Dirt-cheap composters

If you live in Hennepin County, run -- don't walk -- to your computer and order a compost bin. The bins are made of recycled black plastic, have a capacity of 13 cubic feet, two harvesting doors, come disassembled and -- at $35 a pop -- are dirt cheap. (A similar composter at retail prices could set you back more than $100.)

Of course, as with any great deal, there are a few catches:

• You must be a Hennepin County resident.

• Bins (one per household) must be ordered by April 1. To order, go to www.hennepin.us/compostbinsale.

• You have to pick up your bin at one of three locations during store hours and only on the following days:

Bachman's, 6010 Lyndale Av. S., Minneapolis. Pick up April 19-22.

The Reuse Center, 2801 21st Av. S., Minneapolis. Pick up April 19-22.

If you miss the deadline to order, a limited number of bins will be available while supplies last at Hennepin County's Drop-Off Facility in Brooklyn Park from 6 to 8 p.m. on Wednesdays. For more information, call Hennepin County Environmental Services at 612-348-3777.

Other counties -- including Anoka, Carver and Dakota -- also are selling compost bins at a discount. For more information about prices and pickup locations, go to www.greenguardian.com and search on "compost bins."

CONNIE NELSON

Foliage as flowers As a gardener who does rather than dreams, I am no fan of expensive photo books that deceive gardeners with pretty pictures of plants that can't be grown in Minnesota. So I rolled my eyes when I picked up a glossy copy of "Foliage" by Nancy Ondra and Rob Cardillo (Storey Publishing, $24.95).

And then I opened it, and realized I was wrong.