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10 Ways We've Been Preparing for Summer
Our favorite three-day weekend of the year is officially underway. For the next three months? It'll be picnics, beach parties, natural absorption of vitamin D. Here's how we're preparing for summer:...
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Los Poblanos in New Mexico
Off the beaten path in Los Ranchos (a small town near Albuquerque), Los Poblanos Historic Inn was designed by John Gaw Meem, long considered New Mexico's most important architect and now recognized...
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World's Best Barbecue Grills
My husband is so devoted to the art of grilling that even during electrical storms he used to refuse to abandon the kabob—until the time lightning struck 20 feet away, incinerating our car. Since then,...
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Out of the Closet: The Essential Minimal Wardrobe, Revisited
A month ago when I cleaned out my closet and vowed to wear only ten pieces of clothing, I had no idea my wardrobe choices were controversial. But by Day Three, people at work were looking at me...
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DIY: Easy Art Leaf Prints
One of the things I love most about being a parent? Getting to feel like a kid again as I join my children in experimenting with nature. Normally on a gorgeous spring day, the kids and I disappear into...
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5 Favorites: Backyard Play Structures
When we were little, the distance you could "fly" across the backyard after jumping from a swing was the measure of your superhero powers. It still is. I cannot even begin to calculate how many hours...
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Kids' Garden Tools from Burgon & Ball
There should be a "lovable quality about the actual tools" you use in the garden, Gertrude Jekyll believed, and it's a rule that also should apply to child-sized equipment. A tool that feels good in...
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To Lawn or Not to Lawn? With Kids, That is the Question
To lawn or not to lawn? With kids, it's a tough question. Lawns are ideal as a soft place for children to play, but they can also be visually uninteresting and a pain to mow. We love this solution from...
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A Kitchen Garden You Can Sprout on a Countertop
A tiny, compact system for growing just the right amount of herbs and sprouts on your kitchen windowsill? That's the idea behind a new Kitchen Farming line of ingeniously sized terracotta planters from...
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The Trouble with Chickens (and Ducks, Donkeys, and Flamingos)
It has been noted that the British care more for their animals than for people. Gardeners too seem to have a remarkable tolerance for anti-gardening creatures. With their scratching, digging, nibbling,...
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10 Easy Pieces: Classic Doorbell Buttons
The humble doorbell button works hard and, in our opinion, needs to look good. After all, first impressions are everything. We've rounded up our ten favorite classic doorbell buttons (stay tuned for...
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DIY: Mud Pie Kitchen
We predict the next big trend in outdoor living will be mud pie kitchens. Admit it. You want one: Photographs by Ginny Sheller. Above: When we spotted this ingenious DIY project, via Rhythm of the...
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10 Easy Pieces: Garden Tuteurs
Whether you're coaxing night-blooming moonflowers or papery-thin clematis, climbing vines and their flowers flourish when they have a little something to climb onto. Here's an array of pryramidal...
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Herbal Essence: Just Add Water
I'm not very good at remembering to drink water. A count of the glasses that I drink on a daily basis often doesn't move beyond two, never mind the eight that's recommended. But like most things, if I...
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Design Sleuth: Espaliered Vines
Well-behaved vines soften the message of a security fence in a suburb on the edge of Sydney, Australia. Landscape designer Anthony Wyer built scaffolding and trained bougainvillea to grow on it. Here's...
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The Tjirp Doorstop by Cas Moor
With the irresistible bird-shaped Tjirp Doorstop by Belgian Designer Cas Moor, it's form, function, and fun rolled into one. Owners beware: If your house is full of small children, it's highly likely...
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For Kids Only: A Hidden Garden in Brooklyn
Children who grow up in New York City are often deprived of time in the natural world. But just off the traffic-jammed hubbub of Flatbush Avenue, hidden inside the Brooklyn Botanic Garden is a one-acre...
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The Garden of Magical Childhood
My daughter adores buttercups. We are clearing a patch of garden which has become overrun and it will be her patch. She wants to grow the things she likes and that includes the creeping buttercup....
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Garden Crafts for Children: Build an Insect House
Dawn Isaac has a blog called Little Green Fingers which she describes as "one mother's attempts to get her kids as addicted to gardening as she is." She has also written a book called Garden Crafts for...
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Garden to Table: Rhubarb Hand Pies
Rhubarb is one of the tastiest plants you can find in a springtime garden. Here's a simple recipe for turning a prized late spring plant into miniature hand pies that are just the right size for...
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