Low maintenance? Six easy-to-grow plants

It's summer. A time for flowers, gardens and fresh local produce. You would love to have your own garden but you don't have the time ... or the space.

You're in luck! These six plants are incredibly easy to grow and can live in a window box or a Whiskey barrel. They're also low maintenance. You will be enjoying fresh flowers and produce at a limited cost in no time.

1. Herbs: Parsley and Mint require minimal sun and they will grow almost anywhere. I grow these herbs in my apartment on the window sill. Parsley adds great flavor to any dish and the stems are particularly sweet. Add mint to a pitcher of sun tea for a blast of flavor.

2. Dwarf Evergreens: Evergreens don't require much sunlight and can be grown in a pot or planted around one's home. Dwarf evergreens are delightful and require far less maintenance than a bonsai tree.

3. Cherry Tomatoes: Mmmmm. Cherry tomatoes are delicious and can be grown in a whiskey barrel or planted outside. If you choose an "indeterminate" cherry tomato plant, it will continue to grow throughout the summer. You will receive more yield in far less space.

4. Coreopsis: This beautiful flowering plant can be grown in a window box and is a long blooming perennial. Who wouldn't want a coreopsis plant?

5. Sedum: They are incredibly drought resistant and extremely easy grow. Sedum are rarely bothered by insects or disease.

6. Coral bells: Nothing says summer better than a coral bell. Coral bells will grow almost anywhere and do very well in shade.

SAVINGS 101: Turn $5 into $12,000

High gas prices and stagnant wages are making it harder than ever to save money, but Marie Franklin of the Boston Globe has one trick that allowed her to save $12,000 in under three years.

Every single time a cashier hands you a five dollar bill, tuck it into a separate pocket of your purse or wallet and no longer think of it as money you can spend. Open a special bank account—one that you won’t withdraw from – just for this money.

Franklin suggests that each time you’ve accumulated $50 worth of fives, make a deposit. Without easy access to the money, it will be much less tempting to get off track.

The key to this strategy is to stop thinking about five dollar bills in the same way as the rest of the cash in your wallet. Instead, fives should be considered valid only at the bank — where you can put them into your account, but you can’t take them out.

Another saving tip inherent in the five dollar bill strategy is that in order to be able to stash away any sizable amount of money, you have to make most of your purchases in cash.

This allows you to set self-imposed limits because you can only spend as much as you’re carrying at any given time. In addition, studies have shown that people spend less when they physically have to hand over their money instead of just swiping a card.

Following the five dollar bill strategy, you could find $4,000 a year hidden in the money you already make. What would you do with so much extra savings? In her article, Franklin says people often ask her the same question. Her response: “I have no idea. I'm having too much fun watching it grow to want to spend it.”

--Bridget O'Sullivan