Another great idea from…

The Summer of Living Outdoors on the Cheap

For lovers of flower and herb crafts or for the gourmet cook, harvest herbs at the peak of their oil content in mid-summer. You can bundle and hang long stemmed pieces, but for the leaves and smaller cuttings, use a window screen to dry them. Simply strip off the leaves and scatter over a window screen in a single layer. Store flat where there is good air circulation but no sun. A shed or garage is ideal. The same goes for dried flowers for crafts and to garnish winter dishes. Arrange whole flowers or just the petals over the screen surface and set aside until dry.

It is easier to use a number of smaller window screens rather than one large one which may become unwieldy. Plus, collecting a variety of them allows you to dry different plants at different time lengths or location. Old metal screens can rust so badly they quickly fall apart but aluminum screens will serve you far longer. Plastic mesh is also preferable because it doesn’t absorb heat. 

Wash your plants and flowers well before drying, and when you bring in this harvest by the end of fall you’ll be well supplied for the whole winter.

Another tip from

The Summer of Outdoor Living on the Cheap

It’s difficult to add insulation inexpensively to the walls of an older house, but there is a cheap way to reduce radiant heat gain and loss through your walls. Just add insulation by planting vines, which can be trained to cover your house walls evenly. Their shading effect is considerable, and the dead air space between the vine foliage and the exterior wall is also a very effective insulator. Taller shrubs planted up against the house also provide the benefits of shading and insulating.

More tips for

The Summer of Outdoor Living On the Cheap 

The thick felt used to make hats is usually wool and good insulation material. It can be cut to the shape of your foot and inserted into the knee-high rubber boots (Wellingtons) used during the winter. You might wish to glue them in place.

If cork isn’t handy, or if you wish to avoid using cork to protect the environment, wax candle stubs make perfect plugs for holes in garden pots or to stopper bottles of seeds or leftover liquid products for storage.