Twenty Ninth Street Retail District
29th Street & Canyon Blvd, Boulder
www.TwentyNinthStreet.com

The 5th Annual Boulder Home & Garden Fair will be held on May 19th this year (rain date, June 2)

Exhibitor spots start at $495 (discounts available to current magazine advertisers). TO EXHIBIT – download application HERE.

HOME IMPROVEMENT EXPERTS

With the Fair’s experts you’ll transform your home with inspiration and ideas for home design, decorating, home improvement, and more.

SUSTAINABLE LIVING EXPERTS

Chat with the best! Our local energy and sustainable living experts are leading the nation in innovation.

LANDSCAPE & GARDEN EXPERTS

Just in time for spring planting! Hire a professional or simply get advice. These experts will green up your lawn in more ways than one.

FUN FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY!

Come enjoy the kids’ area featuring gardening workshops, art activities, a parade, face painting, music and more!

[CLICK HERE FOR A LIST OF 2011 VENDORS]

COSTS
The BH&G Fair is FREE to the general public. Businesses may participate for a nominal vendor fee.

PARKING
Free parking is available at the Twenty Ninth Street mall, both in covered parking garages beneath the stores, as well as in the parking lots surrounding the mall. Parking for the public is available at these spots. Vendors will be assigned a parking lot on the North East end of the mall.

VENDOR INFORMATION
The Boulder Home & Garden Fair is presented by Boulder County Home & Garden Magazine, a subsidiary of Brock Media [and Your Company! Ask us about a corporate sponsorship].

Exhibitor space is limited and will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. Spots per category are limited. Sponsorships are also available. Download an exhibitor application here.

Press Contact: Nicole Karsted 303.443.0600 x 117 or nicole@brockpub.com

Here’s a video peek at last year’s event:

Spring 2011 Home & Garden Fair

Thank you to our 2011 Event Sponsors:

Recognizing Everything About Local.

We encourage you to get involved and nominate an outstanding  local businesses or individual that’s really making a difference in our community! Find all details and nomination forms online at getboulder.com/REAL

Awarded in 10 categories, the Boulder County REAL Awards salute the outstanding character of those who help make Boulder County such a special place, and recognize their significant contributions made to our community.

Winners will be announced at the Gala Awards Presentation on April 19, 2012, at the Hotel Boulderado.

CHOCOLATE-COVERED RED VELVET TRUFFLES

Makes approximately 48 truffles

Ingredients
Cake:
1 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons natural cocoa powder (NOT dutch-processed)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup beet puree* (approximately 3 medium-sized beets) (See note below)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Sweetened Cream Cheese:
4 ounces neufchâtel cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Chocolate Coating:
16 ounces semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips

Directions

Cake:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Lightly whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt in medium-sized bowl.

3. In another bowl, whisk together beet puree, oil, lemon juice, vanilla extract and almond extract.

4. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until just combined.

5. Pour batter into a 13 x 9 inch baking pan. Cook approximately 30 minutes.

6. To test doneness, insert toothpick into cake. If toothpick comes out clean, cake is done. If not, bake cake another 5 minutes and check again. Repeat until toothpick comes out clean. Let cake cool completely.

7. While cake is baking, beat together cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla extract in a medium-sized bowl and set aside.

8. Once cake is cooled, break up cake with hands or fork to create crumbs.

9. Transfer cake crumbs into medium-sized bowl and add in cream cheese mixture. Stir until combined.

10. Take a heaping teaspoon of combined mixture and roll into a ball. Place on a baking sheet lined with wax paper; repeat until there is no more cake mixture left. Place in freezer at least 1 hour or until ready to cover in chocolate.

11. Melt 12 ounces chocolate chips gradually until mostly melted. Melt chocolate over a double-boiler OR heat in 10-15 second intervals in the microwave. Once mostly melted, add remaining 4 ounces chocolate chips and stir until smooth (no lumps should remain).

12. Remove cake balls from freezer and dip in chocolate (using a spoon to help cover ball with chocolate, if necessary). Place chocolate-covered truffles back on wax paper-lined baking sheet and continue until all balls are covered in chocolate. Chocolate should harden quickly after dipping cake ball. If it does not harden by the time you have covered all of the truffles, place them in freezer until chocolate firms up.

*To make beet puree: Trim leaves and bottom “tail” of beets and scrub under water to clean.  Place beets on center of a piece of aluminum foil and wrap beets—making sure to fold over foil on top so no air escapes. Place foil-packet on baking sheet in pre-heated 375 degree F oven. Roast until a fork inserts easily (approximately 30-60 minutes. Roasting time varies depending on size of beets; start checking at 30 minutes). Once fork-tender, open foil packet and allow beets to cool. Once cooled, rub off and discard skins. Place beets in blender or food processor and pulse until smooth.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

recipe and photo by: Rebecca Schneider

STRAWBERRY WHITE HOT CHOCOLATE

Rich, thick white chocolate takes the place of cocoa while fresh strawberry puree adds an unexpected flavor and a hint of Valentine’s Day pink. Garnish with toppings of your choice—whipped cream, marshmallows, cinnamon, chocolate shavings (or all four!)—and watch your partner melt!

Serves 2

Ingredients:

2 cups milk or non-dairy milk

1/2 cup white chocolate chips

1/2 cup strawberry puree* (approximately 6-8 ounces of frozen

strawberries will yield 1/2 cup puree) (See note below)

Whipped cream, marshmallows, cinnamon, chocolate shavings (optional)

Directions:

1. Combine milk, white chocolate chips and strawberry puree in a small saucepan.

2. Warm over medium heat; stirring frequently until white chocolate chips are melted and and strawberry puree is fully incorporated.

3. If strawberry puree does not fully dissolve, transfer warmed mixture into a blender or food processor and pulse until combined.

4. Top with your choice of whipped cream, marshmallows, a sprinkle of cinnamon and/or some chocolate shavings, if desired.

5. Serve immediately.

 *To make strawberry puree: Heat frozen strawberries in small saucepan over medium heat. When strawberries are softened and juices are being released, transfer to blender or food processor and pulse until smooth. For the purest pink color, strain puree and discard leftover strawberry seeds.

Great locally focused content, interactive features, embedded videos, links to additional content, easy sharing features and more in our EXCITING online-only winter 2012 edition! ‘Flip’ through the pages of our virtual edition, just like the print version, right on your screen.

Click here to see it in action!

This gorgeous house, designed by MQ Architecture & Design, was built in a very tight space on a steep slope. The water feature alone is a remarkable feat of engineering, with 20-ton boulders that beautifully mimic the Flatirons.

Photo by WeinrauchPhotography.com

By Lisa Marshall

The Gambles demolished a 1957 ranch home to build their dream home that’s faced in real moss-rock sandstone and clear vertical-grain cedar siding.

Close your eyes as you step inside Bruce and Becky Gamble’s newly built dream home, and the roar of a 30-foot-tall backyard waterfall makes you feel as if you’ve stumbled into a wilderness oasis.
Open your eyes, and you still feel that way.

Carved into an impossibly steep, wildflower-studded hillside with sweeping views of the Flatirons and a towering back-patio rock wall that impressively mimics them, the 5,300-square-foot
architectural wonder beneath the Flatirons perfectly mirrors the outdoorsy “Boulder lifestyle” of the longtime locals who dreamed it up.

“We wanted a home that really reflected the environment it was sitting in—the base of the majestic Flatirons,” says Becky Callan Gamble, president of Dean Callan and Co., the Boulder-based commercial real estate firm her family founded in 1963. “We wanted it to blend in.”

Three pumps totaling 12 horsepower recirculate the water in this magnificent water feature. Depending on how many pumps are turned on, the water can be a babbling brook or a raging torrent. Photo by WeinrauchPhotography.com

A simple vision, but in reality “blending” required 1,200 tons of moss rock, a 100-ton crane, and nine months of arduous site work in a tight space on a slippery slope. Then, the Gambles could start to build the house.

The patio stairs lead to the top of the water feature and a smaller seating area with a hot tub and stupendous views. Photo by WeinrauchPhotography.com

“Once you built the house into the hillside it would be so tight, there would be no physical way to get back there and do the landscaping. So we had to build the waterfall and do all the landscaping first,” says Longmont landscaper Steve Ward, president of SJ Ward Landscapes Inc., who was called in to complete the job after the original landscaper couldn’t meet the challenge. “It was crazy. There were times I didn’t know if the owners could pull off their vision,” Ward says. A simple vision, but in reality “blending” required 1,200-tons of moss rock, a 100-ton crane, and nine months of arduous site work in a tight space on a slippery slope. Then, the Gambles could start to build the house that was designed by Boulder’s MQ Architecture & Design.

A Long Time Comin’
Bruce Gamble, a former All-American ski racer from the University of Colorado, and Becky, a former All-American tennis player for the University of Texas, began married life in a small Chautauqua-area home in the 1980s. It was just steps from the trails Bruce loved to hike, and the roads Becky loved to ride.

But once she became pregnant with her first of two children, they decided to move to a more “kid-friendly” neighborhood with a large yard and a swimming pool in east Boulder’s suburbs.

“We always knew that when our kids got older we would be back here,” says Bruce, director of acquisitions for Dean Callan and Co.

The Gambles wanted a mountain home with lodge-like ambience and outstanding Flatirons views. Sopris Homes achieved their vision by using fir beams, knotty alder cabinets, ample windows and troweled textured walls. Photo by Ron Ruscio

After three years of searching, he was touring another house in the Bellevue Heights neighborhood near Chautauqua Park when he saw a “For Sale by Owner” sign pop up across the street. The 1957 house was boxy and small, with few windows and little landscaping. But the views left Bruce speechless. He called his wife, and within hours they were sketching out plans.

Bruno and Roscoe, the Gambles’ two basset hounds, love the views too, but prefer the property’s many smells. Photo by Ron Ruscio

“We had in our mind exactly what we wanted, and we stood right on the property and mapped it all out,” he says.

The Gambles turned to longtime friend and Sopris Homes owner John Stevens (whom Bruce worked with 23 years ago at Bolle Sunglasses) to build it. After leveling the existing house, they broke ground in 2008 to create the home’s signature rock wall and water feature.

“It was fun and rewarding to create a rock wall that blends so well with the Flatirons, and in fact, resembles them so well,” Stevens says.

But just months into the project, the Gambles had to switch landscapers midstream, when it became apparent that the one they’d chosen was not up to the task.

Once Ward stepped in, he had his work cut out for him.

The Gambles love the look of slate, and used it for their dining room floor. Photo by Ron Ruscio

To create a retaining wall that not only held back the mountain but also looked like it belonged there, the team hauled in truckload after truckload of automobile-sized 20-ton moss rocks from Wyoming—each flatbed truck only able to carry three or four rocks at a time. Then a crane would sling them up the hillside, where Ward and his crew would painstakingly place each one, aiming to create an angular wall that mirrored the Flatirons, but was also structurally bulletproof.

Setting one 20-ton stone could take all day.

Then came the glorious sandstone staircase—21 steps that lead to a built-in eight-person spa with dizzying mountain views—the gas fire pit, the towering water feature (one of Boulder’s largest), and a color explosion of vivid native perennials.

No Room for Error

The distressed-hickory flooring in the kitchen ties in beautifully with the knotty alder cabinetry. Photo by Ron Ruscio

Once the landscaping was done and Stevens was able to break ground on the house, it became clear just how tight a space the landscapers had been working in: “Literally, from the back of the house to the base of the waterfall is 12 feet. That’s it,” Ward says. There had been no room for error.

In the end, the home fit together like a jigsaw puzzle, both literally and aesthetically.

The Gambles chose a two-story L-shape to help maximize the southwestern Flatirons views, with one wing dedicated to a large master suite and the other arm of the “L” featuring a great room, dining room and kitchen. The downstairs is largely the haven of their equally athletic kids (son Beau, 20, plays basketball for CU; daughter Berkley, 17, will play soccer for the University of Washington).

In keeping with the surrounding open space, the main floor features a wide-open floor plan, with exposed fir beams that were blasted with eco-friendly, ground-up corn cobs to remove any discoloration and create a smoother, more uniform color. Half walls separate the dining room, kitchen and great room, and earthen finishes abound, from the authentic stone fireplace to the hand-scraped hickory flooring, distressed alder cabinetry and forged iron doorknobs.

Becky’s favorite spot in the house is the master bathtub, a luxurious soaking tub with direct views of the faint reddish “CU” letters on the third Flatiron. For Bruce, it’s the master sitting room, a cozy spot outside the bedroom complete with a fireplace and equally stunning views of the towering sandstone slabs.

Becky loves soaking in the views in the master bath from the jetted tub faced in chiseled-edge travertine. Photo by Ron Ruscio

“You can sit almost anywhere in this house and see the Flatirons and hear the water feature,” Bruce notes.

Reflective of their outdoor lifestyle, the downstairs features a spacious workout room and an 8-by-16-foot mudroom, where the family can pile in after a day of play and throw their clothes into one of two large stackable washing machines.

Then there’s the front entryway, which features a meandering 70-foot sandstone walkway with heat coils underneath to melt snow and ice during winter months. From the front porch, Boulder’s city lights glow warmly at night.

The house was ultimately completed in July 2009. But in the end, the wait and the investment were well worth it, Bruce says.

“You could go hiking around in open space right now and this is what you would be walking through,” he says, shouting over the tumbling backyard cataract. “We didn’t just roll out a half-acre of sod and call it good. This is art. It is really is one of a kind.”

Get your garden in tuber-licious shape with these stunning tubers that are best planted in fall.

By Mary Lynn Bruny

Good gardeners always plan ahead, and now is the perfect time to plant the following spring- and summer-blooming tubers.

These delightfully uncommon species, suggested by Panayoti Kelaidis, director of outreach and senior curator at Denver Botanic Gardens, are worth finding spots for in your garden. Most are available at nurseries either in pots or bare root. If not, they can be found online.

Italian Arum Photo courtesy geolocations.ws

Italian Arum
Latin name: Arum italicum
Size: 1-to-2-feet tall, 2-foot spread
Sun needs: Part to full shade
Bloom season: Mid-spring to early summer
Flower colors: White flowers, yellow spike, orange/red berries

This plant has it all: veined, glossy leaves, pretty white flowers followed by yellow spikes, and then dramatic orange-red berries on 8-inch stems. What’s not to like? “Stinky flowers,” Kelaidis admits, “but only for a day!”

The eye-catching berries last long after the leaves fade, and are the most dramatic part of the plant. Gardeners use Arum italicum to underplant with hostas as they produce foliage sequentially; when the hosta withers away, the Arum italicum replaces it, leaving the ground covered. Plant it in a protected location, as it’s not reliably winter-hardy. All parts of the plant are toxic, so it’s not recommended for areas where children and pets play.

Solomon's Seal Photo by Kukuruxa

Solomon’s Seal
Latin name: Polygonatum
Size: Species specific, from 1-to-8-feet tall
Sun needs: Part to full shade
Bloom season: Spring to early summer
Flower color: Greenish-white

Polygonatum has gracefully arched stems and symmetrical leaves with pearlescent strings of delicate, bell-shaped white flowers daintily attached. With species ranging from 1-to-8-feet tall, any shade garden can accommodate one. “This plant is spectacular, easy to grow and a wonderful statement in the woodland garden,” Kelaidis says, adding, “It’s extremely fashionable.”

Polygonatum grows easily in the moist shade garden, but will also grow in somewhat dry conditions so long as the soil has adequate nutrient levels. Plants can be lifted and easily divided every few years in the fall. Polygonatum is a lovely companion to hostas, ferns, pulmonarias, bleeding hearts, toad lilies and other shade-loving plants. It works very well in mass plantings or as a vertical accent among more mounded plant forms.

Winter Aconite Photo by Copit

Winter Aconite
Latin name: Eranthis hyemalis
Size: 2-to-8-inches tall, 6-inch spread
Sun needs: Sun to part shade
Bloom season: Early spring
Flower color: Yellow

This charming buttercup-like plant has a mass of single, lemon-yellow flowers up to 1½-inches wide sitting atop frilly collars of deeply lobed, bright-green leaves. Ideal companions include snowdrops, crocuses, Siberian squills or other small bulbs and plants that bloom in early spring. Plant the tubers 3 inches deep and 4 inches apart in moist, porous soil. For best success when dividing, separate into small clumps instead of single tubers.

Dragon Arum, Voodoo Lily Photo by Panayoti Kelaidis

Dragon Arum, Voodoo Lily
Latin name: Dracunculus vulgaris
Size: 3-feet tall, 2-foot spread
Sun needs: Part sun to shade
Bloom season: May to June
Flower color: Purple and black

If you want a bold, dramatic tuber, look no further. The very exotic Dracunculus vulgaris
steals the show with dramatic, foot-long purple-black blooms atop attractive, upright foliage. “It comes and goes in two months,” Kelaidis says, “but during that time it makes quite a statement.” And not only a visual statement: “It stinks to high heaven for one day when it’s blooming,” he says. Consider this when choosing a planting location!

Common in the Mediterranean, Dracunculus vulgaris prefers good, rich soil. Give the plant some wind protection or the stems may break. Large-flowered dahlias make suitably striking companions.

Foxtail Lily Photo by Brykaylo Yuriy

Foxtail Lily
Latin name: Eremurus
Size: 4-to-12-feet tall, 2-foot spread
Sun needs: Sun
Bloom season: Late spring to early summer
Flower colors: White, pink, yellow, orange

Eremurus is magnificent in large borders against a wall, fence or background of dark-green foliage. This amazing and imposing lily relative has bell-shaped, ¼-inch-to-1-inch-wide flowers massed closely on graceful, pointed spikes.

“We use these all over the Denver Botanic Gardens,” Kelaidis says. “They are all through our perennial borders.” Eremurus disappears in June, so group it with species such as daisies, asters and chrysanthemums that will fill its void.

Plant Eremurus in rich, fast-draining soil, placing the crown just below soil level and the individual plants 2 to 4 feet apart. Handle the thick, brittle roots carefully; they tend to rot when bruised or broken. When leaves die back, mark the spot and don’t disturb the roots. For best success, provide the plant with some winter mulch.

Juno Iris Photo by Panayoti Kelaidis

Juno Iris
Latin name: Iris bucharica
Size: 14-to-18-inches tall, 6-to-9-inch spread
Sun needs: Full sun to part shade
Bloom season: Mid-spring
Flower colors: Yellow, white

Zippy two-toned flowers and a mass of glossy-green 8-inch leaves make this iris a standout. Bucharica provides multiple fragrant flowers over a long bloom period. Plant it with mid-season tulips, purple hyacinth and white daffodils for a beautiful display.

A native of the rocky slopes of Afghanistan, this iris performs in all types of soil, as long as it is well drained. Unlike most tubers, it thrives in dryer conditions, making it a good rock garden addition. It’s also perfect for forcing. Plant bucharica 2 inches deep and add bone meal. For optimal health, divide it every few years.

Wake Robin, Triplet Lily Photo by Hamiza Bakirci

Wake Robin, Triplet Lily
Latin name: Trillium
Size: 1-to-1½-feet tall, 1-to-1½-foot spread
Sun needs: Part to full shade
Bloom season: Early spring
Flower colors: Pink, purple, red, yellow, white, greenish/yellowish white

Trillium, a member of the lily family and native to U.S. woods, can be identified by its simple, yet fetching design: three leaves and three flower petals. “There are 30 to 40 varieties of Trillium,” Kelaidis says. “Twenty are available by trade, but the best one is grandiflorum.”

Once established, Trillium is not difficult to grow and will eventually spread in clumps. However it is particular about growing conditions; it thrives in moist, woodsy locations with companions such as columbines, ferns and toad lilies under deeper-rooted trees that won’t compete for moisture. During warm or dry summers, the plant may go dormant and die back to the ground, but don’t let the fleshy underground stems dry out.

Large-Flowered Bellwort, MerryBells Photo by wisteriaandcowparsley.com

Large-Flowered Bellwort, Merrybells
Latin name: Uvularia grandiflora
Size: 1½-to-2-feet tall, 1-to-2-foot spread
Sun needs: Part to full shade
Bloom season: Spring
Flower colors: Yellowish white, yellow

Uvularia grandiflora makes an excellent focal center in the woodland garden. This member of the lily family is one of the mid-spring wildflowers found throughout much of the eastern half of the United States. The unusual leaves and flowers of the plant have a graceful, bowing, wilted look with the yellow bell-like flowers appearing as if they are loosened braids.

Uvularia grandiflora grows in any well-drained soil in medium to full shade. It spreads slowly to form attractive clumps. Plant with lower-growing spring flowers such as purple crocus.

Tuber Talk

If you’re not familiar with tubers, here’s some basic info on these interest­ing plants.

Tuber plants have thickened storage-root structures that supply water and nutrition during the winter. Once winter has passed, tubers use the storage root to reproduce themselves. There are “stem tubers” (also called “true tubers”) and “root tubers,” which reproduce differently. A good example of a stem tuber: the potato. It has leathery skin and lots of eyes, which are the growing points where new stems emerge. The daylily is a good example of the root tuber. It has many thickened root sacs, which are the growing points where new stems emerge.

Tuber plants come in two forms: potted or bare root. Each tuber species has its own planting requirements. However, all root-form tubers do best if soaked overnight in water before planting, according to Panayoti Kelaidis, director of outreach and senior curator at Denver Botanic Gardens. Tubers come into action after planting, growing all winter long, and this store of water helps get them going. “They will plump right up when you soak them,” Kelaidis says. Tubers need some moisture during winter; if the ground is continuously dry, tubers can’t grow and may die. Handle root tubers carefully; if they get damaged they may rot. And make sure to plant them upright.
Many tuber plants have what appear to be rather quick life cycles, with both flowers and foliage dying back in the summer. They put on an extravagant show and then completely disappear until next year’s performance. “This is because the plant has done a lot of its growing during the winter,” Kelaidis explains. Come summer they are ready for a rest before beginning the process all over again.

—Mary Lynn Bruny

Here are 10 things your grandmother had that you should have, too.

Photo by Sandra Cunningham

By Carol Brock

Walk into your grandma’s house and you’ll probably find items you won’t find in your own home. Stuff like pressure cookers, meat grinders, water-bath canners—big, unwieldy things you don’t know how to use or don’t want to because they’re a little intimidating.

But retro wares are making a comeback in a big way. With the swelling movement to eat healthier and be green, people are discovering that Grandma really did know best when it came to putting good food on the table and running a thrifty household.

If the following items aren’t in your home, consider their attributes and perhaps make room for them.

Photo by Brazhnykov Andriy

Join the Daily Grind

My granny had a clamp-on-the-counter metal grinder, but modern electric grinders get the job done faster. Freshly ground meat is tastier, and you control the ingredients and seasonings that go into sausages, hamburgers, turkey burgers and more. You can combine different meats and cuts for a tastier, lower-fat product. Or grind vegetables for veggie burgers, relishes and soups; cooked meats for sandwich spreads and appetizers; or beans and veggies to stretch your meat. If you buy fresh meat from organic farms, you take it a step further by not using store-bought processed meats that often contain artificial ingredients, sodium and preservatives. And you’ll save money, ’cause you can freeze what you don’t use. Plus, you’ll support local agriculture. That’s a win-win for everyone.

Pop Goes the Freezer
My granny made Popsicles the old-fashioned way: by putting Kool-Aid in ice-cube trays and sticking wooden sticks in the cubes. Of course, the sticks were never straight, even though she’d lean them against something. But we didn’t mind. The Popsicles still tasted good. Nowadays, you can make Popsicles in all kinds of shapes and sizes with ready-made molds. And they’re a healthy snack, ’cause you can use fresh fruit blended with water, juice, milk, soy milk or whatever else you like. Mmmm, mmmm good.

Photo by Donna Smith Photography

Cut It Out
Everyone enjoys a homemade cookie, and kids love to cut out cookie shapes. But cookie cutters aren’t just for cookies. You can use them to make appetizers and canapés that will impress guests with their dramatic presentations. Or try them for pancakes, fudge, party sandwiches, mini cheesecakes and pie decorations. You can also make fruit pops by slicing up melons and using cookie cutters to shape them. Pierce the pieces with sucker sticks and voilà, you have a perfectly healthy snack for the kids. Simply check with Martha Stewart and she’ll tell you how to make everything just in time for the holidays.

Dry Out
My granny never owned a dryer, which is one of the biggest energy hogs in a home. She hung our clothes on a clothesline with wooden clothespins. If you wash a lot of laundry, you can save big bucks by letting air and sunshine dry your clothes. And these days you have your choice of clothespin styles in multiple colors. No yard for a clothesline? A drying rack does the same job. Just set it up in the warmest room of your house, and don’t overlap clothes to allow for plenty of air circulation between the laundry. Either way, your energy bills and carbon footprint will drop significantly.

Photo by Lichaoshu

Cook Under Pressure
Pressure cookers are major time-savers, letting you prepare home-cooked meals in less than half the time of stovetop cooking. They’re also quite safe if you replace worn sealing rings, don’t overfill the cooker, and read and follow the manufacturer’s instructions. You can cook several foods together or combine foods at intervals to create a whole meal in minutes. The superheated steam inside the cooker intensifies natural flavors, so you can use fewer herbs and spices to achieve the same taste. Since foods cook quickly under pressure with very little liquid, more vitamins, minerals and nutrients are preserved and not boiled off during cooking. And pressure-cooking is virtually fat free. Meats, fish and chicken cook to perfection in minutes, and cooking times for rice, beans and other items are halved. Even the busiest person can cook mouthwater

Photo by Mike Ledray

Box It Up
I know, an iPad can store thousands of recipes. But it’s the soon-to-be age-old question of books and newspapers versus Kindles and computers. I’d rather read my recipe from a book or index card than a computer screen. There’s something old-fashioned and homey about a recipe box. You can feel it, spill stuff on it, and store your mother’s and grandmother’s recipes in it, ’cause they certainly didn’t pass down their recipes to you on an iPad!

Tie One On
I’ve ruined so many clothes with splashes of oil that I’m finally resorting to what my grandmother never entered a kitchen without: an apron. Before the mid-1960s, every housewife wore aprons. But with the advent of washing machines and cheaper clothing, the apron fell out of favor. Today aprons are enjoying a minor renaissance, in that both women and men wear them. A 2005 article in The Wall Street Journal even declared the apron “a retro-chic fashion accessory.” If you cook a lot, an apron is indispensable. Modern-day aprons are even cute, unlike my grandmother’s utilitarian model. Some sport pockets, some have bibs, others are waist-down. No matter which style you prefer, once you cook with an apron on, you’ll never ruin clothes again.

Photo by Sharon Day

Cast Off
Nonstick pans are coated with noxious chemicals that can get into your air and food when nicked with an implement. A safe alternative is the cast-iron pan, which is relatively cheap, nontoxic, and transferable from stovetop to oven. It also lasts forever and evenly distributes heat. OK, cast iron is heavy and needs seasoning to become a nonstick pan, but that’s a simple matter. Gently warm the pan on the stovetop over low heat and evenly coat it with a tablespoon or two of neutral oil, like grapeseed or corn. Transfer it to a 350˚ F oven, bake it for an hour, and let it cool in the oven. The first few uses should ideally involve oil, like sautéing or frying. To keep it rust-free, dry the pan immediately after washing with a soft scouring pad and water. If it does rust, scour off the rust with steel wool and reseason.

Photo by Erik Paulsrud

Get Canned
If you have tomatoes or fruit trees, you should have a water-bath canner. This device lets you enjoy summer’s bounty year-round by allowing you to easily can acidic foods like tomatoes, pears, apples, berries, cherries and peaches. And you can make jams and jellies without all that added sugar. Most other vegetables are nonacidic and require a pressure canner, which is a more versatile option if you grow a lot of vegetables. But if you’re new to canning, or don’t care to spend a lot of time doing it, a water-bath canner fits the bill nicely. See “Can It!” in the fall 2008 issue at homeandgardenmag.com for a step-by-step guide to canning tomatoes. It’s easier than you think!

Photo by Juriah Mosin

Avoid Double Trouble
How many times have you scorched a pan of butter, sauce or chocolate? A double boiler prevents that, because the food isn’t subjected to intense burner heat. Instead, it’s heated by steam from water that’s heated by the burner. You really don’t need to buy a double boiler, either. Make your own by putting a lipped stainless-steel or heat-safe glass bowl inside a larger saucepan. The bowl should fit into the pan and not touch the pan’s bottom. Put some water in the pan and heat it to boiling. You’ll still need to mind the pot, so to speak, as many foods and sauces require constant stirring.

Here are simple ways to incorporate feng shui into your garden.

Photo by Marpa Landscape Design Studio

By Julie Hauser

Feng shui is an ancient Chinese philosophy of form and placement that helps to improve the flow of chi (also qi)—the universal life force. In the Western world, we’ve mostly heard of feng shui in home design, but the Chinese use feng shui first and foremost for landscaping. In fact, the exterior is far more important than the interior. If you have feng shui problems outside your home, no amount of cures inside will remedy it.

A feng shui garden strives to achieve balance and harmony, and raise auspicious energy levels. The landscape is what we and visitors first experience at our home, so it makes sense for this space to be welcoming and calming.

Feng shui garden design has three basic concepts: energy flow or chi, the balance of the yin (female) and yang (male) energies that make up chi energy, and the balance
of the five elements: earth, metal, water, wood and fire. The landscape elements of feng shui are mountain, vegetation and water, which can be represented in the gar-
den by rocks, plantings and water features.

Flow & Balance
You can increase the chi in your garden with gently flowing paths and curves. The idea is to allow energy to flow smoothly throughout your site, rather than having it run abruptly into obstacles. Right angles are not recommended, as they stagnate the energy flow.

Yin and yang are opposites, e.g., good and evil, dark and light, female and male, low and high, cold and hot. In Chinese philosophy, feng shui supports this duality. The goal is to achieve balance between the yin and yang energies, meaning that no element overpowers another. For example, plants and a water feature can balance a large amount of stone that could overpower a landscape, making it feel heavy. Just make sure the water flows toward your home and never away. Water that flows away from your home is said to carry your wealth and finances with it.

If you don’t want a water feature because of maintenance or cost concerns, you could create the impression of water with a stream of river pebbles or rocks.

 
The Bagua
The bagua  is an “energy map” with eight sides and nine directions that correspond to colors and elements. At the top of the bagua is the direction south, represented by fire. It’s the direction of fame, representing dreams, aspirations and opportunity. The color connected to south is red. To represent these elements in the garden, you can add fire pits, barbecues and red flowers in the south.

Southwest is represented by earth. It’s the direction of marriage, representing love, relationships and partners. The color connected to southwest is pink. To represent these elements in the garden, add benches, dining areas, spaces for outdoor activities and greenery in the southwest.

West is represented by metal. It’s the direction of children and creativity, representing community, entertaining and harvest. The color connected to west is white. To represent these elements in the garden, add play areas, outdoor entertainment spaces and healing gardens in the west.

Northwest is the direction of helpful people and travel, representing trade, mentors and international travel. The color connected to northwest is gray. To represent these elements in the garden, add garden statues, wind chimes and arches in the northwest.

North is represented by water. It’s the direction of career, represented by inspiration, growth and new ideas. The color connected to north is black. To represent these elements in the garden, you can add ponds and hot tubs in the north.

Natural features like rock, stone, vegetation and water are fundamental landscape elements of feng shui. Photo by Marpa Landscape Design Studio

Northeast is the direction of knowledge, represented by wisdom, meditation and intellectual growth. The color connected to northeast is blue. To represent these elements in the garden, add rock gardens, stone benches and statuary in the northeast.

East is represented by wood. It’s the direction of family, represented by rejuvenation, health and healing. The color connected to east is green. To represent these elements in the garden, sow medicinal plants and herbs, and add exercise areas in the east.

Southeast is the direction of wealth and opportunity, representing abundance and communication. The color connected to southeast is purple. To represent these elements in the garden, add columns and wood and create a special planting display in the southeast.

Simple Steps
To get started, stand in the center of your garden and locate your directions. In each area decide what is favorable and what is not, then remove what’s not. Next, decide what areas in your garden you’d like to enhance. Use the elements that will raise the energy level of that specific direction.

For example, if you’d like to increase wealth and abundance, the southeast sector of your garden would be a good place to plant a special display. If you’d like to enhance the overall chi of your garden, hang a wind chime and install gently curving paths.

Color in the garden can raise the energy level and create calming spaces. The yin colors—blue, purple, white and black—help relax the space. So you might plant black mondo grass, mingled with purple-leaved coral bells and blue-flowered bluebells. If you want to create a feeling of passion and positive energy, use the yang colors of yellow and orange to enhance the area.

Incorporating feng shui elements into your landscape will increase its movement, vitality and energy. But if you want a truly feng shui garden, consult a practitioner. Feng shui is a very complicated, ancient aesthetic that requires years of study. The simple suggestions provided here can help you start improving the chi in your garden—and your life.

Julie Hauser is the owner of Indigo Landscape Design. She specializes in designing gardens that incorporate edibles in an ornamental style.

Photo by Marpa Landscape Design Studio

THE FIVE ELEMENTS

Earth, metal, water, wood and fire are the five elements in feng shui that are considered the “qualities” that make up the world. These qualities are associated with colors and shapes that we can re-create in our landscapes. Each element creates or feeds another when in proper balance. When out of balance, the elements create disharmony and conflict in a space. “Earth creates metal, metal holds water, water nourishes wood, wood fuels fire and fire creates earth” is a phrase to remember the elements’ proper order.

According to feng-shui.lovetoknow.com, here are ways to represent the five elements in your landscape.

Earth Soil, rocks, boulders and clay flowerpots.
Metal Wind chimes, metal sculpture and decorative borders.
Water Fountains, birdbaths, creeks and reflecting ponds.
Wood Arbors, planter boxes, benches  and trellises.
Fire Landscape lighting, lanterns, torchiers, chimineas and fire pits.

Photo by Marpa Landscape Design Studio

FENG SHUI FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Visit these websites for ideas about feng shui in the garden:

fengshui.about.com/od/usesoffengshui/qt/ fengshui

herbalhealing.co.uk/feng_shui_gardens.htm

wofs.com (type “feng shui garden” into the search bar)

feng-shui.lovetoknow.com/feng_shui_garden_landscape_design

thespiritualfengshui.com/feng-shui-garden.php

—Julie Hauser