Easy Ideas for Flower Boxes
Deck the sills with blooms, and then enjoy the view
How to Plant One* Step 1: Prepare the soil. Pour potting mix into a bucket and add water until the soil feels like a damp sponge. Stir in a time-release organic fertiliser. For full-sun and shade boxes, add a moisture-retaining polymer, like Soil Moist. Cover drainage holes with coffee filters, and then fill two-thirds of the box with the potting mix.
* Step 2: Plant the box. Arrange plants, still in their pots, on top of the soil to approximate their positions. Gently tip them out of their containers. Start planting in the centre of the box and work toward the sides, adding more soil around the roots as you go. The final soil level should be about an inch below the top of the box.
* Step 3: Water lightly. Moisten the base of the plants to settle them into the soil and eliminate air pockets. Add more soil as needed. Place or hang the box beneath the window and water thoroughly until the drainage holes start to drip.

If You Have a Sunny Window
* Bright, showy flowers are at their best in a box that gets at least six hours of direct sunlight between 10 hours. And18 hours. So go for reliable bloomers in arresting color combinations.
* To add contrast, set the flowers against a backdrop of foliage in a variety of colors and textures.
* Water Daily, depending on rainfall and the season. To be safe, water when the soil feels dry an inch down.
How to Maintain
* Add a balanced water-soluble fertiliser every two to three weeks for extra growth potential.
* If you see spent blooms, pinch them off so the plants can flower more prolifically.

If You Have a Shady Window
What to Plant
* Look for shade-happy plants with colourful leaves, like the four vivid varieties of coleus that fill this box (Solenostemon scutellarioides Kiwi Fern, Dark Star, Dappled Apple, and Dark Heart).
* Play with contrasts in texture and hue. Here, the ruffly maroon-and-coral Kiwi Fern anchors the middle of the box, offsetting the deep purple and apple green foliage surrounding it.
* Water Daily during the hottest days; the rest of the year, check every few days and water as soon as the soil is dry to an inch below the surface.

* Pinch off new flower spikes and stem tips every two weeks to keep plants looking lush and full.

Avoiding Wardrobe Blunders

* A Gaping Blouse

Solution: Velcro
Your favourite shirt was dried once too often and now it’s a bit snug, with buttons that appear to be hanging on for dear life. “You don’t want your coworkers staring at your chest, waiting for a button to pop off onto the conference table,” says Clinton Kelly, cohost of TLC’s What Not to Wear. To avoid this scenario, sew a small piece of Velcro between the buttons or use a piece of double-stick tape. That way your shirt will stay flush against your skin, buttons will remain attached, and your assets will be tucked away.

Peekaboo Lingerie
Solution: A Nude Bra

White underwear may seem demure and understated next to that rack of red lace skivvies in the department store, but it screams “Look at me!” when worn under white clothing. If you want your unmentionables to be unnoticeable underneath a favourite white T-shirt or blouse, wear a bra that is close to your skin tone (this holds true for all underwear).
* A Bare Midriff

Solution: Layering
Pant rises have gotten lower (and lower), but shirts, sweaters, and blouses have stayed the same. The result is an exposed midsection that leaves you looking like a teen pop sensation. Rather than banishing your favourite and most flattering pair of pants to the back of the closet, lay a lacy tank top underneath a sweater. A hint of added colour and texture keeps your tummy hidden and creates a more interesting, modern look.

Visible Panty Line
Solution: Smooth Briefs
You want all the attention on you, not your tush. A visible panty line draws attention to your backside (making it look larger), but don’t assume a lifetime of wearing thongs is your only option. “Panties are more demure and chic, and they are also a lot more comfortable,” says Simon Doonan, creative director of Barneys New York. Jockey No Panty Line Promise briefs have flat seams that are only 1/8 inch wide, preventing them from cutting into your skin. These full-coverage briefs end below the curvature of your bottom, completely covering (not bisecting) the area where pants tend to be most snug. Bonus: The spandex briefs are as soft as your most lived-in T-shirt.

MINI CHICKEN POT PIES
Thirty-five minutes is all you need to have these delicious mini pot pies on the table. Refrigerated biscuits form the crust for a flavourful chicken mixture and are baked to golden perfection. They’re so good you’ll want to make them again and again.
INGREDIENTS
Vegetable cooking spray1 ½ cup cubed cooked chicken1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell’s® Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup (Regular or 98% Fat Free)8 oz frozen mixed vegetables, thawed (about 1 1/2 cups)all-purpose flour12 oz package refrigerated biscuits (10 biscuits)½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
DIRECTIONS
Heat the oven to 350°F. Spray 10 (2 1/2-inch) muffin-pan cups with the cooking spray. Stir the chicken, soup and vegetables in a medium bowl.
Sprinkle the flour on the work surface. Roll or pat the biscuits to flatten slightly. Press the biscuits into the bottoms and up the sides of the muffin-pan cups. Spoon about 1/3 cup chicken mixture into each biscuit cup. Lightly press the chicken mixture down so it’s level. Top each with about 2 teaspoons cheese.
Bake for 15 minutes or until the biscuits are golden brown and the cheese is melted. Let the pot pies cool in the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes.
By Rebecca Ganesh-Ally