Lawn and Garden

Go native and watch your garden grow

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 01:00:00 -0500

Go native this gardening season. Plant what grows naturally in our part of Virginia: beautiful old faithfuls like willow oaks, sweetbay magnolia, witch hazel and Jack in the pulpit.

Mid-Atlantic Home & Flower Show this weekend

Olivia.Hubert-Allen — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 00:00:00 -0500

Oops! You've been improperly redirected. Click here to see about the Mid-Atlantic Home and Flower show.

Put a little spring by your steps

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 00:00:00 -0500

By Nora Firestone Correspondent

Pat Simpson believes that home should be "where you get the most comfort from life " - where "you feel safe, content and loved." "Content" may be the word of the year as more homeowners embrace - rather than flee - the quirks of their current quarters and opt to renovate while the housing market hashes out its own quandary.

Part appraiser, part stand-up comedian

debmarkham — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 00:00:00 -0500

VIRGINIA BEACH
Drag in great-grandma’s painting, that yard sale vase, those comic books from the attic.
Then watch as Dr. Lori cuts to the chase.
“You’re going to get an honest appraisal,” said this Bucks County, Pa., antiques expert.

Red wigglers take garden compost to a new level

Mon, 18 Jan 2010 00:00:00 -0500

For years, the only thing I knew about red wigglers was their claim to fame as the featured worm on signs that advertised fishing bait in front of bait and tackle shops.
But these days red wigglers are more apt to be advertised on the front of gardening catalogs. The squirmy little guys are a hot topic among organic gardeners for the rich vermicompost they make.

Three ways to keep the garden growing through winter

Sun, 10 Jan 2010 00:00:00 -0500

On a cold winter day, a greenhouse is a warm, woodsy and wonderful place to putter, store tender plants, jump-start spring seedlings or grow exotics.

North Carolina's 'Christmas flower' in ample supply

Patrick.Wilson — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 12:07:55 -0500

By David Nivens High Point (N.C.) Enterprise/McClatchy Regional News

HIGH POINT, N.C. North Carolina's Christmas flower flourished this year in greenhouses and so far has survived the early holiday shopping rush in hardy numbers. Shoppers seeking a last-minute gift or home decoration should have plenty of poinsettia choices.

Slimy, hermaphroditic slugs: A love story

Olivia.Hubert-Allen — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0400

The love life of slugs was not something I had ever thought about until Nancy Leavitt sent some photos of two amorous slugs on her front porch.

In all the photos, the slugs were wrapped around one another in graceful, most un-slug-like poses.

Couple says 'yes' to bananas

Sun, 04 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0400

If only Joani had been home. "Oh, we love to sit out here," said Joani's husband, Tony Surace, his elbows on the wood railing of their deck in Chesapeake. He was looking out into the dappled shade of their backyard, a tropical oasis, and was excited about showing off his banana tree. But right now he was studying the pond, goldfish, ferns, moss and thinking of Joani, who was at work.

Community gardens, a growing trend

debmarkham — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0400

A BRIGHTLY PAINTED skeleton of a sun umbrella stands in Andy Friedman and Barbara Schaefer’s garden plot in Pungo .
Bean vines are being trained on string to grow from the ground up and twine around the umbrella spokes – a bean pole of sorts.