Stephen Orr: Making Renovations Matter

When poked, tunicates will squirt water. Hence, their nickname: sea squirts. But as cute as that sounds, these slimy, gelatinous sea creatures are anything but cuddly.

If you're a lover of Halloween and all things scary, you may be prepping your home to celebrate the holiday. While searching for Halloween decorations, don't overlook one of the best decorations to have in your home for the holiday and year-round: plants.

Terrariums are an attractive way to display house plants and bring more greenery into your home.  They’re a great way to experiment with plants and a fun creative project if you love indoor gardening. There’s a wide range of terrariums available to buy ready made, but you can make your own using any clear glass jar or bowl you have available. Whether you’re making one for your own home or to give away as a gift, a terrarium can be made any time and will look good all year round. Closed terrariums can be fiddly to set up, so if you’re a beginner, try starting with an open terrarium as these are easier to plant and need less aftercare.

Love them or hate them, there's no denying that throw pillows make a sofa look inviting. But exactly where is the line between a cozy number of throw pillows and an inconvenient, excessive amount?

Brass is such a versatile material. It can pair well with other metals like gold or cast iron, but it can also contrast nicely with chrome or nickel finishes. If you prefer a shinier look, you can choose a polished version, but if your style leans more antique, you can look for an aged option.

While s'mores may be a summer camp classic, there's no reason not to enjoy the gooey delicacies throughout the year.

It is such a gardening triumph to put together a few plants that play nicely together and create a memorable vignette to mark the season. In this episode, Danielle, Carol, and guest Susan Morrison will talk about some plant combinations that look great as the season winds down. Listen in and get inspired to add more winning teams to your late season lineup next year.

It’s officially peak guest season and if you’re like us, you’d want your entryway to look swoon-worthy from the minute guests step in. Whatever the occasion may be—whether a Thanksgiving dinner, a Christmas party, or a book club gathering—nothing beats a well-designed entrance that leaves a lasting impression. 

Fionuala Campion says in her article, Dazzling Deer-Resistant Perennials, “Though very graceful and delightful to behold in their native habitat, deer are a voracious force to reckon with in many Northern California gardens, particularly in summer and fall.” But these majestic creatures are not just an issue for gardeners on the west coast. There are populations of deer in all 50 states, and all are munching on the many different plants we’re growing across the country.

The biggest food trends of 2023 prove that some foods once reserved for the health-food crowd canbe cool, creative, and crave-able. 

This article has the potential to be very short. That is because most garden plants provide some type of environmental benefit to their immediate surroundings—assuming they are chosen appropriately for the location, are not over-managed, and are not invasive. Plants cool the air in summer, reduce localized flooding risks, act as homes and corridors for wildlife, are barriers to pollution, and attenuate noise. But there may be some characteristics that help specific plants excel at providing benefits to us. And this may give some species or varieties an environmental edge, particularly on a small (individual plant and garden) scale. This is something I have been exploring in my research over the last 15 years for the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) in the United Kingdom.

Sometimes, you see a style that’s so over the top, with so many seemingly disconnected designs, that it's a miracle everything flows together so seamlessly. Case in point: the no-holds-barred look of British pop decor. The style combines the best of today’s trending aesthetics with a healthy dose of the posh past—and like all maximalist styles, it's all about the layers.