Home & Garden

As the season warms up, many gardeners begin looking forward to their first rhubarb harvests. Although it was first cultivated in central Asia more than 2,000 years ago for its medicinal properties, rhubarb is best known today as an ingredient in our early-summer pies. Rhubarb forms thick red, pink or green stalks – or petioles […]

Like many life skills, gardening is often learned directly from family members. Grandparents might recruit the grandkids to help water transplants or drop in seeds, setting the stage for a lifetime love of gardening.“Gardening is classified as a life skill because it not only allows you to grow food for yourself and family, but it […]

To be successful in life, you need things like motivation, focus, planning and perseverance. All well and good. But, if you’re like many Americans, first you have to get organized. You need to find your stuff. And to do that, you must deal with clutter. For this 30-day challenge, we’re going to show you how […]

When it comes time to prepare a home for sale, there are a number of quick and affordable fixes that can help seal the deal, while some so-called improvements may sink a sale.When it’s time to put your home on the market, there are some definite do’s and don’ts. DO:• Give your home a fresh […]

Spring is an ideal time to make sure everything is in working order. From checking your home’s vital equipment such as water heaters and furnaces to replacing windows, there are some items that should top your spring checklist. 1. Check attics and your home’s exterior for openings and cracks. The spring is when nature comes […]

PHOTO METROCREATIVECONNECTION.COM Grapes and GourdsSep 15, 6-8pm. Create a handcrafted gourd birdhouse. $25 includes glass of wine, supplies and instruction. Registration at lincolnmemorialgarden.org or 529-1111. It’s All About Wine, 1305 Wabash Ave., 546-9463. Enos Park Home TourSep 17, 1-5pm. Self-guided tour of historic homes in Springfield’s oldest neighborhood. Wine and cheese reception to follow in […]

Cannas PHOTO WWW.ISTOCKPHOTO.COM Now is the time to devise a plan for digging and storing cannas. To successfully overwinter cannas indoors, the bulbs should be dug up after the first light frost has killed the top of the plant. Although technically they are not bulbs, but rhizomes, cannas need to be treated as tender bulbs […]

Light pink anemones PHOTO WWW.ISTOCKPHOTO.COM Just as most flowers are frying or fading, late-blooming perennials take off and steal the show. Here are a few late-blooming beauties to create a fantastic fall flower garden. Fall anemones, which include an array of species (Anemone hupehensis, A. x hybrida, A. tomentosa, and A. vitifolia) are reliable late […]

PHOTO METROCREATIVECONNECTION.COM Although it’s true that core aeration relieves soil compaction in the lawn, coring has several more benefits for the grass plant soil profile, microbial activity in the ground and thatch management. When the soil beneath the lawn is compacted, grass roots grow poorly. They stay nearer to the surface and are more readily […]

PHOTO METROCREATIVECONNECTION.COM Rather than bagging or removing fallen leaves, use them in your yard. The tree leaves that accumulate in and around your landscape represent a valuable natural resource that can be used to provide a good source of organic matter and nutrients for use in your landscape. Leaves contain 50 to 80 percent of […]

The dining area abuts a two-floor slatted wall that not only connects the upper and lower levels in the central atrium, it also adds an element of safety for bouncy kids. “We did that instead of continuing the steel railing,” Meharry says. � PHOTOS BY BENJAMIN BENSCHNEIDER/THE SEATTLE TIMES/TNS For now, anyway, Mom and Dad’s […]

With a little finessing, this wreath springs to life and becomes a rich, full, fabulous halo of fall leaves. PHOTO BY HANDOUT/TNS Every day, my husband, Dan, takes our golden retriever, Lyric, out for a walk around our little lake community. Good thing they aren’t trying to rack up steps on their Fitbit, because I […]