We're holding our first Remodelista & Gardenista Market of the year on May 9—the day before Mother's Day—at the Marin Country Mart in Larkspur, California, a 30-minute drive from San Francisco over the Golden Gate Bridge. (Or take the Golden Gate Ferry for a scenic trip past Alcatraz Island.)

More than 40 favorite local designers and creators will be there, and SF-based florist Baylor Chapman of Lila B. will demonstrate how to make living floral arrangements with succulents, moss, and flowering plants. Make your own Living Arrangement at a DIY Bar with supplies and tools or buy a take-home kit from Lila B. Sounds like a perfect Mother's Day gift to us (and for us—note to children.)

See our Markets page for details, including a full list of vendors. Hope to see you there! 

Here are more Mother's Day gift ideas from our designers and creators.

Above: LA-based Scout Regalia will bring a selection of unique garden and outdoor products, including raised garden kits and bird houses. Made of laser-cut birch plywood, a SR Birdhouse Kit comes with assembly instructions and a cord for hanging; $55.

Above: Berkeley-based boutique tea brewers Anna Morton and Emily Erb source herbs from local farms for their new Leaves and Flowers blends. They also source cultivated teas from organic tea farms in China, Japan and India. They'll be bringing a selection of their blends, including (L) Rosella Mint (a blend of hibiscus, mint, and stevia leaf) and (R) Sweet Rush, an aromatic California blend of lemongrass, ginger, and rose. The teas are $16 for 2 ounces.

Above: Julie Elliott, the SF-based owner of cult parfumerie In Fiore is bringing a selection of her Parfum Solide perfumes packaged in beautiful metal compacts. Scents include Patchouli Royale (in which sandalwood and balsam create a woodsy base to balance the sweetness of antique patchouli leaves from France) and Rose Noir (in which a haunting base of oud and vetiver emerge against the sweetness of Saffron and Damascena rose); $75 apiece.

Above: Taking the French cooking concept of mis en place into the garden, a work Apron from Flint Outdoors has a pocket for all your favorite hand tools. Designer Matt Katsaros began sewing and making things in high school; he started by putting pockets on T-shirts and has never really stopped. In addition to the Apron ($95), he'll be selling classic waxed canvas totes (with brass rivets) and rucksacks.

Above: Furniture designer Alice Tacheny's Flax brass wall sculptures are ideal for air plant display. Tacheny offers a small, closed version for $60, and large, open pyramid, shown here, for $120. 

Above: Florist Baylor Chapman, author of The Plant Recipe Book, will bring signed copies to sell for $24.95 apiece.

Above: LA-based Tim Gledhill launched Huddleson, his line of contemporary table linens, in 2011 and will be selling a selection of his Italian linen tablecloths (round, oval, square, and rectangular), and napkins, runners, and placemats. A Lovebirds Rectangular Tablecloth is, depending on size, from $295 to $450. Linen Napkins (in colors including Slate Gray, Camel, White, and Natural), are $22 apiece.

More Stories from Gardenista

• Etsy Find: Hanging Cloud Planter from Australia
• 10 Easy Pieces: Garden Carts and Wagons
• Shopper's Diary: Marble & Milkweed's New York City Studio

This week Julie and the Remodelista team colored with all the rainbow hues in the crayon box. Red refrigerators, blue sinks, and yellow cashmere throws were among the design details they discovered. We especially love the pink appliances:

Above: Trend alert—Kitchens With Colored Refrigerators. Meredith rounds up red, blue, yellow, and green ones. Would we get sick of a colored refrigerator? Not if it were pink.

Above: Julie's feeling sunny. She rounded up Editors' Picks: 13 Favorite Mellow Yellow Design Moments.

Above: LA-based designer Lauren Soloff likes to Build Color From The Ground Up in her own home.

Above: Julie visits The Unique Space: A Workspace for Creatives in LA.

Above: Christine visits A Color-Blocked Family Loft in France.

If you missed any of the Remodelista team's posts this week, catch up at Primary Colors.

More Stories from Gardenista

• Table of Contents: Oceania Outdoors
• Current Obsessions: Welcome to Brooklyn, Hillary
• Trending on Remodelista: The Ultimate Indoor-Outdoor Kitchen

Read on to find out what piqued our interest this week: 

• Above: A 19th century illustrator's secret garden. 
• 20 seasonal salads perfect for spring and summer. 
• Five ways to catch rainwater. 
• Mill Valley's favorite gardens open to tour on Thursday.

• Above: What could be better than wild horses living on the front lawn? Photograph by Gustavo Burgos. 
• Coca-cola for gardening? 
• Which plants are best for shady window boxes? Find out here.

• Above: Simple soup for any weekday. Photograph by Heidi Swanson. 
• Enjoy Japanese tea ceremonies and taiko drumming today and tomorrow at the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens. 
• To celebrate Earth Day, we're hosting a book giveaway on our Facebook page. 
• Marking our calendars for next week's SF plant sale (more than 2,500 different varieties).

Instagram and Pinterest Pick of the Week: 

Above: We're following the world's most adorable flower truck (@thepetalersf) until we meet again at the Remodelista and Gardenista Market, May 9 at Marin Country Mart. 

Above: We're lost in more than 2,300 pins collected in Shauna Roux's Garden Ideas board on Pinterest.  

Read more from this week in our Oceania Outdoors issue and have a look at Remodelista's exploration of the Primary Colors. 

More Stories from Gardenista

• Trending on Remodelista: Primary Colors
• Table of Contents: Oceania Outdoors
• Current Obsessions: Welcome to Brooklyn, Hillary

Hired by a young family to revive a double-fronted Victorian house in the St. Kilda East suburb of Melbourne, Clare Cousins Architects didn't do the usual tearing down of interior walls and building out. "In contrast to contemporary, open-plan, box-on-the-back additions, the project involves a series of insertions woven into the fabric of the building," Cousins explains. Translation: The majority of the house was preserved, and the spatial planning was "driven by the cellular logic of the Victorian house." But rest assured, the results are far from fusty.

Photography by Shannon McGrath via Clare Cousins Architects.

Above: The owners wanted to better integrate the house and garden, which had been obscured by tall, sloping brick additions. The architects removed these "lean-tos" and made use of the mottled brick to build extensions on the north and south wings of the house, plus a courtyard. These wings stand in the footprint of the old additions; one of the wings contains the living quarters, and the other, the sleeping zones.

Above: The front of the house retains its original multicolored Victorian brickwork. 

Above: The living area now has a direct link to the garden via a pop-out window and window seat. The decorative porthole windows—a request from the owners—send beams of early morning sun into the living room and kitchen. Landscape designer Fiona Brockhoff created the layered perimeter with an eye toward family-friendly plantings.

Above: What Cousins calls the "threshold space" between the house's wings forms an indoor/outdoor dining area with pivoting glass doors. (For insulation, the windows in the house have double and low-e glazing.)

Above: The living area, with window seat and portholes. "Robust and economical materials were chosen for their familiarity, warmth, and ability to withstand the knocks of family life," Cousins notes. The American oak Toto Stools are by Pierre + Charlotte. Read about the furniture company in Romance as Business: A Melbourne Design Duo. The wood-framed sofa is the Wilfred by Jardan of Melbourne. 

Above: Classic bentwood chairs and, on the floor, the Block 2 Light by Sydney designer Henry Pilcher. (See the light used on the ceiling of a children's room in A Textile Enthusiast at Home in Ann Arbor.)

Above: The dining room "introduces northern light deep into the plan and creates new opportunities for passive cross-ventilation," Cousins says. Open to the living room, the space has a floor of concrete pavers laid in a herringbone pattern.

Above: A lounge off the kitchen is paneled with discreet storage cabinets. The light is the Gubi Grasshopper Floor Lamp by Swedish designer Greta Magnusson Grossman. For flexibility, the architects introduced sliding partitions between rooms in place of doors.

Above: A reminder of the house's historic roots: an old-fashioned study for reading and playing music. 

Above: A narrow space between the house and the property boundary was claimed to create a dressing area—a "walk-in robe" in Aussie speak—off the master bedroom. That's the house's original exterior brickwork.

Above: The dressing room and master bath are linked by Honeycomb Hex cement tiles made in Marrakech from Popham Design. The architects introduced a rainwater tank for toilet flushing and garden irrigation, and the hot water is solar heated.

Above: A floor plan of the remodeled house details the masterful weaving of existing and new elements, and the integration of interior and exterior.

See more Victorian remodels,see:

• Before & After: A Music Studio Rises from Its Victorian Ruins.
• Curb Appeal: Black and White Mosaic Tile in London.
• Saving the Hippie Soul of an Victorian House.
• Tailor-Made: A Victorian Remodel in Melbourne.

More Stories from Gardenista

• Escape to Tasmania: An Obsolete Pump House Turned Eco Lodge
• At Home with Eco Garden Entrepreneur Joost Bakker
• 10 Garden Ideas to Steal from Australia

Sure sign of spring: we're seeing bright pops of color everywhere we look. Purple wisteria, red chicken coops, pink magnolias, and crayon-color front doors on even the tiniest houses. Join us for a week of color stories:

Above: For more of this garden, see A Modern California Garden Inspired by the Classics.

Monday

Above: A colorful coop with a dash of red attracts the attention of our new contributors, writer Jean Victor and photographer Sylvia Linsteadt, who investigate the chicken and the egg at home in this week's Garden Visit.

Tuesday

Above: Soil scientist Elizabeth Murphy (author of the new book Building Soil) shares her top 10 tips for improving soil for a better garden in this week's Expert Advice post.

Wednesday

Above: On the outskirts of Paris, we visit an innovative eco-sustainable house and garden where walls move and a roof is not what it seems to be at first glance in this week's Architect Visit.

Above: Do you have a wisteria vine (or wisteria tree) that fails to bloom despite your best efforts? We offer tips and tricks for proper pruning to persuade your wisteria to flower in this week's DIY post. 

Thursday

Above: Before you build a wood deck or patio, learn the pros and cons (and prices) of different hard woods in this week's Hardscaping 101.

Friday

Above: A tiny luxurious house on wheels and entirely manufactured in the US is our Outbuilding of the Week.

More Stories from Gardenista

• Current Obsessions: Wild Horses
• Trending on Remodelista: Primary Colors
• Table of Contents: Oceania Outdoors

In a sunny woodland clearing with a backdrop of redwoods and ferns, the chicken coop that Chiquita and Bob Woodard built in their Mill Valley, California, garden for their feathered brood of four (and growing) has all the casual charm of their 1902 shingled farmhouse. A salvaged French door and window box painted chicken-comb red, "family" portraits on the walls, and stylish galvanized steel farm implements to hold feed and water. Beneath the homey touches, the coop is as sturdy and secure as they come.

Photography by Sylvia Linsteadt for Gardenista.

Above: The chicken coop is down the hill from the house along a winding garden path. The open-air walls and ceiling belie the marauder-proof construction.

"Your main job when you have backyard chickens is to be a good shepherd and make sure their shelter is as safe as possible from predators," says Chiquita. Her husband Bob built the 7-foot-6-inch-wide by 13-foot-long coop on top of half-inch Hardwire Mesh Cloth ($66.97 a roll from Home Depot) to thwart raccoons, skunks, foxes, coyotes, bobcats, and—last but not least—dogs from digging under it to get in.

He laid out the wire mesh on level ground, then constructed a foundation of 4-by-6-inch redwood posts on top of it, bolted them together, and drove in rebar stakes at regular intervals to anchor the base to the ground. He framed the walls on top, making sure the spacing of the 2-by-4-inch studs matched the width of the wire mesh (a big time saver). 

Above: The mesh walls and roof are secured with washers and screws spaced six inches apart along the studs. Bright red geraniums in the window box bloom almost year-round in the mild Northern California climate. A vintage tin "Fresh Eggs" sign hangs from the eave.

Above: Chiquita, who owns Manhattan's Kingdom of Herbs in Chelsea Market in New York City, gathers a basket of wild greens (chickweed, miner's lettuce, cleavers) on her morning walks through the woods, nasturtium from her garden, and yesterday's lettuce from the kitchen to supplement the organic pellets she feeds the hens. The 6-foot-6-inch height of the coop makes it comfortable to walk in, which makes cleaning, feeding and gathering eggs easier.

Above: Thanks to daily handling, the four hens (an Araucana, a Golden Laced Wyandotte, a Rhode Island Red, and a Buff Orpington) greet Chiquita with gentle pecks and soft clucking. In return for the healthy diet, their eggs have strong shells and sunny golden yolks. 

Above: To protect the chickens from the elements, Bob built solid walls and a roof (galvanized metal on top of plywood, painted green) over and around the dry feed and laying box area in the back of the coop. Perches are another coop essential, says Chiquita—the more the better. The hens hop up on them when alarmed, as well as for late-afternoon naps and sleeping at night. The framed vintage photo of a rooster is tongue-in-cheek; hens don't need a male around to lay eggs.

Above: A coop with a view: a redbud tree blossoms a peck away from the airy walls. 

Above: April, the Golden Laced Wyandotte (L), and May, the Araucana (R), hang out by the galvanized water and feed containers, which are suspended from metal chains attached to the ceiling so the hens can't knock them over.

Above: The pale blue egg in the middle is a sandblasted glass decoy used to encourage the hens to lay eggs in the nest box. Chiquita gathers an average of two eggs a day from the 4-year-old chickens, down from four when they were a couple of years younger.

Above: This little beauty will start laying chocolate brown eggs when she's around four months old. 

Up at the house, the laundry room is doubling as a nursery for two five-day-old Cuckoo Maran chicks, fresh from Western Farm Center in Santa Rosa. Chiquita spread a 3-inch layer of pine shavings over the bottom of a cardboard box for soft bedding. A 250-watt infrared heat lamp suspended above the box keeps the temperature between 90 and 95 degrees. In a few weeks, the chicks will be slowly introduced to the hens in the coop, first in a cordoned-off area so they can get acquainted. After a couple of days to a week, the fence will be taken away at night when the hens are sleeping.

Above: The vintage egg scale dates from the 1940s. 

Above: The woodland path leading down the hill from the house to the chicken coop is lined with the trunks of fallen trees from the property. Spring wildflowers and Santa Barbara daisies bloom on the hillside. 

For more chicken coop design ideas, see:

• The World's Most Elegant Chicken Coop.
• Backyard Chicken Coops for Small Flocks.
• Modern Farmer: 9 Backyard Gardens with Chickens.
• Rent-a-Chicken for Commitment Phobes.
• A Sexy Chicken Coop?

More Stories from Gardenista

• 11 Garden Ideas to Steal to Add a Touch of Red
• Rehab Diary: A Revived Manse in Melbourne
• Escape to Tasmania: An Obsolete Pump House Turned Eco Lodge

Think of red as lipstick for your garden.

Even if you're one of those gardeners who thinks a little red goes a long way, you still need a little. We've made a study of scarlet and come up with our favorite 11 ways to add red to a garden:

A Pop of Poppies

Above: Plant a clump of red poppies at the edge of a path. For more of this garden, see Garden Visit: Rent a Wing of Wiveton Hall.

Less is More

Above: Sarah's friend Renee placed a single red chair against a backdrop of gray and green (both neutral colors in a garden). For more of this garden, see Indoor-Outdoor Living, Napa Style.

The Red and the Black

Above: Plant red flowers against the backdrop of a black fence or facade to intensify the color. For more of this garden, see In the Garden with Philippa: Brit Style with a Black Backdrop.

Paint a Panel

Above: Bi-fold doors, repurposed from their original use as chapel doors, have red panels at the same height as red flowers would grow in the garden. For more of this garden, see Outbuilding of the Week: A Secret Hideaway in a Central London Garden.

Accent an Archway

Above: A fast-growing red bougainvillea flowering vine frames a walkway. For more, see 10 Garden Ideas to Steal from Greece.

Relax a Formal Garden

Above: A riot of red in a garden bed makes even the stiff formality of a stone folly look playful in upstate New York. For more of this garden, see America's Greatest Forgotten Garden.

Add Annuals

Above: Ceramicist Frances Palmer plants hundreds of dahlias every summer, creating a riot of color in which red always triumphs. For more of her garden, see A Garden Lovely Enough to Inspire Art.

Shutter Bug

Above: Use red as an accent color on a facade to draw attention to shutters or a front door. For more, see Hardscaping 101: Exterior Shutters.

Pick a Perfect Paint

Above: We asked architects to share their secrets and came up with a list of The 8 Best Exterior Red Paints.

Complementary Colors

Above: Reds work well together. Growing against a red brick wall, a red camella's color looks even richer. For more of this garden, see The Cult of the Wild Camellia.

Color Theory

Above: Red zinnias pop in a border of feathery gray, lime green, and chocolate plants. For this planting scheme, see Color Theory: 10 Perfect Plant Combinations.

For more of our favorite ways to use red as an accent color, see:

• 5 Favorites: Daring Red Front Doors.
• 10 Easy Pieces: Red Café Chairs.
• Design Sleuth: Midcentury Red Planter.
• Little Red Treehouse in the Big Woods.

More Stories from Gardenista

• Lady in Red: A Woodland Chicken Coop with Charm to Spare
• Rehab Diary: A Revived Manse in Melbourne
• Escape to Tasmania: An Obsolete Pump House Turned Eco Lodge

By putting colorful patchwork tile on nearly every inch of the walls and floors of a tiny house's open-air kitchen and courtyard garden, Vietnam-based architects a21studio transformed the miniscule into something magnificent.

Designed for a journalist who works for architectural magazines and built on a tight budget, a 430-square-foot house in Binh Duong Province barely has any walls—its framework of steel beams is covered with a skin of see-through mesh and corrugated panels.

The big splurge? A crazy quilt of colorful tile visually connects indoor and outdoor spaces and transforms the entire ground floor into a garden.

Photography via a21studio.

Above: Colorful tile covers the floor and kitchen counters and extends outdoors to connect the courtyard garden to the living spaces.

Above: From the street, it's possible to see all the way through the house because the ground floor—which consists of kitchen, living area, and a courtyard garden—has neither a front or a back wall. 

Above: A staircase made of a single sheet of folded metal runs the length of one wall leads to the second-floor bedrooms.

Above: Tiles cover the kitchen floor and wall of counters and sink. The floor tiles flow uninterrupted into the outdoor courtyard.

Above: Upstairs are two small bedrooms.

Above: A patchwork quilt on the bed echoes the colorful pattern of the tile downstairs.

Above: An aerial view of the garden, as seen through the bedroom window.

Above: The steel facade doubles as a giant trellis for vines and climbers.

For more of our favorite tile patterns, see:

• Patchwork Tiles: 11 Mix-and-Match Patterns.
• Design Sleuth: Marrakech-Inspired Tiled Garden Path.
• Black and White Mosaic Tile, from London with Love.

More Stories from Gardenista

• 11 Garden Ideas to Steal to Add a Touch of Red
• Lady in Red: A Woodland Chicken Coop with Charm to Spare
• Rehab Diary: A Revived Manse in Melbourne

Workwear is having a moment. We've rounded up our 10 favorites for the well-dressed gardener, from runway-worthy overalls to well-cut denim work pants (with reinforced knees and plenty of pockets for tools):

Work Pants

Above: Horticulturalist Taylor Johnston was inspired to design a collection of stylish gardener's workwear after New York Times fashion photographer Bill Cunningham published some photos he had snapped of her at work at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston wearing "ill-fitting, tattered work duds borrowed from the men's rack."

Says Johnston: "I was pretty mortified when Bill's photos, featuring yours truly, showed up in his 'On the Street' column in the New York Times." The experience prompted her to found Gamine Co., which manufactures high-quality, made-in-America workwear, including Dungarees work pants (Shown).

Above: A pair of Dungarees from Gamine Co. is made of denim woven on 1940s shuttle looms in North Carolina and sewn in a factory in Tennessee. With "old school patch pockets in both the front and back fit everything from a phone to a rolled-up topo map," the work pants are available in sizes 25-32; $150 per pair.

Above: Work pants specialists Carhartt collaborated with Milan-based Slam Jam to create a limited-edition collection of rigid Denim Lincoln Pants with multiple pockets to hold tools. Available in sizes 28 to 33, a pair is $115 from End Clothing.

Above: With a relaxed fit and reinforced knees lined with water-resistant neoprene, the Original Gardening Trouser in UK sizes 8 to 18 comes in two lengths (regular and long); £95.

Above: Cut full for comfort and made in America, Pointer Brand's rigid denim Lightweight Carpenter Jeans have pockets and loops to hold tools. Available in sizes from 28 to 70 inches, they're $56 a pair.

Above: Made of brushed cotton and with a 29-inch inseam, a pair of Gardeners Pants from Gardener's Supply has pockets for tools, reinforced knees, and an elastic waistband; available in brown (Shown) or blue in sizes 4-18 for $59.95. Sizes 16W-22W are on sale for $49.95.

Above: With seven pockets (including one designed to hold a ruler), a pair of Ladies Canvas Work Trousers made in Germany by Rofa is marked down from €136 to €94 at Manufactum.

Above: A pair of Modern Cargo Pants from Duluth Trading are made of 97 percent cotton and 3 percent Spandex for comfort and have eight pockets including a zippered pocket for a cell phone. Available in sizes 4 to 18, they are $64.50 a pair.

Overalls

Above: From British designer Margaret Howell, a pair of MHL Superfine Twill Dungarees in black cotton have patch pockets and come in sizes S, M, and L; $426 from Mill Mercantile.

Above: Made in America, Pointer Brand's Full Cut Rigid Denim Overalls are available in waist sizes 28 to 62 and in lengths from 29 to 36, currently on sale for $56 (marked down from $66) at L.C. King Manfacturing Co.

Above: With 13 pockets and a cell phone sleeve, Duluth Trading's Denim Overalls are 99 percent cotton with "a bit of Spandex woven in for easy-moving flex." They have internal knee pouches (if you want to add pads for kneeling) and come in sizes from extra small to extra large; $79.50.

Above: A pair of Long Strap Overalls from French and Danish designers Base Range are made of organic cotton and have thin adjustable straps: $162 from La Garconne.

Above: A slouchy pair of Cargo Overalls in a cotton-linen blend have leg pockets and are available in sizes extra-extra small to extra large; $78 from Madewell.

For more stylishly practical garden fashion, see:

• A Roll-Up Gardener's Tool Apron.
• Work Aprons: Keep Clean While Getting Dirty.
• Rugged Garden Style by Artifact Bag Co.
• 10 Easy Pieces: Sun Hats.
• 10 Easy Pieces: Canvas Totes.
• DIY: A Waxed Canvas Tote for $15.

More Stories from Gardenista

• Mother's Day Gift Guide: Picks from the Gardenista Market on May 9
• Etsy Find: Hanging Cloud Planter from Australia
• 10 Easy Pieces: Garden Carts and Wagons

I'm a soil scientist and a faculty instructor for Oregon State University's Extension program, where I've taught and consulted with farmers and gardeners. My own half-acre garden in southern Oregon is my laboratory where I experiment to find new ways to improve the soil.

After spending years learning how to make garden soils light, fluffy, and easy to work, I wrote Building Soil: A Down-to-Earth Approach, a new guide to everything you need to know to improve soil. Here are 10 of my top tips to improve soil:

An Organic Diet

Above: Florist Clare Day raises her own organic flowers on her 12-acre farm in British Columbia. See more at Organic Flowers at Red Damsel Farm.

Spring brings a flurry of underground activity that we can't see. Billions of soil organisms stretch and yawn, exploding into existence. It's this living soil below ground that helps gardens thrive above ground by recycling nutrients, capturing water, improving soil tilth, and fighting pests and disease.

We build soil health all year-round by feeding and caring for it. How? Living soil has the same four basic requirements we do: food, water, shelter, and air.

Autumn is the best season to start. Organic materials, the key ingredients for healthy soils, abound. You can add fallen leaves, garden debris, kitchen scraps, and even apples raked from beneath fruit trees to soil.

Chop organic material directly into the top 2 inches of soil with a heavy bladed hoe and cover with mulch. Ideally, add concentrated manures, mineral phosphorous and potassium fertilizers, and lime at the same time. Adding these materials in the fall gives them time to break down for use when plants need them in the spring.

Till With Worms

Above: Photograph by Jim Powell for Gardenista. For more, see DIY Composting: A Man Obsessed.

Instead of breaking out the rototiller, or breaking my back double digging, I like to let the worms do my tilling for me by using sheet mulching techniques. 

Sheet mulching is the process of building compost right on the soil surface. For new gardens, I'll add a smothering bottom layer of cardboard to kill existing vegetation, then alternate 2- to 4-inch-inch thick green and brown compost layers. This invites worms to burrow through the soil as they transport food. In the process, they dramatically improve soil structure, while depositing power-packed worm manure castings.

Sheet mulching takes advance planning. Ideally, start sheet mulches for new gardens the year before you plan to plant (and for existing gardens a few months before planting). Sheet mulching will build new garden soil literally from the ground up. It maximizes nutrients, smothers weeds, and keeps soil life intact and undisturbed.

Grow Your Own Soil

Above: Photograph via Crystal Liepa Photography.

Green manures and cover crops —such as buckwheat and phacelia in the summertime and vetch, daikon, and clovers in the fall—are my favorite way to improve soils. Whenever I have a window before planting, I grow a cover crop to add organic matter, lighten and loosen soil structure, and enrich garden nutrients. Cover crops also act as a living mulch to shelter soils and control weeds in the off-season. 

Chop over-wintered cover crops directly into spring soils a few weeks before planting. During the growing season, sow a quick-growing cover crop, such as buckwheat, to fill the gap between spring and fall crops. When it's time to plant, pull the buckwheat cover and use it as a mulch for fall garden beds.   

Test for Success

Above: A Soil Test Kit in a sturdy plastic case is $18.50 from Basic Science Supplies.

Soil tests are an indispensable garden tool. I always recommend taking one when starting a new garden, or when garden health declines. If an essential nutrient is missing, garden and soil health will suffer. For best results, take nutrient tests in the late summer or early fall. Submit a soil test to a certified lab to add the right balance fertilizers and lime materials to new gardens. For a list of certified labs visit NAPT. 

Supply What's Missing 

Above: Photograph by Justine Hand.

Over several seasons of soil building, a living, organic soil recycles and retains most nutrients, reducing or eliminating added fertilizer needs. When planting a new garden, however, organic fertilizers and lime ensure proper nutrition for the season ahead. If you've missed the fall window to add lime and mineral fertilizers, add them several weeks before planting in spring.  

Use soil tests results and other resources to determine your garden's fertilizer needs. For general purposes, purchase a complete organic fertilizer mix from your garden center and use as recommended. Scratch fertilizers into the top 2 inches of vegetable gardens. For perennial gardens, don't dig at all. Spread fertilizers and lime, when needed, around the plants, water lightly, and cover with mulch.

Don't Forget The Nitrogen

Above: Photograph by Erin Boyle.

Of all the essential plant nutrients, nitrogen deserves special mention. Though a living soil will continue to recycle and retain most other mineral nutrients, nitrogen is often in short supply, even after years of soil building. Not only does nitrogen feed soil plants, it also feeds soil organisms. Because of this, garden growth and long-term soil health depend on nitrogen.

Before planting every year, ensure sufficient nitrogen by counting all the sources you've added. Organic fertilizers, such as blood, seed, or feather meal, are sources of concentrated nitrogen. Fall or spring legume cover crops transfer nitrogen from the atmosphere to the soil.  Manures or green grass clippings, incorporated as amendments, provide nitrogen as well. Compost, on the other hand, does not supply enough garden nitrogen. While compost is great for improving overall soil health, additional nitrogen sources are needed when using compost as an amendment.

Pull, Cover, Smother

Above: Photograph by Michelle Slatalla.

As our garden wakes up in spring, so do the weeds. Before planting, get them under control. Weeds compete with garden plants, and from a soil perspective, they steal organic food away from the living soil.

For starters, fall mulching gives you the upper hand on spring weeds. Pull weeds that do emerge in the spring early and quickly, when they are small and easy to manage. If not noxious—that is, not spreading vigorously by root or stem—I suggest laying them right back on the soil surface and covering them with from 2 to 4 inches of organic mulch. Covering garden beds right from the start gives you the jump on garden weeds, while feeding the soil with organic material at the same time.

Recycle Perennials

Above: Photograph by Jim Powell for Gardenista.

If you have a landscape garden, hedges, woodlands, or fruit trees, then you have a wealth of materials to amend soils. Winter and early spring tree prunings, hedge trimmings, and perennial cuttings can feed the soil when recycled back into the garden.  

Chipped yard debris and bits pruned from trees make effective mulch. When green, they also provide a valuable nitrogen source as a sheet mulch layer. Use softer perennial cuttings as mulch, sheet mulch compost, or a garden bed amendment. I like a natural look in my landscape gardens. I'll actually chop cuttings into smaller pieces and mulch them right below the perennials I've cut. This type of composting in place mimics the way plant litter falls in nature.

Let Soils Dry

Above: Photograph via Crystal Liepa Photography.

For soils, it's often what we don't do, as much as what we do, that matters. Before planting spring gardens, the most important soil care priority is letting wet spring soils dry. Digging, walking on, or driving a rototiller over wet soils, particularly those with clays, compacts and damages the soil structure we work so hard to build. When this happens, we literally squeeze the air out of soils, leaving little space for organisms to breathe or roots to grow.

To tell when your soils are ready to work in the spring, take a handful and squeeze. If water comes out, hold off for a week or so. Soils that form a sturdy ball when molded or clay soils that press into a shiny ribbon also need to dry more.

Above: Building Soil: A Down-to-Earth Approach is $17.81 at Amazon.

For more spring gardening tips, see:

• Required Reading: The Postage Stamp Vegetable Garden.
• DIY: Reviving the Cold Frame.
• Gardening 101: How to Sprout a Seed.
• 10 Easy Pieces: Heirloom Seeds for Spring.

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• 10 Easy Pieces: Retractable Garden Hoses
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Why won't a wisteria bloom? There are lots of possible reasons. Bad attitude, for one. This is a vine that wants its way in the garden. Show it who's boss—and persuade it to flower—with proper pruning. 

Follow these step-by-step instructions to prune wisteria to make it bloom:

Roll Out a Welcome Mat

Above: Wisteria 'Blue Rain' blooms on a balcony railing in Antwerp. For more of this garden, see Radical Urban Gardens from Antwerp.

First things first. Despite its reputation as an invasive bully in the garden, wisteria can be finicky when it comes to performing. Buy a named variety from the nursery (rather than generic rootstock). The two most common types of Wisteria—sinensis (Chinese) and frutescens (native to American)—have varieties with blue, white, or purple flowers. 

Plant wisteria in a protected, warm spot in full sunlight (try to get this right the first time, because it does not like to be transplanted).

Persistence Pays Off

Above: Photograph via The Martha Blog.

Martha Stewart has trained her wisteria plants to grow into small trees on her farm in Westchester County, NY. Whether you want a tree or a vine, you should prune wisteria each year to encourage it to bloom. And be patient: it can take two or three years of pruning to prompt it to bloom.

Survival Instincts

Above: Photograph by Bart Kiggen.

The next step is to understand wisteria's mentality. "Wisteria evolved where success lay in grappling up through a shaded canopy, putting lots of energy into climbing but none into blooming until it reached full sun and 'knew' it was at the top. There, both physical and chemical cues tell the vine 'this is it,'" says wisteria expert Janet Macunovich of Garden A to Z. 

Wisteria wants to bloom when it feels increased warmth from direct sunlight and there is nothing above to climb. 

"Choose a point that is 'top', train the vine to lay horizontally there and repeatedly clip off side branches that try to continue up," says Macunovich. "This allows the top growth to develop in horizontal position and without shading foliage above."

Mark Your Calendar

Above: Properly pruned, Martha Stewart's wisteria tree prepares to bloom.

Prune wisteria twice a season: in early March before it blooms and again in late summer to remove what Macunovich refers to as "whippy new growth."

Early spring before leaves appear is the time to hard-prune wisteria. On a new plant, choose a sturdy vertical-growing vine to be the leader and remove other vertical vines. You can train the leader against a trellis if you are growing a vine or stake it if you are growing a tree.

On the leader, encourage horizontal branching. Remove suckers (new growth that appears in the crotch of two branches.

The Mechanics

Above: Thin, immature tendrils (L) will not bloom and should be pruned or else the plant may put all its energy into producing leaves instead of flowers. Sturdy branches with buds (R) should be left on the plant until after its flowering season ends. Then you may remove as necessary to shape the plant.  Photograph via Garden A to Z.

Diagram It: Wisteria Vine

Above: Encourage side branches spaced every 18 inches or so to grow horizontally from the leader. Image via Ohio State University. Hard-prune the vine in early spring and then cut off the season's tangly new growth in late summer.

Diagram It: Wisteria Tree

Above: Image via White Flower Farm.

To shape a wisteria standard, prune away long, thin branches that appear in summer. In late summer, plant specialist White Flower Farm advises, "cut the current season's growth back to just five to six large buds (leaving stubs about 6 inches long) and remove poorly placed branches entirely. This severe haircut controls growth and encourages some of the leaf buds to change into flower buds."

Tool Bag

Above: Loppers, shears, and hand pruners all are useful tools when pruning wisteria. Wear garden gloves to avoid scratches.

For more on wisteria, see:

• Wisteria: A Dangerous Beauty (Are You Tempted?)
• Paris in London: Neisha Crosland's Planting Scheme.
• DIY: Train a Wisteria Vine Not to Eat the House.

More Stories from Gardenista

• The 7 Best Climbing Roses for Your Garden
• Magic Trick: How To Make Your Hydrangea Change Color
• Wisteria: A Dangerous Beauty (Are You Tempted?)

Looking for a Mother's Day gift? As a longtime mother, I have three suggestions: straw hat, straw hat, straw hat.

You can't beat a straw hat for stylish sun protection whether you're in the garden, taking a stroll, or headed to the beach. Our 10 favorite shapes all have a flattering way of framing a face:

Above: A wide-brimmed Straw Hat made of wheat straw comes in two sizes; $44 from J. Crew.

Above: Inspired by 1930s garden parties and strolls along a river bank, Comme des Garçons' woven Straw Hat has a molded top and rolled edges; $368 from La Garconne.

Above: Have it both ways. With its pinched crown, a large brimmed Natural Panama Straw Wakefield hat also evokes a fedora; $200 from Brookes Boswell.

Above: From L.L. Bean, a Paper Braid Hat has a 4-inch brim (one size fits all) and is $35.95. 

Above: A woven raffia Italian Hat has a crown dent and a 4.5-inch brim. Made in the US, it's $275 from Barney's.

Above: From Una Hats, a natural straw Boardwalk Cloche has a striped grosgrain ribbon and is hand-blocked on a vintage wood hat form. Wire reinforces the brim so you can adjust it to a jaunty angle; $169 from Madesmith.

Above: A Wide Brim Raffia Hat has a leather tie around the brim (one size fits all); It is $88 from Terrain.

Above: A Braided Wide Hat With UPF50 Sun Protection is $19.99 from Gardener's Edge. An adjustable leather lanyard serves as a chin strap; $19.99 from Gardener's Edge.

Above: A woven Straw Fedora Hat has a leather band and is $49.50 from Madewell.

Above: A Packable Sun Hat is crushable and will unfold to its original shape; it is $29.50 from REI.

Garden fashion is having a moment. See more of our favorites:

• 10 Easy Pieces: Dungarees, Work Pants, and Overalls<.
• 10 Easy Pieces: Garden Clogs and Ankles Boots.
• Favorite French Market Totes.
• 10 Easy Pieces: Summer Sun Hats.

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• 10 Easy Pieces: Dungarees and Work Pants
• Mother's Day Gift Guide: Picks from the Gardenista Market on May 9
• Etsy Find: Hanging Cloud Planter from Australia

Care to stroll through the hidden gardens of Paris without leaving your home? Private Gardens of Paris by Alexandra D'Arnoux, Bruno De Laubadére, and Gilles De Chabaneix will take you behind gates and walls to uncover the secrets of some of the city's most exclusive sanctuaries.

The book is divided by three themes: Classical Gardens, Picturesque Gardens, and Exotic Gardens. Each garden is special in its own right, yet a quintessential Parisian thread runs through: rose bushes, iron fencing and furniture, and brick can found in nearly all 34 gardens highlighted in the book. Read on for a glimpse of the Private Gardens of Paris.

Above: A convent of 18th-century Saint Germain nuns built several private mansions to host the daughters of France's aristocracy. Each chateau opens up with French doors onto a small terrace, wrought iron fence and roses included.

Above: Considered to be one of Paris's more exotic gardens, this bog garden covers ground that was once occupied by old crafts workshops. When the artisans' trade never became profitable, the land came under new ownership. The ateliers were converted into a house by architect Paul Nataf while the landscape designer Michel Boulcour set out to inject an exotic feel into the garden with lilies and irises. 

Above: An oval fountain lends a picturesque tranquility behind a family mansion in the 7th Arrondissement.

Above: Fashion designer Renata wanted "a house with a garden, both as a place to live with her family and as a location for a workshop" which she found on a secluded street near the Rue de Rennes. When the designer and her family moved in, "there was just an overgrown plot of land, covered in ivy and gravel: a disaster." Renata's sister, a landscape designer, revamped the neglected garden with bundles of rhododendrons, geraniums, ferns, bamboo, and yuccas. 

Above: Blooming roses climb the back of the house owned by Baron and Baronne d'Orgeval. 

Above: A tiny outdoor room is created in a lavish kitchen garden near the 20th Arrondissement. The plot of land is back to back with the city's largest cemetery, creating a truly secretive vibe. 

Read more about out favorite French gardens in: 

• Private Paris: 9 Secret Gardens in the City of Love.
• 10 Garden Ideas to Steal from France.
• Garden Visit: A Parisian Stylist in Provence.

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• Saigon Story: Crazy Quilt Tile in a Courtyard Garden
• 11 Garden Ideas to Steal to Add a Touch of Red
• Lady in Red: A Woodland Chicken Coop with Charm to Spare

Garden designer Julie Moir Messervy, the author of Landscape Ideas That Work, has put some of her best suggestions to to the test—and proved their value—in her own terraced garden in southern Vermont.

Against the velvety verdant backdrops of the Green Mountain State, her garden has outdoor living spaces (including a fire pit lounge area where chairs are strategically grouped to fave the best view), ponds (hello, beavers), and garden beds where wildflowers and perennials create a kaleidoscope of color year after year.

N.B.: She's also the author of landscape design app Home Outside Palette (watch for our review in our upcoming roundup of the best of Garden Tech: 2015.)

Photography by Susan Teare via JMMDS.

Above: With the house sited at the top of a sloping property, the garden is a series of terraced spaces, including a stone terrace with a fire pit, Bordered by beds of flowering perennials, the fire pit terrace offers views of the mown fields below.

Above: Garden beds are planted with a mix of grasses and hardy perennials including Joe Pye weed, daisies, and coneflowers.

Above: Partially hidden by a spill of grasses, a hot tub is tucked into a convenient spot below a cantilevered deck. Says Messervy, "The grasses also lower the height of the cantilevered deck, concealing the basement and creating a beautiful filigree screen that visually brings the deck down to earth."

Above: On the deck, red ceramic planters feature a mix of annuals including begonias and potato vines.

Above: Purple smokebush leaves and white coneflowers echo the paint palette on the facade of the house.

Above: An eco friendly shed has solar panels on the roof.

Above: A riot of late-season color fills the garden beds.

Above: A path leads down to the ponds.

Above: A small outbuilding called the Lake House overlooks marshy plants and grasses at pond's edge.

Above: Still life with beavers. Night after summer night beavers dammed the stream next to the Lake House last year, and day after day Messervy's husband ripped out the dams to prevent flooding in a nearby field. 

"What I love most about beavers, besides the way they swim around in the pond and slap the water with their tails when they see us, is the paradise they create in the wet meadow that lies between our ponds," says Messervy. In the process, the beavers trample weeds and unwelcome volunteers including willow shrubs, red maple saplings, and buckthorn bushes.

Above: After the beavers do their work, says Messervy, "What's left is a host of beautiful plants that look their best in August through to late fall. Elderberry and spiraea, Joe Pye weed, sneezewort, Queen Anne’s Lace, asters, milkweed, and goldenrod…everywhere! Heaven."

For more of our favorite gardening ideas from Vermont, see:

• An Idyllic Farmhouse Retreat in Vermont.
• A Bucolic Farm in Vermont, Intellectuals Included.
• Campus Visit: Sterling College for Aspiring Agrarians.
• Shopper's Diary: High Mowing Organic Seeds.

More Stories from Gardenista

• Required Reading: Private Gardens of Paris
• Saigon Story: Crazy Quilt Tile in a Courtyard Garden
• 11 Garden Ideas to Steal to Add a Touch of Red

Asking for holes in pavement may sound as logical as wishing for holes in your head. But, using pervious surfaces is the smart and environmentally friendly thing to do.

As more land gets paved, concerns about water runoff increase. The good news: A host of paving products let water percolate through to the ground underneath, limiting water runoff, preventing erosion, filtering out pollutants, and improving the health of soil and vegetation. If you are planning a driveway, patio, sidewalk, or garden path project, consider permeable pavers or pervious concrete to allow for natural drainage while providing a solid surface strong enough to handle vehicles and people. Here are some different types of pervious materials:

Porous Pavement

Above: GraniteCrete is a permeable aggregate concrete product that is LEED Gold certified. Image via GraniteCrete.

Above: A traditional front walk using porous concrete.

Above: Porous Concrete is made with little or no sand and generally uses larger pea gravel, so the look is not as smooth as conventional concrete. It is available through most concrete suppliers.

Open Concrete Grids

Above: Greenery grows right through open concrete grid systems such as Turfstone. Strong enough to handle vehicles while offering excellent drainage and erosion protection, open concrete grid blocks are commonly filled with soil and then planted with grass or a durable ground cover. Turfstone pavers measure 24 by 15.75 inches and are available through Belgard.

Above: EcoGrid is another pervious concrete paving grid option. It provides 39 percent open space in which to place such drainage friendly material as small gravel (Above), or soil for grass turf. Available through Hanover Architectural Products.

Permeable Pavers

Above: Permeable pavers, such as the Permeable 3.25-by-18-inch Pavers from Hanover Architectural Products, allow water to percolate through joints or holes in the paver itself but also can withstand weight loads comparable to those supported by standard concrete.

Above: The Subterra Permeable Paver offers the look of natural stone with the benefits of a fully permeable paver. Use for patios, walkways, or driveways. Available through Belgard Hardscapes.

For more of our favorite solutions for paths and pavers, see:

• Hardscaping 101: Design Guide for Paths and Pavers.
• 10 Easy Pieces: Stepping Stones, Pavers, and Pebbles.
• 5 Favorites: Modern Pavers.
• 5 Favorites: Rambling Paths and Uneven Pavers.

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• Hardscaping 101: Outdoor Fabric Care
• Low-Cost Luxe: 9 Pea Gravel Patio Ideas to Steal
• Bringing Up Baby: A Bavarian Barn for Pygmy Goats

We're holding our first Remodelista & Gardenista Market of the year on May 9th at the Marin Country Mart in Larkspur, California. 

Just in time for wedding gift season, we're bringing together more than 40 local designers and their gift-worthy wares. From a set of handmade nested bowls (the perfect shower gift) to charming pocket size garden notebooks to say thank you to the wedding party, we've got new ideas for gifts in fresh spring colors.

See our Markets page for full details, and a full list of vendors is below. We hope to see you there!

Above: Are you headed to a wedding shower? Allow use to suggest the perfect, practical gift. Handmade in California by Berkeley-based Sarah Kersten of Counter Culture Pottery, a ceramic Set of Three Covered Bowls nest and stack for easy storage; $200.

Above: Designer Shujan Bertrand's new Àplat line elevates reusable storage bags to an art form. From her Sac À Fleur bouquet sack made of salvaged denim sourced in small batches from San Francisco factories ($60) to her signature Sac à Plat tote $46), she rethinks the way we use everyday objects (and makes it a pleasure to transport a hot pie plate to a dinner party).

Above: San Francisco's favorite flower-truck florist is Rebekah Northway, who arranges flowers for events large and small. Look for her SF Petaler truck parked outside the Remodelista Market at Marin Country Mart's Building B; she'll also be selling Mother's Day bouquets and posies.

Above: Are you looking for a way to say thank you to the wedding party? Illustrator Maria Schoettler's charming line drawings adorn the covers on a set of three pocket-size Garden Companion Notebooks; $18.

Above: Oakland-based Summer Sequoia uses 100 percent local beeswax in its candles; a Tallow Travel Candle burns 16 hours and comes with a lid. Candles are available in two sizes for $16 or $36 depending on size.

Above: SF-based florist Baylor Chapman of Lila B. will be bringing Wood Corset Wrapped Beaker Vases ($36) handmade in San Francisco by Craft Carriage.

Above: Berkeley-based nutrition specialist Thistle sources all the ingredients for its high-quality organic and plant-based Signature Juice Cleanse plan from local farms. A $69 daily plan includes five juices, almond milk, a ginger shot, and a glow elixir.

On May 9, shop from these Remodelista and Gardenista sellers: 

Browse our market picks for Mother's Day from Remodelista and Gardenista. (If you can't make it to our May 9 Marin market, note that most gifts are available for purchase online.)

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• 10 Easy Pieces: Straw Hats
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"Home is where you park it" is the motto of Tiny Heirloom, a Portland, Oregon-based manufacturer of luxury travel trailers. For $75,000, the company will build you a house on wheels you can tow around the country—or park permanently in a scenic spot.

Let's look take a tour:

Photography via Tiny Heirloom.

Above: Starting at a base price of $75,000, customers work with a company engineer can customize the floor plan, exterior facade, and interior design says Tiny Heirloom founder Tyson Spiess: "Once we have something you love drawn up, we work with our engineer to get it ready to build in Portland, Oregon."

Above: On the exterior, you can customize trailer length, paint color, and roof pitch.

The tiny house qualifies as a travel trailer, so you can tow it on any road. When parking it, find a concrete pad, driveway, or level ground.

Above: The interior floor plan can be customized depending on whether you prefer a large kitchen, a full bathroom, or a generous living room.

Above: The base model comes with granite countertops, painted or stained cabinets and cupboards, real-wood or bamboo flooring, a Dickinson P-12000 heater, stainless steel appliances, and a combination washer-dryer.

Above: In the kitchen area, a subway tile backsplash.

Above: A small closet is big enough for the combination washer-dryer.

Above: The bedroom in a loft above the kitchen.

Above: Open shelving in the bathroom.

For more of our favorite tiny homes on wheels, see:

• Wanderlust: 13 Airstream Trailers for Living Small.
• A $25 Trailer Transformed, for a Family of Four.
• A Retro '60s Camper, Indoor Bathhouse Included.
• 5 Essentials for the Retro Camper.

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• Hardscaping 101: Eco-Friendly Paving Solutions
• Hardscaping 101: Outdoor Fabric Care
• Low-Cost Luxe: 9 Pea Gravel Patio Ideas to Steal

Join us at the Brooklyn Expo Center in Greenpoint next weekend, when we'll be kicking off NYCxDesign week as a media sponsor of the Bklyn Designs fair celebrating the borough's best artisans, designers, and manufacturers.

From May 8 to May 10, Bklyn Designs will showcase Brooklyn's best furniture, lighting, textiles, jewelry—and gardening accessories. 

The show is free to the trade, for students, and for media. Tickets are $15 for the general public. Gardenista readers will get a $5 discount per ticket with coupon code GARDENISTA5. 

Here are some of our favorite Brooklyn makers who will be at the fair:

Above: Made from old growth lumber felled by Hurricane Felix, Brooklyn-based designer Aaron Poritz's Medium Abner Toolbox is $220.

Above: Brooklyn-based Fort Standard makes Stone Candle Holders ($68 apiece) and will have products featured in a Dwell-curated pop-up store.

Above: The High Line Shop will be featuring a curated pop-up store of favorite Brooklyn designers, including Boundless Brooklyn, known for its whimsical model kits of such iconic Brooklyn skyline sights as a lifeguard hut. A Mini Water Tower Kit is $20.

Above: The three-day Bklyn Designs fair will be at the Brooklyn Expo Center at 72 Noble St. in Greenpoint from May 8 to 10. Tickets are $15; Gardenista readers will get a $5 discount with coupon code GARDENISTA5.

More Stories from Gardenista

• Trending on Remodelista: Kitchen Confidential
• Table of Contents: Color Stories
• Current Obsessions: Wild Horses

The Remodelista editors dedicated the week to discovering and sharing the best kitchen storage ideas (hidden microwave, anyone)? Meanwhile, Justine set the table for Mother's Day. We took notes:

Above: Justine pulls together a Mother's Day Tabletop Setting that looks effortless (and was, thanks to designer Kathryn Yee's tips and The Magic of Flowering Cherry Blossoms).

Above: No one is more obsessed with hiding the microwave oven than Julie; here are her 13 Top Strategies for Hiding the Microwave).

Above: Brooklyn-based Worksteadt turns to Lacanche (our appliance crush) to kit out a bespoke kitchen in Boerum Hill.

Above: A hidden in-counter compost pail is one of Julie's favorite 15 Storage Ideas to Steal from High-End Kitchen.

Above: Alexa makes room for 10 Small Space-Saving Countertop Appliances (including an electric kettle) that she can't live without.

Did you miss any of Remodelista's coverage this week? Catch up on the editors' top tips for The Organized Kitchen.

More Stories from Gardenista

• Shop the Bklyn Designs Fair in Greenpoint from May 8 to 10
• Table of Contents: Color Stories
• Current Obsessions: Wild Horses

Read on to see what we obsessed over this week:

• Above: Boiler room turned guesthouse in San Francisco. Photograph by Cesar Rubio. 
• 12 colors to consider for the front door. 
• Is it fig season yet? 

• Above: A moody tablescape for the Kentucky Derby.  
• Worth the splurge: Japanese wellies. 
• Should gardeners worry about weird weather?

• Above: A series of brass objects captures how an oak tree germinates. 
• Another genius use for wooden palettes. 

Instagram and Pinterest Pick of the Week

• Above: While we gear up for the Remodelista & Gardenista Market next Saturday, we're keeping up with market vendor The FloraCultural Society (@floraculturalsociety). 

• Above: Guideboat Company (another Remodelista & Gardenista Market seller) has a 

  Cabins pinboard that will make you yearn for summer. 

For more from this week, read our Color Stories issue and head over to Remodelista for a guide to The Organized Kitchen. 

More Stories from Gardenista

• Trending on Remodelista: Kitchen Confidential
• Shop the Bklyn Designs Fair in Greenpoint from May 8 to 10
• Table of Contents: Color Stories