Wellness Ideas, Tips & Guides

Summertime heat is at its peak, and it's normal to worry about upkeep with your lawn. If you notice your grass is getting dry, turning a dull color instead of a lush green, or isn't growing very well, you may be watering your lawn at the wrong time.

More greenery means more oxygen! But did you know some plants even filter out contaminants and allergens? They create a space that is easy on the eyes, lungs, and mind. We share the best outdoor plants that improve the quality of the air you breathe!

Herbs and vegetables often need plenty of sunlight and space, which is seldom the case in urban homes and apartments. But we have whipped up a selection of edible plants anyone can grow easily, even in low-lit, compact spaces inside your home. Check it out!

A verdant garden in Corfu with views all the way to Albania

If you're aiming to design a contemporary looking bathroom, you will want to make an effort to steer clear of the six following features, which professionals say will instantly make the space look dated.

The flowers of spider lilies emerge on bare stems between August and September. Named spider lily because of its long arched stamens, which resemble spiders legs, these flowers are exotic and bold, perfect for a late summer border.

Sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides) is a deciduous shrub in the olive or Elaeagnaceae family. It grows naturally in Asia and Europe, including Britain where it’s considered native to the sand dunes of the east coast. It’s been introduced elsewhere in the country, often to stabilise dunes, but has spread and become invasive. It retains its foliage until late into autumn and tends to shade out other plants. This is a particular problem in the UK on sand dunes, where thickets of sea buckthorn can outcompete the local flora. As a nitrogen-fixing plant, sea buckthorn also enriches the soil in dunes, making it less suitable for other dune species that have evolved to grow in soil conditions with low nutrients.

We have selected beautiful foliage plants like hosta that grow well in shade, both in the garden and indoors. Perfect for livening up dull, dim corners, windowsills, and landscapes, these plants emerge in myriad hues apart from a simple, straightforward green. Check it out!

Edmund Barr

Deadheading your hydrangea blooms can help your plant use its energy to produce more flowers and new growth. This is why it is essential to know how to do it the right way, which is what this article is about.

Whether you’re interested in flipping or upcycling a furniture piece for personal use in your home or to resell as part of a side gig, you’ll want to avoid these common mistakes that professional flippers see fledgling DIYers make time and time again.

There may be no French cheese more familiar to Americans than brie, also appropriately known as the “Queen of Cheese.” Its popularity can be credited to its versatility, its visually appealing look when plated, the delightful way it oozes appetizingly when sliced, or even its charming name—it’s a lot more fun to say than, roquefort (though gouda is almost as entertaining).

My desk is usually surrounded by vacuums, various spray bottles, and heaps of cleaning tools. At one point, I had 17 vacuums of all types under my roof (many of which are now in new, loving homes). (And this is just a small peek into my life as a cleaning editor.)

All of these varieties are excellent at self-seeding, meaning they drop seeds in your garden before they die. The seeds will germinate on their own the following year, providing beautiful blooms again the same or next year without you having to do much.

Social media serves me a lot of skincare products, A LOT of them. While I’m mostly to blame for clicking on ads that ultimately adjust my algorithmic fate, I usually scroll past most magic potions and am very critical when it comes to actually adding anything to my cart. Personal discernment aside, I’ve definitely done my fair share of experimentation and testing, homing in on the best products and gadgets worth splurging on for better, healthier-looking skin. 

Plants thrive in various conditions in their natural habitat. Some love the occasional misting and won’t mind having wet leaves for some time, as it recreates their native tropical habitat and helps them cope with the dry air indoors.

Coffee wakes you up in the morning and might do the same for your plants! Well, not in the same way, but this quick homemade fertilizer does wonders and is the best way to put coffee dregs to good use!

Last week, a federal judge struck down a Trump Administration decision to take wolves off the endangered species list, restoring federal protection of some gray wolves in the country—meaning they can no longer be hunted.

Without a doubt, there is one pot of flowers that is the most colorful on my patio right now. The surprising news is we just recently potted it despite the hot summer heat we're experiencing. I’m in steamy Alabama, with record humidity, so it’s a soupy, sticky, kind of hot here outdoors. Daily watering of many of my plants in the summer heat is simply is a must.

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If you're into thrift shopping, you may have noticed that, unfortunately, many items come with a musty «thrift store smell» that can be seemingly difficult to erase. However, it turns out that deodorizing your finds is easier than you may have thought.

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I failed to say that the reconfigured rose garden featured yesterday is far from a ‘fait accompli’, and won’t be completed till much later this year or probably into the next. Firstly, I need to do something with the six slabs removed from the central area, the largest of which are 30″ x 18″ and all of them far heavier than they were when the last rose garden layout was established back in 2012. Although they are concrete, they are cast from moulds of real flag stones and there is a pleasing variation between them. We used these extensively when we laid the paved area and many of the paths and, although they were fairly reasonably priced when we first bought them, prices have escalated as we found when planning another project more recently – and hard to source, especially singly. At the moment, I cannot see where we might use them, but I am reluctant to get rid of them and they will need to be stored – which involves moving them… Then there are those nine bags of rubble (already moved down to the front of the house)…fortunately a local friend is happy to take rubble to fill in a boggy area where she stables horses…

Mantises are something of an eccentric in the world of insects. The males can fly, but more often they move slowly among shrubs and flowers. They can be fearsome hunters but usually wait for their prey to find them.

I absolutely love outdoor lanterns—the ambiance they create at night is unmatched in the summer. But, one thing I don’t love about candles is the wax itself. If it leaks out and leaves ugly wax stains on any linens or fabrics, that's annoying enough.

Created by a local craftsman using Eyam stone pitchers, the cambered path winds between beds planted with pollinator friendly, cottage garden favourites, including a froth of tall white Artemisia lactiflora ‘Elfenbein’, crimson Knautia macedonica, silvery Stachys byzantina, white Silene fimbriata and lofty, pale yellow Cephalaria gigantea. These tolerate the exposed location and move beautifully in the wind.

Many annuals and perennials need plenty of sunlight to thrive. Whether you have sunny areas in your front, side, or backyard or a porch, patio, or balcony and want to add more plants that will come back year after year, there are plenty of sun loving perennials to choose from. Many full-sun perennials provide important food sources for bees, butterflies, birds, bats, and moths. While you're enjoying the colorful hues and curious and cool looking blossoms, you'll also get a pollinator show with their frequent visits.

JULIE SOEFER

Summer is at its height which means more bugs, pests, and rodents ruining your fun festivities in the sunshine. Yelp just released data uncovering the top pest problems in the U.S. and it's a lot to unpack.

Mention bougainvillea to almost anyone, and their first images may be of sun-drenched stucco walls festooned in the neon colors of the tropics. From beachside to desert to lush tropics, their exotic vibe proclaims, “I love warm weather!” In the relatively small Nyctaginaceae family, Bougainvillea is likely the best-known member, with Mirabilis (four-o’clock) and Abronia (sand verbena) being runners up. With bougainvilleas, the color is provided by papery bracts that enclose a small white bloom that is the true flower. Flowering occurs in cycles: as a burst of new growth matures, a bloom cycle begins, repeating many times over the course of a long, hot season. Learn the basics of growing bougainvillea here.

You don’t always need a big garden for greens – a space for a medium-sized pot indoors will be more than enough for these edible vines!

Most flowers take months to produce a single bloom, but not those included in this list! Compiled for the eager gardener, these quick blooms emerge within a month after planting their transplants. Start their seeds well in advance and transplant them at the right time to get quick blooms. Let’s explore!

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Today’s boozy vase shares some elements with last week’s although lacks its fullness, containing less than an armful but more than a small posy, although with more time at my disposal it could have become more fulsome than it is. Having achieved my personal challenge of creating a vase with such a large number of blooms, I feel more confident of repeating the exercise and the garden is certainly proving the material to do so.

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