Did you finish cleaning up the yard this fall and dumping all those leaves, pine needles, etc. into your compost bins? If so, didn't it make you proud? When all that organic matter breaks down, you'll be able to deploy "gardener's black gold" in your flower beds -- and it's all free!

But what about those of you who don't have much of a yard to clean up? Do you have to buy compost (for an arm and a leg!) at the store? Not necessarily. You still have kitchen scraps, for example, that could be placed in a compost bin. But it's the idea of having a compost bin taking up space that troubles you, right?

Well, the small homemade compost bins featured in this DIY project are ideal if "you don't have much space to compost, or just want to start composting on a small scale before committing to a full size bin," writes Colleen Vanderlinden, About.com's Guide to Organic Gardening. Follow Colleen's instructions to make a homemade compost bin from a plastic storage container. Such storage containers are readily available (at yard sales, for example) at a low cost, which makes building these homemade compost bins a great project for the frugal.

Can you hear "rose" without thinking of Valentine's Day, or "pumpkin" without thinking of Halloween? When mention is made of certain plants, we can't help but think of a particular holiday with which they are associated. That's what I mean by "holiday plants."

December certainly has its share of holiday plants. Firs, spruces and other evergreen trees that are popular as Christmas trees may come to mind first in a region such as my own (New England, U.S.). But other regions will have their own favorite holiday plants. Click the link below to reveal your favorite.

Tell us your favorite holiday plant!

If you live where it's cold in December, you probably derive some degree of comfort from adorning your home in winter with evergreens, as people have done for centuries. Evergreens are a symbol of immortality and instill hope in us that spring is not just a distant dream. In the West, Christian traditions have sprung up around these evergreen plants. Their contribution to our emotional well-being has certainly earned them a place in Christmas traditions.

In this article I link to resources that relate the Christmas traditions behind several of these storied plants, as well as providing tips on how to grow them.

Read article: Christmas Traditions

Tim Wood writes that it's a shame the honeysuckles have "gotten a bad rap." It's a case of the old one-bad-apple syndrome. "Lonicera japonica, the Japanese Honeysuckle vine is to blame of course," explains Wood. "It has proven to be highly invasive, particularly in the South East."

Wood goes on to describe some of the other honeysuckles out there, providing pictures of three of them, including "Goldflame." But pictures don't tell the whole story with honeysuckles, many of which are fragrant.

Is it time to take a second look at the honeysuckles?