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COLUMN: Plant bulbs now for a spring show
For a gardener, daffodils, hyacinths and crocus are the perfect harbingers of spring. Because they’re one of the first things to wake up in the garden, these bulbs add color to otherwise drab landscapes. They can be mixed in with perennials or shrubs and put on a spectacular show when naturalized under trees.
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COLUMN: To mulch or not to mulch
Healthy plants are less susceptible to environmental stresses, like excessive heat and drought, as well as insects and diseases. One of the easiest ways to encourage healthy plants in the landscape is to mulch them.
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COLUMN: Home invaders do no harm
Some of the bugs that you may begin to see more often this time of year are lady beetles and box elder bugs. As temperatures drop, these bugs will congregate in sunny locations, often on the south side of buildings, trying to stay warm. They search for cracks and crevices where they can overwinter (a process similar to hibernation).
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COLUMN: Adding color to your fall landscape
Now that cooler weather is upon us, and summer flowers are starting to fade, and it’s time to think about replenishing color in the landscape.
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COLUMN: A look at Iredell's most invasive plants
An invasive plant is defined as a non-native species that causes damage. One of the main problems with invasive plants is that they can crowd out native vegetation, and so reduce food and shelter for wildlife. Ironically, most invasive species were introduced as ornamental plants for landscaping. That’s not to say that all introduced species become invasive.
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Church hopes to teach community with garden
Trinity Episcopal Church is in the process of setting up a community garden to nurture the community's minds, spirits and stomachs.
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Historic homes set for holiday tour
Tyler Burns said he is starting to wear down. He has been decorating his mother's house in a holiday style since before Halloween, and the chore is taking its toll.
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Fire demonstration shows importance of sprinklers
In less than three minutes, the small room was overrun by thick black smoke and flames, making survival for anyone who would be inside seemingly impossible.
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In kitchens or clothes, moths are hard to rout
A couple of years ago, when my daughter was about 3, she delved happily into a container of freeze-dried strawberries and yelled over the "prize" she found inside.
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Filling your toolbox with the essentials
If you're looking for the perfect housewarming gift, check out a hardware store. People moving into a new place will probably want to hang a few things and change a few things.
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Tips on creating an instant home office
Job-seekers, take note: You want to be productive in planning your next move, and writing cover letters on your bed probably isn't going to cut it. That's why more and more people are thinking about how to create an instant home office.
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Four kitchen basics can clean entire house
A little digging in the kitchen cupboards is all that's needed to round up enough supplies to polish, clean and disinfect every room in the home.
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Sewing surges in popularity
The rules in the sewing lounge read like metaphors for good living: Know where your fingers are at all times. No running with scissors. Look before you cut.
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Letting it slide: accepting a clean enough house
When Amy Herendeen first became a stay-at-home mom, she dedicated a lot of time and effort to keeping house. But the chores were often interrupted by her daughter's needs. Trying to be the "perfect housewife" and take care of an infant left her feeling frustrated and angry.
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Home decor this fall: 'Perfect' is out, real is in
Perhaps the biggest theme in home decorating going into fall is comfortable, real, personalized style.
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Want designer looks at big-box prices? Try hacking
Home decorators who once would have dropped thousands of dollars on designer furniture are now, in a down economy, looking at inexpensive, self-assembly pieces from big-box stores as a jumping-off point for more custom designs.
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Roses have their problems, but still...
Read about roses, talk to other gardeners about growing them, and insect and disease problems seem inevitable.
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A bright idea: Philips lets flat lights out of lab
Someday, our ceilings and walls might radiate light, illuminating indoor spaces as brightly and evenly as natural daylight.
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Shrubs can be 'great green furniture' for the yard
Blooms may be losing some luster among cash-strapped gardeners weeding out nonessential spending. A practical option is investing in an assortment of low-risk, high-return shrubs.
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Patience rewarded: Climbing hydrangea takes time
For about 15 years, a big yellow garage marked the south boundary of our backyard garden. It set off the blue bigleaf hydrangeas very nicely, but it wasn't exactly the look we wanted.
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Enchanted places: Decorating with kids' book art
"Look, Spot! Look and see... ."
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In home decor's cyclical world, wallpaper is back
This spring, Oprah declared that wallpaper is back.
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Use incentives to attract your favorite songbirds
Backyard bird watching is a fairly simple exercise. Provide enough food, water and cover, and birds will come flocking. Playing favorites, though, calls for using the right kinds of incentives.
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Designers find common cause with global artisans
In Africa, Asia and Latin America, gifted craftspeople who can express age-old traditions in beautiful ways often lack access to raw materials and distribution venues. And they may have no expertise in getting their goods to a wider marketplace.
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For an easy new look, try painting old furniture
Got the do-it-yourself itch but little time or cash to spare? Look around at the furniture you've already got. Some of it probably could use a refreshing coat of paint. In fact, a new color may put the "wow" back into a room.
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