When author Sharon Lovejoy came to speak in Memphis, many gardeners left with lots of inspiration and information for turning small spaces into pockets of gardening pleasure.
That pleasure continues when you pick up "Trowell and Error:Over 700 Shortcuts, Tips & Remedies for the Gardener," one of Lovejoy's books.

This dandy handkerchief-sized tome is filled with useful tidbits from bug repelling recipes such as Maggot Martinis, Garlic Soup and Herbal Brew to easy ways to solve storage problems for our gardening paraphernalia.

Here are a couple of gleanings:

* Outfit a terra-cotta pot with an electrical wire and socket and use it as a hanging lamp for a potting shed, garden room, porch or greenhouse.

* Jump start your new compost pile but adding a scoop of finished compost to it. The hungry microbes in the old compost will stimulat the new, sluggish pile and speed up the process of decomposition. Other compost activiators include alfalfa meal, pelletized rabbits food or dry dog food, which are rich in nitrogen.

* If you are bitten by an insect or stung by a bee, press a crushed garlic love or slice of onion directly onto the insect bite. Leave on at least 20 mnutes. These kitchen favorites have anti-inflammatory, counter-irritant and antibacterial properties.

Sharon's other books include "Sunflower Houses: Inspiration from the Garden," and "Roots, Shoots, Buckets & Boots: Gardening Together with Children."