Gardening Tip to Protect Hands & Nails

Re-potted orchid & clean nails with
indoor greenhouse in the background

I love plants, always have. I have a little indoor greenhouse that I absolutely love, a couple of orchids,  succulents, ferns and herbs in my windowsill. In fact, it is fall here in the south-central US and time to plant pansies and prepare our outside gardens for winter. (Born and raised in Denver, but living in the South since 1996, I love it here. What a delight to have pansies blooming in my yard in December!)

Anyway, I was re-potting an overgrown orchid (above) and some spearmint I bought from the grocery store this afternoon and remembered a tip I got from a book on houseplants years ago. Before you begin working with the soil, slather your hands with lotion. Especially, gook lotion under your fingernails.

Then you can wash your hands easily without any residue left under your nails. Also hands don't dry out and nails are not likely to break or split.