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  • Trailing violas offer cool new options for color

    By Norman Winter

    Cooler temperatures mean it's almost time to use pansies and violas to add a breath of color to landscapes and containers. There is nothing quite like going to the garden center with brisk fall temperatures in the air and seeing all the vibrant colors. You'll probably notice enticing fragrances as well.

Botanical art class opens up new horizons

An ad for an art class with the lofty title "Botanical Art in the French Court Tradition of the 18th Century" caught my eye.

    • DIGGING IN

      Events, gatherings and products that are cropping up

      Rain Garden Workshops. www.bluegrassraingardenalliance.org. ■ 9 a.m. Oct. 4. Community Council Winburn Neighborhood Center, 1169 Winburn Dr., Lexington. Free. (859) 266-1572.

    • Decorators' Showcase

      History in the remaking

      By Sharon Thompson

      Shady Side on Paris Pike has been spruced up with the latest wall treatments, floor coverings, kitchen appliances and furnishings, and it's ready to show off.

    • Quilter pieces together a tribute to beloved Barbaro

      By Amy Wilson

      You start with freezer paper. No, wait, you start with a strong emotional image in your head, then comes the freezer paper unrolled on a surface to capture the image writ large enough to cover a surface eventually big enough to be seen from across a convention center.

    • Homes feel complete after ritual blessing

      By Jeff Strickler

      MINNEAPOLIS — Six months after settling into her new home in northeast Minneapolis, Susan Snyder finally finished the move a couple of weekends ago.

    • Here are the best ways to put $250 into saving energy

      By Mary Beth Breckenridge

      It's a double whammy: Home energy costs are rising just when most of us can least afford it.

    • books

      Sometimes, just dreaming of a hideaway is enough

      By Ric McGee

      Stylish Sheds and Elegant Hideaways: Big Ideas for Small Backyard DestinationsBy Debra Prinzing; photographs by William Wright.Clarkson Potter. 224 pp. $30.

    • Cleaning windows works best as a team effort

      By Alan J. Heavens

      You don't do windows? Well, maybe you should start. With the price of energy skyrocketing and the days getting shorter, the more natural light you can bring indoors the better.

    • For children, classics about gardening

      By Claire Abraham

      Many people associate gardens with springtime, but some plants can be grown in fall, and it's the perfect time to plant bulbs for spring's daffodils and tulips. So go ahead and plant some winter squash — and while you're at it, get your children involved. Enhance this learning experience with them by checking out these great children's books about gardens.

    • digging in Events, gatherings and products that are cropping up

      Home Builders Association of Lexington Grand Tour of Homes. Forty-three homes by 17 builders. Sept. 27, 28. Visit www.grandtourofhomes.com for addresses and details. (859) 273-5117.

    • Downtown homes on display

      A glimpse of Urban life and style

      Downtown homes became visitor hot spots Sunday during the fifth annual Urban Life and Style Tour organized by the Lexington Downtown Development Authority.

    • Pink goes with green

      More products let you feel good about spending

      By Harriett Hendren

    • CLIPPINGS

      If you plant bulbs this fall, consider allium

      By Susan Smith-Durisek

      Ornamental alliums rise above their cousins, the savory onions, chives and garlics that we love to eat. In the spring, allium bulbs send up scapes crowned by unusual umbelliferous, globe-shaped lollipop mops composed of tiny individual star flowers.

    • BOOK REVIEW

      What you don't know about garlic could fill a book

      By Susan Smith Durisek

      You probably think you know about garlic. We all do, especially when it comes to that pungent flavor in Italian tomato sauces, or spread with butter on crusty bread.

    • Elegance at home

      By Charlyne Varkonyi Schaub

      FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Mar-a-Lago, built in the 1920s as the opulent Palm Beach, Fla., estate of Marjorie Merriweather Post, became known as a social Mecca for her costume balls, teas, recitals and infamous square dances.

    • Product puts the 'sneak' back into drying sneakers

      By Mary Beth Breckenridge

      No Bang! quiets the noisy business of drying tennis shoes in a clothes dryer.

    • Fall's the time to rake, not lop

      By Cindy Hoedel

      Predictably, as soon as the first hint of a chill can be felt in the evening air, friends and colleagues start asking: What should I be doing in the yard now?

    • Growing into their places

      By Susan Smith-Durisek

      Moving into retirement housing can mean downsizing and sharing your living space, and forfeiting your outdoor space. Unless, that is, you are fortunate enough to live in a retirement community that values the therapeutic and recreational benefits of gardening. Reva and Tom Brehm live in such a place: Richmond Place on Rio Dosa Drive in Lexington.

    • Does your washing machine smell?

      Front-loaders have a tendency to develop mold and mildew; inventor takes care of it

      By John Ewoldt

      Appliance repairman Paul Flynn of Savage, Minn., was getting calls from customers suffering allergic reactions to their foul-smelling front-loading washing machines.

    • BOOK REVIEW

      Allow the 'Tile Bible' to lead you into temptation

      By Susan Smith Durisek

      Compared to paint, paper and paneling, the world of tiles might seem a bit more mysterious and exotic.

    • The next steps: Late-summer gardening tips

      By Mary Beth Breckenridge

      Late-summer gardening tips from Ann McCulloh, curator of plant collections at the Cleveland Botanical Garden:

    • Renovated Lexington house to be on TV

      Couple's 5-year project became a model home

      By Mary Meehan

      For Evan and Kimberly E. Brown, renovating their home became more than a pastime. It became an all-consuming, round-the-clock, coal-dust-in-your-face, never-a-moment's-rest passion.

    • Lexington's Urban Life and Style Tour set

      By Beverly Fortune

      The 5th annual Urban Life and Style Tour will focus on “lived in spaces” in the downtown area.

    • CLIPPINGS

      Test your tomato taste buds at festival

      By Susan Smith-Durisek

      By popular demand, The Arboretum will be holding its annual Tomato Festival on Aug. 9.

    • DIGGING IN

      Events, gatherings and products that are cropping up

      At The Arboretum. 500 Alumni Dr. (859) 257-9339. www.ca.uky.edu/arboretum.

    • Digging In

      Events, gatherings and products that are cropping up

      Blue Grass Hemerocallis Society Show and Sale. 1-5 p.m. July 5. The Mall at Lexington Green. Free. (859) 608-9071.

    • Bungalow is urban, yet quiet and private

      Lexingtonian built his version of a French city house

      By Beverly Fortune

      Chris Newman looked for two years for an ideal place for an ­urban infill project. Then he ­discovered Kenwick, an older area that includes bungalows and Craftsman-style houses with a new neighborhood energy.

    • A coat of ferns

      The plants add a lushness to gardens

      By Susan Smith Durisek

       

    • The practical but pretty picnic

      By Karalee Miller

       

    • BOOK REVIEW

      Handbook for underused garden plants

      By Betsy Adler

       

    • Clippings

      Conservancy to display gardens in Louisville

      By Susan Smith-Durisek

       

    • BOOK REVIEW

      Book gives fresh painting ideas

      By Susan Smith-Durisek

      Strié, ragging, color washing, spatter, faux finishes, stamping, stencils and murals: Who knew there were so many techniques for applying paint to walls?

    • Comfortable, stylish patio furniture

      By Meda Kessler and Buzz Mcclain

      We saw a vintage folding patio chair in a tag sale recently. Its woven web design and aluminum frame took us back to our youth, when we sat in the back yard watching the fireflies blink in the inky darkness of summer nights. But today, patio furniture is less about nostalgia and more about luxury and comfort.

    • Farmers market returns

      Chef lends hand at opening festivities

      By Sharon Thompson

      The blooming jonquils and forsythia, the singing birds and the warm sunshine are considered by many to be signs of spring. But most Lexingtonians know that the opening of the outdoor Farmers Market marks the official transition of seasons.

    • CLIPPINGS

      A chance to help plant

      Susan Smith-Durisek

      Since 1999, Reforest the Bluegrass, an ecological restoration effort jointly sponsored by Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government's Water Quality, Urban Forestry and Parks & Recreation programs, has been encouraging volunteers to dig in and replant riparian zone buffers around waterways, using native tree species.

    • BOOK REVIEW

      Book offers ideas for composting

      The Complete Compost Gardening GuideBy Barbara Pleasant& Deborah L. MartinStorey Publishing 319 pp $29.95

    • SENSIBLE HOME

      Steam ovens save energy, cook healthier

      James Dulley

      Question: I want a healthy and efficient method to cook meals for my family. I don't like microwave ovens for most foods. How efficient are the new residential steam ovens and do they bake as well as a regular oven? — Jan T.

    • Revive your deck with a good cleaning

      Associated Press

      Right now, your deck or patio might look grungy from winter leaf and debris stains, mildew and aging.

    • Baby's room can now be trendy

      By Kim Cook

      Who said nursery design had to be color-by-numbers?

    • CLIPPINGS

      New site for antiques show has a lot of class(rooms)

      Susan
Smith-Durisek

      The Athens Schoolhouse Antique Show is making its debut this weekend. After 22 years at the Lexington Loose Leaf Tobacco Warehouse on Angliana Avenue, the Rose family is continuing the monthly show at a new location: the former Athens School property, 6270 Athens Walnut Hill Road. Take Interstate 75 to exit 104, then go one mile east on Athens-Boonesboro Road, or go straight out Richmond Road from Lexington. To celebrate, there will be a $1,000 drawing. Admission, which is $2, can be used as credit in the snack area and, yes, bean soup is on the menu. Show hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. See www.bigblueantiques.com or call (859) 255-7309.

    • Tips for starting seeds

      By Amy Wilson

      Nan Starkweather always had admired ­gerbera daisies but not their price. A glamorous, big-headed, vibrantly colored cutting flower, the daisy can sell for $8 to $10 a stem.

    • Buying a shed? Use your head

      By Alan J. Heavens

      Where do you store your lawn mower, your gardening implements and other tools? If the answer is the garage or the basement, odds are your gear is hard to get to or tough to find when you need it.

    • Guru’s weight-loss idea: Get organized

      His new book draws link between clutter and obesity

      By Tania Fuentez

      Which came first, the clutter or the fat? TLC’s Clean Sweep expert Peter Walsh has the answer — but don’t expect him to mince words in the new book, 'Does This Clutter Make My Butt Look Fat?' ($25, Free Press).

    • Book review

      P. Allen Smith gets more out of a garden

      From his own television program, P. Allen Smith Garden Home, and appearances on the Today show to the many publications in which he has shared a love of gardening, P. Allen Smith is widely recognized for both a green thumb and a skilled hand at weaving together home and garden in new and delightful ways.

    • Budding artists

      Mom, daughter sculpt a garden's worth of flowers

      By Jennifer Hewlett

      They're inelegant blobs of drywall mud that have been turned into colorful, jewel-bedecked works of art. They're flowers that have been given names like Cadillac, Lexus, Kelp, Aztec and Sasha.

    • The 'Copper House' is green with energy

      UK project easy on the environment

      By Andy Mead

      Kathy Swan enjoys telling the story about being very pregnant and finding the big copper house.
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