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Kyoto's Tofuku-ji Gardens: Anything Look Familiar?
You are acquainted with Japan's master gardener Mirei Shigemori even if his name sounds completely unfamiliar. Or, more accurately, you have seen gardens that were influenced by his ideas. This...
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A Japanese Expat's Adventures in Cooking
What if you are a Japanese graduate student in Sweden who wants to cook your favorite Japanese dishes, but can't find the ingredients? If you are Moé Takemura, you turn this conundrum into your...
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Hike of the Week: Akiko and Neil in Nara, Japan
Before Neil and Akiko were based in Gunma, Japan, we all lived together in a single-floor flat in San Francisco. Today they are constantly on the move, traveling through France, Ireland, Estonia,...
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A Gardening Shop Plus Cafe in the Mountains of Japan
A garden shop deep in the forest, in the mountains of Okayama at the southern end of Japan's main island of Honshu, is next to owner and designer Makoto Kawai's workshops. Stop by: Nap also has a...
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10 Ways to Pretend Winter is Already Over
Everywhere I looked this week, spring was getting a jump on things. Spanish bluebells took over my garden, local strawberries showed up at the market, and at the office we all boxed our stuff and...
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DIY Video: Rehab Your Herb Garden
With spring coming, one's thoughts turn naturally to ... Julie's herb garden. Well, at least my thoughts. Julie makes dinner for me about three times a week, so you could say I have an interest in...
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DIY: The Magical Powers of White Cherry Blossoms
Every March growing up, I watched my mom wield a large pair of hedge clippers and go at the forsythia that edged our front yard. She'd fill a tall cut glass vase with the naked branches and a little...
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Stop Me Before I DIY Again
There was a time when glue gun novices like me did not believe ourselves capable of whipping up a custom silverware drawer insert on a lark. We lived in a world where other people made things for us....
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DIY: (Not So) Easy Silverware Drawer Insert
You're not scared of a little challenge, are you? Think of how happy you will be with a custom insert that fits inside your drawer perfectly, to organize all your silverware in neat rows and to keep...
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Modern Adirondack Chairs
Manufacturing outdoor furniture for the modern age, Duluth-based Loll Designs uses 100 percent recycled plastics to create a rugged, yet city-chic, outdoor collection. As spring approaches and we get...
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DIY: Rock Weights for a Sun Shade
Spotted in our post on the Japanese mountain cafe Nap, a patio with a sun shade anchored by rocks. Owner Makoto Kawai collected stones from a nearby river to secure the sun shade above the cafe's...
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Architect's Visit: A Green Roof, With Wildflowers
A weekend house for a family of three is built on a grassy plan between the ocean and the mountains in Japan. How do you build a house that sits between the two beautiful views without blocking...
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DIY: Raised Beds Made From Wine Boxes
Living in a New York City apartment where the only outdoor space is a fire escape that you've told not to use unless actually escaping a fire, you might kill for a garden. Or even one homegrown...
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10 Easy Pieces: The Most Magical Mosses
Growing up in Seattle, I was raised to view moss as a menacing by-product of damp weather. My father waged an ongoing battle against the moss that crept into the lawn. But by the time I had my own...
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Pinterest Contest: What's Your Outdoor Dining Dream?
During my grad school years in Boulder, Colorado, two things kept me healthy and sane: hiking and meals with my friends Andy and Elaine. If weather allowed, we dined outdoors. Now that I live in urban...
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DIY Seed Starting: Newspaper Pots
Late winter is the time of year when gardens in New York look their worst, but when hopes for their future are at an all-time high. It’s the season of seed catalogs and bed planning, and when we get...
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How to Know When Your Garden Needs a Teepee
When the Pitt family purchased a 1950s Northern California ranch house, the garden had an equally '50s-like lawn surrounded by a dated white picket fence. When they renovated the home, they also...
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Video: Clone Herbs in Your Kitchen
Sometimes you can make the most serendipitous gardening discoveries indoors—in my case, in the kitchen. I keep herb cuttings in water, and one day I noticed roots. It turns out you can propagate herbs...
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DIY: Macrame Plant Hanger (Pink, of Course)
Spotted on Refinery 29: A DIY plant hanger that is as simple as tying a few knots. If you have experience with macrame, you have a slight advantage (but fear not—I never was a Girl Scout, but I found...
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The English Gardener: Making a Willow Wigwam is Easier Than it Looks (Promise)
For me, one of the highlights at Coton Manor Garden in Northamptonshire has always been the sturdy willow and hazel supports around the roses. If I had my own country estate, I'd have the same—instead...
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