Lime Green Has Been at www.japanese-home-gardens.com

Kitchens can take a strong colour because there's not usually a whole Wall of it on show, just patches between units. Here, a lime green has been painted on the walls and the colour has been picked up in the tiles. To create contrast, a mix of green and cream tiles have been used. Birch units add a sunny glow while the blind, china and plants weave in splashes of blue, yellow and yet more green. Even though the overall effect is vibrant, the scheme actually only sticks to three chief shades - green, cream and wood - which prevents the room looking hectic and uncoordinated.

Agricultural lime, sold by farm and garden supply dealers often consists of a mixture of ground limestone and hydrated lime and partakes of the qualities of each. The amount of lime needed to correct a too-acid soil condition depends upon several factors. An obvious one is the degree of acidity. If the pH value of the soil is very low, say between pH 4.5 and pH 5, more lime will be needed than if it is nearer a desired pH 6.5.

Nicotiana alata originally came from southern Brazil, and its flowers once opened about 6:00 P.M. But hybridizers have been busy and the flowers now stay open most of the day. Yet it is at night that the sweet fragrance makes its mark. Two cultivars are especially recommended: 'Grandiflora Alata' growing 3 feet high, with large white flowers often 2 inches across; and 'Lime Green' reaching 30 inches in height, with flowers the shade of lime sherbert.