>The lovely Mir: I always think of her as my source for tasteful bargains. Recently she was showing off her container garden, thriving despite the Georgia drought and watering restrictions. Reading through her post’s comments reminded me that water for a garden doesn’t have to come from a tap. The technical term is “greywater.”

• Leftover coffee. In my logic, coffee grounds are good compost. Coffee itself, once it’s cooled and no longer delicious, must be okay for my plants, right? Right.
• Let the water cool after cooking pasta, and use it to water plants. The mums love it. The petunias would, too, if I could reach them with the heavy pot.
• Fill a bucket with dishwater from the sink. Even with a dishwasher, there are a few items that need to be hand washed. In fact, a couple of wine glasses sit beside the sink awaiting that chore right now, as does my wood cutting board.
• The somewhat-dirty water from rinsing the coffepot. Mainly water, with a little “flavor” added, and it goes in the herbs that grow in the cappuccino mugs on the deck. Appropriate, yes? Yes.
• Leftover ice from a fast-food drink. I don’t like to admit that I buy these, but I’ll state for the record that the ice cubes do not land in the garbage. They melt quickly over the rhubarb or raspberries.
• The final ounces in a sun-warmed water bottle from a road trip or baseball game.

I still covet a rain barrel. Family, maybe next Christmas? Buy it now, though, for the best deal. You can hide it behind Husband’s model train layout; I never mess with that. Or behind the lawnmower and snowblower; I haven’t used those since I hurt my wrist tendons on the pull-start, embarrassing but true. That’s okay; I’d rather weed the garden or stir the compost than mow the lawn.