Making Time: With Maxabella Lots of people I know save their pennies and get some help around the house. So do I, but it's not a cleaner that I save for -- it's a gardener. Our gardeners come only once a month, but what a difference they make to our quality of life. I mean that sincerely. Having a well-tended garden is such a daily delight. It makes me happy just looking at it and even happier being out in it. See, I've never quite understood the cleaner thing. To me it's lots of money invested in creating clean surfaces for my children to instantly mess up again. They still mess it up when it's me doing the cleaning, of course, but at least then it doesn't feel like they're taking $20 bills and ripping them up before my very eyes. No, when they mess up my own cleaning it only feels like they are ripping up my heart... um... note to self: reinvestigate reasons for not wanting a cleaner! Anyway, gardens are a lot of work so my once-a-month gardener indulgence isn't quite enough to keep everything looking glorious. That's why over the years I've discovered some tried and tested ways to get that 'well-tended' look, without the well-tended time commitment. The more time I save in the garden, the more time I have for relaxing in it with a nice cold glass of aaaaah-that's-better. 1. Install a drip irrigation system on a timer This is possibly the best