Slowly turning into gardeners

hen they first moved into their little house with its medium-sized yard there was great excitement and visions of a vegetable garden surrounded by a lush hedge of lavender. I remarked that they should maybe think of baby steps first, just trying to keep their potted Ficus alive. I could see this house-warming gift was standing with its roots in water in a dark living room, with the blinds drawn tightly all day long. I told them that the Ficus should be watered sparingly and should receive more light, upon which I was asked how much is ‘sparse watering’ and how high should the light intensity be, in ‘lux’. My answer was that the-finger-in-the-soil touch to check if it is