Remember, it's cozy, not tiny

Metropolitan Home takes on small spaces in its March edition.

This probably interests many people, even those whose daughter didn't just move into a studio apartment.

It seems like the decision to go smaller is not always based on finances. Some people just want their second or third home to be a more manageable size.

Here are some tips:

• Storage is most important. A couple with a small Parisian apartment even hides space for suitcases and wood-working tools behind slide-out shelves in the kitchen.

• Colors need to be consistent. Use a limited palette. And keep the flooring the same wherever possible.

• Furniture designed for small places can help, and the magazine has several examples, although some are pricey. Our favorite is the Xtra ottoman, available for $500 and up at www.BoConcept.com. It unfolds into a cot for a guests, although we can't certify how comfortable it is.

Can your garden be a masterpiece?

My Monet is a hardy dwarf weigela from Holland.

Besides its small size that makes it work even as a container plant, the tri-colored leaves are its claim to fame. The leaves are green with white and pink.

My Monet grows in sun or part shade, but the pink highlights are not as pronounced in the shade, and you won't get as many flowers there.

The rosy trumpet-shaped flowers bloom in spring.

Proven Winners is marketing the shrub in the United States. You can find local retailers at www.provenwinners.com/findareatailer or purchase it from www.waysidegardens.com.

Weeding is good for you and the garden

It seems authors are always coming up with concepts that sound great, but we know they won't work for us.

Take "Garden Your Way to Health and Fitness," by Bunny Guinness and Jacqueline Knox (Timber Press, $25.95).

Yes, gardening is good exercise. Yes, tending our own idyllic space beats working out at the gym. Multitasking makes any time in the garden even more attractive.

But what happens to our fitness level when it's 0 degrees and sleeting out? Shoveling snow is a good workout, but hopefully we won't be doing that every day.

But spring is coming, so let's plan seven months or so of exercising while beautifying our homes.

The book explains ergonomic gardening so you avoid pains and strains.

It also has workouts like jumping rope and Pilates that you can do in the garden.

A chart explains how many calories you burn in an hour of garden tasks. For example, carrying heavy loads like large pots equals 507 calories; digging and spading a garden consumes 325; planting seedlings and bulbs burns 260, and weeding eliminates 293.

Hmm. Maybe the answer is to combine this with a book about wintertime house cleaning and decorating.