Oprah’s younger, lovelier sister, Pattie Moreno, a.k.a. The Garden Girl for Farmer’s Almanac TV, tells us that you can have a lovely indoor garden in just 6′ x 14′ of “linear space.”

I don’t know what linear space is compared to, say, other types of space, but it sure was miraculous seeing her restore those tables and chairs with shellac, put up shelves and install fluorescent lights, all of this in just 3 mins and 16 seconds and for under $200 “half what you spend on an instant indoor garden kit,” said Patti. This was only Part 1 so I guess Patti gets to the plants themselves in Part 2.

Here is a regular Ben Hur of a production, over 10 mins long, compliments of Gardenfork.tv and starring Eric the really informal gardener, his two golden retrievers, one frisbee and the spooky voice of the Witch Of The Woods. The average full-length movie is about 100 minutes long so you must know that this is a long, long video in internet video terms. You are going to get to know these people well, perhaps much better than you’d like.

In return you will be shown how to make a raised garden bed which, at the end of the day, is just a 2″ x 12″ x 12′ rough lumber box (treat the lumber with linseed if you must) and placed on the surface of the yard (with or without galvanized screening pinned to the bottom to keep out moles) and then filled with composted manure and suchlike. We are never told why one would want to have a raised garden bed (except the vole and mole problem we surmise) but we certainly do get to see Rover and Bonzo running for that frisbee as the Witch Of The Weeds chortles into the mike and black flies infest the lens….

Come back Robert Redford, all is forgiven.

Down Sacramento way this is how the ladies of The Sacramento Bee make a simple garden fountain when the cookies are baking in the oven. It is well worth watching this 3 minute video on Howcast if you are serious about putting together a garden or tabletop fountain. It is also worth noting that the spokesperson Gwen Schoen omits to tell us two important things: how the water pump gets powered and where the water comes from (is it the same water used over and over?), so you need to ask someone at the craft store, hardware shop or gardening center to explain this when you buy the pump.

Okay, what you need is a water pump, rubber hose, flower pots, a cork, cobble stones, water and water plants. You need a small pot to work in conjunction with a larger pot. You really need to watch the video to get a measure of this. The pump you need should be able to pump water to a height of 12″ to 24″ and the lower pot should be deep enough for you to submerge the pump entirely. This pot must also be one that does not rust or leak. As long as you know how the pump is being powered and where the water comes from, making this simple garden fountain should be a breeze — if you follow Gwen’s video closely.