Do you live anywhere with big palms? The kind with the brown fibrous mats hanging down from the trunk? They make the palm look untidy, so pull them off, take them home and tuck then around your plants like little blankets. They absorb water well and you can put unsightly soil amendments (like, say, banana peels for roses or eggshells for anything) underneath them to avert hostility from family members who dislike garbage in the garden. Tucked around well, they keep soil from escaping the pot during watering; they also look good under rocks and shells. You may have to tuck again a few times but it's worth it.