Soil and soul are never far apart for Tom Spencer, Austin gardening expert and longtime host of KLRU's "Central Texas Gardener." "For me, the garden is a spiritual practice," says Spencer, who spends hours each day and most weekends working in his backyard garden in North Austin near Shoal Creek. Read more…
SPECIAL TO THE AMERICAN-STATESMANSaturday, June 16, 2007 You can have great landscape color even in scorching summer sun. Read more…
A new addition to the landscape, gardening coaches are the personal trainers of the plant and prune set. Read more…
A Stray Golf Ball In A Flowerbed Is Par For The Course, But Who's Complaining? Endless views of manicured green lawns that are maintenance-free. Acres of open space that invite long walks. An abundance of wildlife - from hawks and herons to deer and foxes. Sprinkler systems that criss-cross in the air and look like fountains. Oh, yes, and golf. Lots of golf. Read more…
Your peonies burst out, white as snow squalls, with red flecks at their shaggy centers in your border of prodigies by the porch. I carry one magnanimous blossom indoors and float it in a glass bowl, as you used to do. Read more…
Pretty And Practical, These Baskets, Boxes And Pails Transport Your Bounty It's the growing season, and whether you tend flowers, a vegetable patch or simply pots on the patio, tools need to be transported to the garden and the bounty back to the house. Read more…
Many of us know that a 3-D model of the moon, sun and planets, used to explain the way these bodies work, is called a planetarium. Read more…
We all would like one of those kitchens you see in the shelter magazines. Meant for serious cooking, they are big, bold spaces with a central island you can land a small plane on, a fortress of fine cabinetry, sweeping countertops of gorgeous stone and two of everything - sinks, stove tops, refrigerators, dishwashers - for the couple that cooks together. And on top of it, a comfy nook with a sofa in front of a fireplace. Read more…
See a color you love on a friend's wall, but she forgets the exact name? Or do you want to try to replicate the look in your favorite restaurant? Read more…
Q: I want to try sedums as ground cover on a hot, dry, sunny spot I have covered with an inch or two of small-size bark mulch. Can sedums root and... Read more…
For those looking to get right into planting at the first sign of warm weather, finding the right gardening glove may be a low priority... Read more…
Plant: Orange Trumpet Honeysuckle (Lonicera ciliosa) Why it's choice: While the native flora of the Pacific Northwest may not be overrun... Read more…
Lessons from six different kinds of people on the kitchens that work for them. Read more…
Upscale trailer homes? Park model owners mix camping out with living the high life. Read more…
The woods outside are native American. The ones inside are foreigners. Read more…
Coddle those clean feet, and get a new medicine cabinet too. Read more…
Steve Gentis spends his days marrying soft lead to glass, and his rough hands show the strain with cuts and stains. In the studio at Seattle... Read more…
Pops can chill out in this vibrant hammock, woven on foot-looms by men and embroidered by women in Guatemalan villages. They get a fair... Read more…
Although soggy Seattle seems an unlikely place to grow the plant that is the symbol of the driest places on Earth, Dave Nicol has been growing... Read more…
Though you'd rather be doing about a thousand other things, cleaning your gutters is simply one of those must-dos. Read more…
Ah, the simplicity of Zen. No colors, no gigantic manual ? just a bare-to-the-bones concept and a bucketful of tips... Read more…
Q: I will soon be having out-of-town relatives staying with me for two weeks. How do I handle cleaning the guest bathroom during their stay... Read more…
Darrell Hay recently interviewed Pat Fay, a Seattle-based instructor and author of the self-published manual "The Pat Fay Method: How to... Read more…
A flowerpot's existence is rooted in practicality. Day after day, this unassuming vessel dutifully fulfills its purpose: providing a place... Read more…
Staffers and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center have answered questions from the public since the center opened its doors almost 25 years ago. "How do I grow bluebonnets?" "Are there any plants that are deer resistant?" "What plants can tolerate Texas' heat? Read more…