attractive as they bloom in sunny niches, raised beds, or even when growing in wooden wine barrels from the garden store.

Container gardening is a pleasant alternative to having a garden in the yard. Containers come in all shapes and sizes. They can be put on trays with wheels so you can move them whenever you want. Or they can be put on stands to make a more dramatic statement. And you don’t need “mud shoes” to tend them after a rain.

Plastic containers require less water than clay pots. Soil in clay pots dries out faster.

Many enjoy the Master Gardener program

When April dances on the scene, many hands are immersed in black dirt as gardeners return to the soil.

A few of those men and women will opt for specialized training allowing them to work toward the title of “Master Gardener.”To begin this program, they need only have a love of gardening, diligence, and a willingness to give back their knowledge and time to the community.

The first master gardener program started in the State of Washington in 1973. The idea was for County Extension agents to train volunteers in the many aspects of horticulture. The Masters then helped local gardeners with city beautification either personally or through workshops and demonstrations. The program has since spread throughout the United States and Canada.

The volunteers are also trained by land grant colleges. Programs vary, but students may learn such subjects as garden design, plant taxonomy (a method of classifying plants by genus and species), plant pathology, wildlife control and pest management.

Master Gardeners also teach the protection of water quality and the reduction of invasive species. Their healthy living through gardening training also brings the Masters in contact with seniors and children to help them build community gardens.

For a map of Master Gardener Web sites, visit the American Horticultural Society at www.ahs.org.

Life settlement deals are increasingly popular, not always wise. Actually sounded pretty morbid to me the first time I heard about them.

The idea of selling your whole life insurance for a nice chunk of cash can sound appealing. Here’s how it works.
* A broker will offer you a settlement worth a certain fraction of your policy’s face value, which is generally more than the cash value amount.
* The broker then sells your policy to a buyer who will pay the premiums on the policy. When you die, the policy buyer gets the face amount.
One example given by Smart Money: A 75-year-old man with $1 million in life insurance might get $250,000 now from a life settlement. The investors would get $1 million when he dies.
* For some people, the life settlement is a great choice. If they are struggling to make their insurance payments, if their beneficiary or spouse has died, or if they really need the money, it can be a good move.
The life settlement business is growing rapidly. It rose from $2 billion in 2002 to an estimated $18-19 billion through June 2009, according to The Economist. Of life settlements made in 2008, more than half of the policies were less then four years old.
* The business is not regulated by the federal government or most state governments. Life settlement companies don’t have to disclose how they value policies, what fees they charge or what commissions they pay.

Caution: After a life settlement, you may owe capital gains taxes on the proceeds, and you might not be able to get more life insurance if you need

Stretch a little, work a while,

sit a spell

Whether it’s spring planting, summer cultivating, or autumn cleanup, time spent in the garden can be healthful and rewarding.

One good piece of advice: Don’t work for more than two hours at a time. After that, save your back. Sit down in your garden chair, ponder nature, and let your body recover.

Doctors at the British College of Osteopathic Medicine say more patients are seeking treatment for lower back pain, and that many of those patients are gardeners. People forget that their bodies can’t stand sustained labor and have to be gently limbered up before beginning. Their advice:

Stretch before you start. Work with a spade instead of a shovel for less back strain. Bend at the knees, not at the waist.

Use a cushion when kneeling on the ground.

Don’t work for more than two hours if you haven’t done any gardening for a while. If you have a very big garden, you can work up to a longer time.

Some people do their best thinking while sitting in an old chair next to the rows of vegetables, watching the corn rise and the sun set. Whether you do or not, you’ll find your chair by the garden to be a peaceful, restful spot.

Need a flu shot, a cure for swimmer’s ear or treatment for your kid’s sore throat? Next time you stop by the supermarket or the drug store, look for one of the new in-store clinics. Usually, you’ll get fast service and may pay less than you would at your doctor’s office. Most are open evenings and weekends.

One clinic, reports The Deloitte Center for Health Solutions, waives the cost for people who can prove they are unemployed and uninsured. All clinics bill your health insurance company.

There are about 1,100 of them across the U.S. Many are located at CVS and Walgreens. Supermarkets such as Kroger and Cub Foods have them, as well as chains like Wal-Mart and Target, according to Smart Money magazine.

They are staffed by a nurse-practitioner, sometimes with an assistant who hands out insurance forms and puts you in line for service if others are waiting. Antibiotics are not prescribed unless a patient meets a list of preconditions.

Walgreens received the best rating in the Smart Money survey. It has 342 clinics in 29 states, charges $59 for a basic visit, $74 for strep throat, and $25 for a flu shot. They work with 46 insurance carriers. Doctors monitor some diagnoses, and treatment includes a follow-up call by the nurse. Lines are sometimes long.

CVS has 50 clinics in 25 states and works with 98 insurance carriers. They are accredited by the same commission that certifies hospitals. They charge $62 for a basic visit, $77 for strep throat, and $30 for a flu shot. After treatment, patients can dial an 800 number for more information.

Some supermarkets have The Little Clinic. There are 96 in nine states. They charge $59 for a basic visit, $69 for strep and $15 for a flu shot.