Home Setups Which Serve You: Designing the Kitchen

There’s a reason the kitchen is called the core of the house. People are drawn to it, and it’s a place where families wind up congregating — not just to cook and eat, but to be together in it. As it’s likely that your kitchen is used for a lot more than simply cooking, there’s no reason that you restrict it to the fundamentals.

I have clients who think they will need to organize their home a certain way because that is how everyone else does it. Guess what? “Everyone else” doesn’t live in your home — you do. So instead of setting up your kitchen the way you think it should be, set it up in the way that it will work best for you, because it’s your kitchen.

Alex Amend Photography

What Do You Use Your Own Kitchen For?

Remember when I said that your kitchen is not just a place where people cook and eat? To truly make the room work for you, you will want to figure out what else you are using it for. Does your partner talk to you while you are cooking? A spot with a stool could keep them comfortable (and out of their way) while you prepare dinner.

EJ Interior Design

If your family tends to gather in the kitchen to cook and chat, look at going beyond bar stools. I recently put a love seat and two cozy chairs in a kitchen, along with the installation has been a huge hit.

MAKE Design Studio

Never use that area? It might be exactly where you need a desk or even a printing channel. Bear in mind that the secret to organization that works is making it match your life. If you need a place to check email while you await your dinner to heat in the microwave, that is what you should devote yourself.

Mullet Cabinet

Kids’ Stations

Do your children use the dining table for homework or art projects? Embrace whatever the other uses are and provide those items organizational area. Put aside a cupboard for homework supplies and be sure that there’s comfortable seating.

Cristin Priest Simplified Bee

Give items such as art supplies and laptop paper a house in your kitchen, and you’ll decrease the mess when it’s time to place the table.

See more of this dining room

Ruhl Walker Architects

These setups will also encourage your children to spend time participated with you in the kitchen. Even if you’re cooking dinner and they are working on a project, you are spending time together. Isn’t that the most important thing about a family dwelling?

Ninainvorm

If you do not have sufficient built-ins to home these other materials, do not be reluctant to use furniture you normally see in bedrooms or living rooms. A bookcase may be used in place of cabinets to transport anything.

Drink Stations

If you are a big coffee drinker, then it might make sense to set up a coffee station. Maintain your mugs, sugar, coffee and stirrers all collectively.

With an open design with dishes in plain view helps cut down those “Where on earth is your blasted sugar bowl” Moments of frustration. But do you still hang on to this idea that all of your silverware needs to live together in precisely the exact same drawer? I promise it will not hurt the batter’ feelings if a few are separated by the remainder of the silver. And instead of dashing all over your kitchen to make 1 cup of java, you’ll have mornings which are somewhat simpler.

Jane Lockhart Interior Design

This type of channel is also beneficial if you have several coffee drinkers in the family members or frequent guests, who’ll be saved that the awkward scavenger hunt for packets of Splenda.

This idea works equally well for spirits and wine. And the installation doesn’t have to be out in the open; if you prefer having it tucked away, then that is what you should do. Along with using built-in cupboard space, you may use something such as a vintage armoire or the Pax wardrobe system out of Ikea.

Paragon Kitchen & Bath Studio

Baking Stations

If you are a frequent baker, separate dry ingredients and coconut paraphernalia which are utilized only when you bust out the bread manufacturer or whip up your famous snickerdoodles.

By keeping them together, you’ll be able to quickly figure out what you have and what you need for your next culinary masterpiece, along with your distance will be much easier to clean when you are done.

If baking is more than a pastime, then by all means keep your tools and go-to components in a special setup. A bar cart can be transformed to a rolling baking channel which you could push all over the kitchen. This option is also great for those that have difficulty getting ingredients from high shelves or lifting heavy containers. Again, it’s all about finding solutions that serve you best.

Jill Wolff Interior Design

It is likely that your kitchen has uses that I did not touch on. You’re unique, so the organization on your kitchen should be too. Remember to think about your requirements (without ruling — it doesn’t matter how your sister-in-law does it) and set up the core of your house in a way which is logical for you and the men and women who talk about it.

By embracing your natural tendencies, you’ll wind up encouraging those behaviours even more through layout. And spending time with the people you love is a propensity.

More:
12 Great Kitchen Designs: Which One’s for You?
How to Remodel Your Kitchen
Locate a Kitchen Designer Near You

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Must-Know Modern Homes: Mies van der Rohe's Villa Tugendhat

Twenty years prior to Ludwig Mies van der Rohe realized his renowned Farnsworth House, and seven years prior to emigrating to the United States, he made Villa Tugendhat in 1930 for its wealthy couple Fritz and Grete Tugendhat.

As a wedding present, Grete (born Grete Weiss Löw-Beer) obtained approximately a half acre of her family’s land, a portion on a hill immediately adjacent to Černopolní Street in Brno, today in the Czech Republic. On the home Mies developed a split-level home with 3 floors: The entrance, bedrooms, nanny quarters, a patio and play area, and a garage with chauffeur quarters are located on the upper level; the dwelling spaces, kitchen, winter garden and another patio are on the middle level; along with the utilities are located on the lowest level.

The home can be seen as a domestic variant of Mies’ Barcelona Pavilion from only 1 year before, with its flowing, open plan and structural columns different from walls. It is also a precursor to Mies’ afterwards “universal distance,” found primarily in the office towers that he designed in the United States in the 1950s. However, the layout is sensitive to the specifics of place and also the family who occupied it for just a short time — the Tugendhats, Jewish in origin, returned in 1938, first to Switzerland then to South America.

Maybe due to Mies’ open plan, the building was able to function later as a school and hospital (housing a child psychology section) prior to the municipality took ownership and restored the villa in the 1980s. In 2001 the home was named a Unesco World Heritage site, and 10 decades after it underwent more recovery job, opening to the general public in March 2012. The photos in this particular tour follow the most recent restoration.

Villa Tugendhat at a Glance
Year built: 1930
Architect: Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
Location: Brno, Czech Republic
Size: 2,600 square feet
Visiting info: Guided tours with advance tickets available

John Hill

The west side is where we find all three levels, but the massing doesn’t make it look so. The horizontal glass of the middle floor overlooks, while the upper floor is set back, nearly out of sight, and also the lowest floor is short and mostly solid.

In the road side on the west, the home looks as one horizontal level. With its planar surfaces, glass expanses and garage front and centre, the home must have made a stir in 1930. Even today it poses a very un-house-like face to the road.

Between the garage to the right and also the glass expanse in the middle is a gap which frames the landscape outside and pulls one toward the entrance.

The milk-white glass curves to subtly hide the front door in the road but also to promote movement toward it someone is beyond the gate. The cover is ample, but the step up to the door is subtle. Nevertheless the latter is important, particularly in the change from 1 stone to another.

Indoors, on the travertine floor (a favorite of Mies’), the reason behind the curved glass becomes more apparent. The bedrooms are located to the left and right supporting us in this picture, while the staircase provide access to the main living room downstairs.

Here is a plan of the major level, where we find the living area, kitchen, winter garden and patio. The stair from above is located in the middle. The spiral below it on the drawing provides access to the lower (utility) degree.

Following the 180-degree turn from above, one enters a large, open area with the principal view to the right (bottom on the drawing). But two partitions — just one straight and one curved — break up this distance, as does a grid of little columns. What looks open is actually composed of smaller areas characterized in unconventional manners.

Coming down the stair and walking straight, one comes to a seating area adjacent to the winter garden and supporting one of the walls — the straight wall is made from onyx, as in the Barcelona Pavilion.

Note the velvet curtain and paths on the ceiling for closing off spaces from one another and providing colour. Another factor worth pointing out is the way the wall and column are different from one another, something uncommon at the time.

Turning 90 degrees clockwise, toward the west we all can observe how open the perimeter glazing is and how the semienclosed winter extends along the south facade.

The onyx wall is well worth highlighting for the absolute scale of it five full-height slabs next to one another — and also for the impressive veining of the material. A couple of the panels are book matched (mirrored) to provide the wall a slight asymmetry, or off-center balance.

Though small relative to the remainder of the home, this wall is so important that Mies visited the quarry in the Atlas Mountains to choose the stone, then supervised the cutting and building of it.

Mies furnished the home with built-in pieces (which we’ll see later) along with his own pieces, such as the Barcelona Chair (named after the pavilion in the year earlier) and the Tugendhat Chair he made for the home.

A retractable awning helps to cut back on the direct sunlight entering through the large western expanse of glass. What’s more, the large glass panes slide down into a pocket in the cellar, foreshadowing the sliding glass walls which are currently common.

The electric mechanism for the glass, the then cutting edge heating and cooling system, along with the overall high quality construction and finishes made for a pricey house — it was reportedly 30 times the price of a little house at the time.

It’s well worth revealing the view which Mies celebrates with the large glass wall and the terraces on the upper and main levels.

Turning 180 degrees from the prior inside shot, we can observe the curved timber wall which also defines an area inside the open plan.

The curved ebony wall perfectly cups the dining room table and concentrates attention toward the perspective beyond the expanse of glass.

Here we find the next bit of Mies’ furniture, the most aptly named Brno Chair.

Back upstairs we see among those bedrooms (for Fritz) and something we didn’t encounter downstairs: a door.

A mutual factor for Mies, famous for saying “God is in the details,” is the full-height door. He used it residences, office towers and other buildings. The wood door spans to the ceiling; the Tugendhats didn’t initially need it, but Mies held powerful and got his way.

This perspective of Grete’s bedroom indicates the immediate entry to the upper terrace and also the way the bedrooms are oriented to the same distant perspective as the living room downstairs.

A couple of the children’s rooms are connected, such as adjoining suites in a hotel. They feature built-in closets and bookcases, which can also be found in the library on the main level. Like the onyx wall, the panels are produced with book-matched timber, giving the closets in particular a strong rhythm.

The master bathroom (rather ample, even by today’s standards) advantages from clerestory windows.

Last we’ll have a look at a couple of details in the home, all managed by Mies. First is that this undulating metallic pillar cover, reminiscent of the Barcelona Pavilion. The beautiful and extremely complex detail makes the columns look thinner and smaller than square or round ones, while providing interesting shadow lines.

The door handle is fine both for its simple shape and the way the plate is set to the glass door. Circles occur in the plate, the handle and the keyhole, supplying a consistent layout characteristic.

More circles are found on the light fittings from the major level, now concentric circles which both spread and concentrate the light.

With details such as these, it is no wonder the house was so expensive. Additionally, it is no wonder the home is so cherished and value the restoration attempt; today everyone can stop by this modern masterpiece.

Visiting info: Guided tours with advance tickets available

More: Must-See Modern Homes

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Minimalist Luxury Functions Modern to a Floating Chalet

Bobbing gently in the breeze, the Freefloating Ecolodge appears at more like a spacecraft than a spot for slumber parties. However, this contemporary floating arrangement can hold up to ten people through the day also has four cozy beds for overnighters.

Dutch designer Marijn Beije developed this floating chalet in cooperation with the De Biesbosch National Park in the Netherlands. “These days character has to compete with Xbox games and roller coaster rides, plus it often loses,” says Beije. Called Freefloating for brief, the structure allows people to experience nature on multiple levels — water, land and sky — in minimalist, contemporary luxury. “I wanted people to be able to focus on the beauty around them without interfering,” says Beije.

Builder: APEcolodges

Marijn Beije Layout

Beije gave the arrangement a catamaran-based shape with two parallel, floating hulls. It can connect to a bowl or float freely in the water. Each floating hull has. 1 tank holds filthy water; another holds drinking water.

Marijn Beije Layout

FSC-certified Western red cedar and tempered safety glass fill the construction’s aluminum frame.

Marijn Beije Layout

A solar panel provides the lodge’s power. Although sustainability had an effect on Freefloating’s design, Beije looked at the bigger picture instead of implementing every ecofriendly characteristic possible. “I think that a design should be sustainable in a way that’s so beautiful, nicely made and that individuals have such an emotional bond with, that they don’t want to part with it,” he says.

Marijn Beije Layout

1 cottage has a locking bathroom cabinet and a very small kitchenette. There’s also a stationary seat with a partially underwater view.

Marijn Beije Layout

The other cottage holds four beds that fold in the cedar walls, with a floor-to-ceiling view of the sky and water. “Nature is presented here as if it were on a theater screen,” says Beije. The cabin’s rocking movement lulls overnighters to sleep.

Marijn Beije Layout

The simple cabin contours make the beautiful outdoor environment, instead of the lodge itself, that the highlight of staying in Freefloating. “I wanted it to melt into the landscape,” says Beije.

Marijn Beije Layout

A patio connects the two cottages and contributes up to a crow’s nest via another ladder. The perch sits nearly 15 feet over the water, offering a bird’s-eye view of the lodge’s environment.

Despite its simple appearance, Freefloating offers an incontrovertible sense of luxury. “Folks want a standard of luxury and convenience. I gave them just that,” says Beije. “Freefloating is, more than anything else, barefoot luxury.”

Watch more of our favorite garden escapes

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Roots of Style: Ranch Architecture Roams Round the U.S.

We all know a ranch home from our past. Odds are, you grew up in a single, or your grandparents lived within one their entire lives, or your best friend lived in a single round the corner.

This popular house design spread from coast to coast in the U.S. in great numbers during the 20th century. Look back to 1930s California, where the design originated in the work of several prosperous architects. Their clients bought an acre or two within 10, 20 or even 30 kilometers of metropolitan centers. Inexpensive property was plentiful at that moment. This opportunity for generous spaces set a framework for ranch-style layout, which borrowed characteristics of the preceding Prairie and Craftsman styles, together with Spanish colonial architecture.

The Prairie design proved a long, low and horizontal elevation, while Craftsman cued using exposed rafter tails in open eaves and other easy wooden details. More important, Spanish colonial structure in California encouraged the idea of rambling floor plans with wide porches extending from main roofs.

Throughout the country at the following three decades the proliferation of the car allowed many suburban tracts to be set out in 1/4- to 1-acre parcels. Consider that a quarter acre is a bit more than 10,000 square feet, and you can see the way the normal single-level 1,500-square-foot ranch home and 400-square-foot garage lazily and easily spread itself out using 8,100 square feet to spare.

Genesis Architecture, LLC.

Designs that created parallel to ranch design could be traced to the work of Frank Lloyd Wright. He created several styles, including Prairie design, and he also established the Usonian house design in the 1930s, promoting it as an ideal model for the American middle class.

Notice that the long and very low facade, or elevation,of the 1956 Usonian-inspired house. A mixture of stone and wood feels casual and inviting, and the home stretches from one side to the other openly. On the other hand, the apartment roof did not translate into the ranch style that developed in California.

Tom Meaney Architect, AIA

This newer California home was made in a Spanish colonial style. Notice the gable roof types together with parts extending widely to make ample porches. Different sections of the structure surround a courtyard, defining a important exterior relationship to the entire composition. The original ranch design recorded these components more but still had the same rambling form.

Because the design became so popular, there are several variations. As with this home, many have some Spanish details, such as tile roofs, but some seem pastoral and may have wood shingle roofs. Some could be considered traditional, while some can be contemporary or contemporary.

The most common thread is a lengthy and very low asymmetrical appearance with generous porches or entry covers and also a free-flowing form.

Carson Poetzl, Inc..

Certainly this home depends upon Spanish designnevertheless, describing it as a Spanish ranch probably suits it best. An asymmetrical elevation rambles in varying shapes and sizes in two instructions in this picture. Details are easy and minimal, although the connection to Spanish is evident, the translation has a massing freely aligned into the wandering configuration that is feature of the ranch style.

Curtis Lawson Homes

Not to be confused with minimalist conventional, this conventional ranch is different in the former due to its lower pitched roof; it’s a generous front or rear porch and a wider elevation. Exterior materials vary widely on the ranch fashion. Most original California examples used stucco wood siding of different kinds. More common into the Midwest and Texas is brick veneer, such as on this particular home.

Global Home Improvement

This recently remodeled ranch home feels traditional in makeup but achieves a rustic effect with its brick color and metallic roof. Notice the green lawn and plentiful vegetation surrounding this home. This type of setting attracted many 20th-century homeowners wishing to raise families. Large yards where they could let their children play and the chance to accomplish a sense of independence and privacy also made the motif alluring.

ROTHERS Design/Build

This remodeled ranch home exemplifies the versatility and potential variations of the design. No two components are identical, however all flow from one to another. The stone-veneer centre portion anchors front having a complementary stone chimney. The milder shingled extensions dance across the landscape, decreasing the garage doors in comparison to the diameter of the home’s elevation.

Tom Meaney Architect, AIA

Notice that the huge red brick chimney on this traditional-style ranch home. Large Granite fireplaces indicate another common element of the design. Particular for this particular one, a full-width front porch with bracketed article details adds to its personality. Two large bay windows contribute to the theme and spread easily beneath the broad porch.

Cramer Kreski Designs

The ranch-style house has turned into one of the most common forms to be remodeled, for several reasons. As mentioned before, most were sited on generous parcels, allowing lots of space for expansion. When most originals are quite small, with small bathrooms and kitchens, they are often located in first-tier suburbs. These locations are ideal for commuters with green thumbs.

Design Discoveries

The rustic board and batten siding, that is not uncommon on originals, on this particular remodeled ranch paradoxically looks painted white, in a contemporary style. Also common in ranch design, the prominent and/or gigantic chimney anchors the otherwise horizontal arrangement. Be aware that the garage looks secondary and slight into the front part of the home. Typical of the sprawling ranch has been minimized visual impact of the garage doors.

Webber + Studio, Architects

Though many ranch home designs are covered with a gable roof, they can also be seen with hip roofs, as for this case. This remodeled home was carefully detailed to keep up the low horizontal impression common to the design. Again, notice that the garage door does not control the view from the street. Many ranch houses of all types have large picture windows, such as those you see here. They are often placed in the front, positioned in a large living space, but are more frequently placed facing the garden.

RD Architecture, LLC

Ranch designs of the 1960s mirrored midcentury modernism by incorporating lengthy, blank facades and monolithic rooflines. The designer of the accession to this Houston-area example has left the initial scheme intact. These types are discovered throughout the U.S.

This beautifully comprehensive new contemporary home unites smoke-colored brick veneer, a light-colored Spanish tile roof, and cedar and ipe wood siding. Its details reach an intricate composition that resembles the linear Usonian home shown in the first photo.

Bosworth Hoedemaker

Roof types of ranch-style designs vary from gable and hip forms to combinations of the two, as you can see in this contemporary version. The steeper pitch of the upper gable roof allows a shed dormer to be placed comfortably in the scheme. Note the way the rustic atmosphere and substances are encapsulated into a certain sculptural form. The layout does not ramble but nevertheless spreads widely along its site.

Several facets of the new home transcend ranch-style attributes. A huge masonry chimney with exterior and interior functions anchors the layout. Porch overhangs extend out of the principal structure, eliminating the need for articles. The cross-gable roof form echoes its ancestors, while white clapboard siding and a standing-seam metallic roof convey a contemporary aesthetic. Watch a Tour of the endeavor

The ranch motif seems to still be cherished in many regions of the U.S. Probably as a result of large numbers constructed in the 20th century and the abundance of suburban spaces in distant regions of the country, the design will continue to draw a considerable following in the future.

More: Cliff May’s California ranch design | Read thousands of ranch-style homes

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Bromeliads: The Ultimate Collector's Plants

Proceed with bromeliads with caution in case you have an addictive personality. All these (mostly) treetop-dwelling blossom plants would be the designer sneakers of the plant kingdom — and there are almost 10,0000 species and cultivars available, with exotic flowers and foliage in every color possible. Patterns range from pinstripes to blotches, splatters, blushes and polka dots.

Everybody prefers to have at least one bromeliad on a windowsill or in a garden. Get ready, as you’re about to get hooked.

Daniel Nolan for Flora Grubb Gardens

Botanical names: You will find 50 genera in the bromeliad family, with 3,000 species and 6,000 cultivars. The hottest genera are recorded here.

Common names: Bromeliad, vase plant, foolproof plant, queen’s tears, atmosphere plant and more

Where it can grow: Hardy to 15 degrees Fahrenheit, depending on species (USDA zones 8b to 11, depending upon the species; locate your zone)

Moisture requirement: Many bromeliads do not require much water, particularly those who have leathery and spiky leaves. Fill the “vases” of tank-type bromeliads (most are tank types and have watertight leaves) when they dry out. Tillandsias, that can be in the bromeliad family, may need occasional misting in dryer climates.

Light requirement: Varies. Broadly speaking, plants with leathery or spiky leaves manage the sun better. Many can be grown in different light scenarios; shade-grown plants take on greener colors and arching forms, and sun-grown specimens shape tight and vibrant rosettes.

Mature dimension: Varies, depending upon the cultivar. The “hanging mosses” of the South are now clumps of tiny air plants, while the enormous Puya raimondii can reach over 30 feet tall.

Seasonal fascination: Varies; most have attractive foliage year-round

When to plant: Year-round where hardy

Feeding: Feed bromeliads with a diluted orchid fertilizer or slow-release fertilizer. Highly colored and mottled specimens look best when fertilized sparingly.

Monica Kovacic

Bromeliads have more benefits than just good looks. Vase types attach themselves to trees with their origins but absorb moisture and nutrients from the water collected within their “cups” of watertight leaves; they can be grown in containers, either attached to branches or implanted in the floor. Tillandsias are so proficient at treetop life they absorb moisture from the atmosphere, and terrestrial bromeliads are adapted to life in the desert (or swamp or jungle floor) and are outfitted with wicked-looking spines. As you can see, bromeliads are fairly diverse.

Bromeliad shows seem somewhat like art galleries, with every specimen more unique and crazy than the last. Regardless of what your preferred color combination or pattern, there’s a fairly good possibility that there’s a bromeliad with your title on it. There is a handful of species commonly sold as houseplants, but those are only the gateway drug to a trippy journey down the fractal structures of the bromeliad’s overlapping leaves and blooms. It is like every spike of flowers is its own vibrant blown-glass Dale Chihuly setup.

Planting and designing with bromeliads could not be easier. Since most have limited root systems, they’re relatively simple to dig up and relocate as needed, which is particularly helpful for growers that experience freezes in winter.

Where To Grow Bromeliads

Additionally containers. The majority of readers will be delighted to know that most bromeliads are perfectly suited to growing in containers. You can grow them as houseplants year-round or bring them outdoors in the warmer months.

Collectors swear by their preferred potting mixes, but most bromeliads aren’t too picky as long as the soil doesn’t stay too moist and the roots have space to breathe. Amending the soil with orchid bark or perlite may both contain drainage and increase airflow around the roots.

At a sunny garden. Bromeliads that can manage the sun have brighter colors, thicker markings and tighter forms when grown in sunlight. Choose specimens which have been growing in direct sun when possible, and gradually transition shade-grown plants to sunlight so they don’t burn off. The top bromeliads for full sun typically have leathery leaves, for example Neoregelia and some Aechmea. In the tropics, where sun is more intense, semi sunlight beneath a canopy of tall trees is much more preferable to prevent burning.

At a shady garden. Many bromeliads will grow in the shade, but those who are grown for their colors (Neoregelia and some Billbergia, for instance) will create long and arching green leaves rather. The top bromeliads for a shade garden include Vriesea, Guzmania and other bromeliads with glossy green foliage.

Shade-grown bromeliads collect leaf litter in their own cups, and while leaves do provide natural fertilizer, the cups should be cleaned out occasionally to prevent vase rot. Consider attaching bromeliads to tree trunks for a naturalistic appearance.

Popular Types of Bromeliads

Aechmea. You might have seen Silver vase plant (Aechmea fasciata, zones 10 to 11) before as a houseplant, with its powdery blossom leaves and light pink inflorescence, but it is rather dull in contrast to stunners like the neon-blue and pink-flowered ‘Blue Tango’ (zones 9b to 11, along with the massive orange Aechmea blanchetiana (zones 9b to 11) who are frequently utilised in tropical landscapes.

A number of the cold-hardiest bromeliads are Aechmeas also, such as ‘Blue Cone’ (Aechmea cylindrata ‘Blue Cone’, zones 8b to 11, revealed here), spiky Aechmea distichantha (zones 8b to 11) and matchstick plant (Aechmea gamosepala, zones 8b to 11).

Billbergia. The hottest Billbergia is known as queen’s tears (Billbergia nutans, zones 8b to 11) but outdated and intriguing hybrids have been grown throughout the coastal South and tropics for centuries. All are characterized by arching stems of pink bracts and hanging blossoms emerging from thin and tubular rosettes, and the effect is quite elegant.

‘Hoelscheriana’ (Billbergia ‘Hoelscheriana, zones 8b to 11) is an old hybrid with vertical tubular rosettes of rosy mottled leaves, and several of the other hybrids are rather similar. Another popular one is Billbergia pyramidalis (zones 9 to 11), that includes wide and glossy green leaves with a puffball of pink flowers in autumn. It flowers only for about a week or 2 per year, but many different bromeliads bloom only once every few years. Additionally, thanks to their narrow and vertical forms, Billbergias are ideal for smaller spaces or including a vertical component to mixed plantings.

Dyckia. Most of the bromeliads here are epiphytes, but Dyckias are terrestrial — which is, they grow exclusively on the floor. You can sometimes find them marketed with succulents at the garden centre, but they also grow best with a bit more moisture than most other succulents require. Grow Dyckia bromeliads in full sun, where they’ll achieve their best colors and put out copious blooms on tall spikes, ranging from yellow to red.

One vibrant Dyckia is ‘Cherry Coke’ (Dyckia ‘Cherry Coke’, revealed here, zones 8b to 11), that has become popular enough to make its way to the screens at some big-box retailers. ‘Red Planet’ (Dyckia ‘Red Planet’) is this a deep shade of red it approaches black, and ‘Brittle Star’ (Dyckia ‘Brittle Star’, zones 9b to 11) is notable for its narrow black leaves with white spiny margins, giving it the appearance of a creature you might encounter in a tide pool.

Guzmania. There are some very good reasons that Guzmanias are amongst the most popular bromeliads marketed as houseplants: They flourish in shade, have smooth and glossy leaves, and make for long-lasting flower displays. Due to their familiarity, they aren’t always the most exciting bromeliads readily available, but they’re some of the most resilient ones offered for indoors.

Most of the hybrids available at retailers and florists owe their lineage to Guzmania lingulata (zones 10 to 11), but there are a few more worth seeking out. Guzmania conifera (zones 10b to 11) is one such plant, and its intense orange flower spike is one of the brightest in the genus. Guzmania monostachia (zones 10 to 11) is a beautiful plant; it is native to the cypress swamps of South Florida.

Neoregelia. That is really where bromeliads get really interesting. Neoregelias like painted fingernail plant (Neoregelia spectabilis, zones 9 to 11), shown here, have “insignificant” blossoms in comparison to most other bromeliads, but the tight rosettes of Neoregelias come in so many colors and patterns you’ll overlook that the entire plant isn’t a flower in its own right.

Blushing bromeliad (Neoregelia carolinae) is the most common type, with deep green leaves which dared into a fire-engine red in the heart before flowering. Additionally, there are variegated forms of the and others who have white bands down the length of every leaf. Some have blotches and bands also, such as the fiercely spiky and appropriately termed Hannibal Lector bromeliad (Neoregelia ‘Hannibal Lector’, zones 9 to 11) with its blood-red-spattered bands.

Aside from cool names (‘Grumblebum’ and ‘Sexy Pink’ to name a few ) and infinite colors, what makes this genus so fun to collect is that lots of the crops are rather small and will easily fit on a windowsill, like little pieces of sculpture. ‘Wild Tiger’ and ‘Fireball’ are a good beginning for a budding collector.

Tillandsia. Many bromeliads can dwell in the treetops, but Tillandsias do it best, with especially adapted scales called trichomes that absorb water directly from the humid atmosphere.

The most well-known Tillandsia is hanging moss (Tillandsia usneoides, zones 8 to 11), which drapes down from pine trees in the southern United States. You may have grown atmosphere plant (Tillandsia ionatha, zones 9b to 11) on a refrigerator magnet before, but you will discover it does better with more sunlight and humidity. Massive species like cardinal atmosphere plant (Tillandsia fasciculata, zones 9b to 11) and Tillandsia xerographica (zones 10 to 11) make excellent focal points when mounted trees at eye level.

Vriesea. Like Guzmanias, Vriesea bromeliads are ideal for growing indoors or in shady gardens, and some of the more leathery-leaved types will also do well in sun. They are also hardier to freeze than the Guzmanias, and several will sail through a freeze with no harm.

Some Vriesea species have beautifully marked leaves, particularly the green striated bands of Vriesea hieroglyphica (zones 9b to 11) or the pixelated cream and dark burgundy bands of Vriesea fosteriana ‘Rubra’ (zones 9b to 11).

Others have been grown for their flowers rather than their foliage. Vriesea phillipo-coburgii (zones 9 to 11) and Vriecantarea ‘Inferno’ (zones 9 to 11) both have remarkable tall red flower spikes with yellow blooms. The Vriesea sucrei hybrid vehicle (zones 9 to 11) revealed here has a similar inflorescence but on a smaller scale.

Dean Herald-Rolling Stone Landscapes

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How Can I Compute Closing Costs & a Down Payment?

Purchasing a new home can seem complex, but with adequate preparation the buy and closing can be comparatively stress-free. In order to assess how much the home will cost, either in the short term and long duration, you’ll have to figure the down payment and any closing costs that are due at the time of compensation. According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), lenders are expected to give home buyers a fantastic Faith Estimate before administering a loan. If your closing prices seem much different from the Good Faith Estimate, then be sure to consult your lender before settlement.

Compute the payment. Down payment amounts fluctuate based on someone’s credit history, income, mortgage type and complete price of the home. For example, if the price of your home is $80,000 and you have been approved for an FHA loan with a 3.5 percent down payment, your total down payment amount will be 3.5 percent of their entire home price. To calculate, simply move the decimal point on the percentage two places to the left (.035), then multiply this number by the entire home price ($80,000). In our example, the total down payment will be $2,800.

Calculate closing prices. Mortgage-Investments. Com gives a valuable overview of shared closing costs, even though they do change by individual cases. First, put in any prices that are associated with your home loan. These include loan origination, credit report, home evaluation, underwriting, tax service and flood certificate fees.

Add up any title fees, like closing fees, title policy fees, endorsements or courier fees.

Add any interest fees or insurance fees that may be necessary at the time of closing.

Add any necessary escrow costs. Escrow fees are sometimes required by lenders. They guarantee that a home buyer will have adequate funds set aside to meet all financial requirements.

Add all of the totals you calculated in steps 2 through 5. This is your closing cost level.

Add the down payment amount into the closing cost amount. The total is about what you are going to need to pay at closing.

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10 Materials Harmonious Landscape, for an Elegant

Perhaps you’ve spent a small fortune in garden design publications or hired a designer for your garden, or you are a do-it-yourselfer who understands the landscape section of the local big-box store inside and out. Regardless, you understand landscaping can get expensive. And with so much cash to be made on landscape products these days, everyone and their brother is trying to advertise and market materials.

But you want something different — sophistication and harmony — along with the imported travertine you are offered feels far too discordant with the prevalent style in your area. Do not worry! With countless years’ worth of examples of world-class design, there are lots of lessons to draw out that could relate to your site.

Blasen Landscape Architecture

Gravel

In many cases finding the magic of the landscape means not competing with or decorating what’s already there. The small boulder walls and loose sand here might have come from the site itself. There is no sterile edging trying to restrain the dirt, which makes this all the more beautiful.

Naturally, the grove of trees is glorious, too. Should you invest in trees for your landscape, regardless of what you do, don’t plant them on perfect facilities! Proceed and embrace the perfectly imperfect.

Bruce Clodfelter and Associates

All right, so gravel is really fine for a woodland walk, however you need a more secure material for a patio area, right? Well, if you are like me and essentially have 10 children to feed, then you may not have a grand funding. Pea gravel, ⅜-inch angular gravel or decomposed granite may make a nice surface to walk. What’s really important is to site the paved space thoughtfully. This patio is situated in a garden where you can imagine cocktail parties with lovely men and women. I will bring the Barbancourt!

5 great sand and rock types for the landscape

MODERNFAB

Boulders

Perhaps you have the perfect boulder sitting in your garden that you’re able to move into your patio area, or perhaps you have the funds to bring one in. Boulders are great because they won’t corrode or rot. And if your 4-year-old takes permanent markers towards the top of it, so what?

This table is as awesome as anything George Nakashima might have built for you. This mass is sculptural in the garden, and I’ve wanted one for my house for more than I’ve wanted these seats by Kettel.

MARPA DESIGN STUDIO

I’ve been after the Colorado designers of this Zen garden for years, so it is worthwhile sharing this beauty while I’m waxing poetic on boulders. If you’ve spent a lifetime researching these items, you are able to produce exceptional places in this way. If you’re new in this, don’t look at the most recent pond catalogue — go take a hike in a creek bed instead. Nature is the best classroom on the planet.

Swaback Partners, pllc

I dream of getting an outside shower daily, and that I would be quite pleased if this were out my bedroom.

Wagner Hodgson

Slabs

Cut slabs, both new and classic, can come from quarries, landscape distribution homes or architectural salvage yards. These slabs could be rather straightforward to set up and are a nice way to experience the topography of a landscape.

Donald Pell – Gardens

Salvaged Materials

Stone Curbs

Locating materials could be as fun since installing them. One of my favorite areas to see in Pennsylvania is Harry Bambi Supplies, to locate classic granite or flagstone curbs like these. These jewels are all excellent materials to use, particularly if you’re adding older materials to an current site.

Dear Garden Associates, Inc..

Irregular Stone

This irregular flagstone is set in a well planted garden. Stone is a no-brainer to make harmony when it is executed this nicely.

Donald Pell – Gardens

Here irregular rock pieces cut into a guest parking area to encourage circulation and connect materials. This might have been what noted American landscape architect Dan Kiley referred to as slippage — an extension beyond the suggested boundary; it is something that I really like to think about and research.

Donald Pell – Gardens

Patterned Stone

Here patterned flagstone is used on a grid. These two- by 3-foot pavers set on bail are simpler to set up than pavers in a mosaic pattern, and they’re simpler to expand upon in the future. The lower plane is set away from the top terrace and out into the landscape, where the garden softens the materials.

Matthew Cunningham Landscape Design LLC

This designer chose a bond pattern as well, but the pavers are regionally salvaged granite collection more loosely than previously. The looser joints permit for plantings involving the rock, for a more rustic setting.

Conte & Conte, LLC

Here full-color stone and thermal bluestone coping combine from the paving surfaces. I really like the rock columns with log beams.

Donald Pell – Gardens

Sandstone

Sandstone walls mix with thermal bluestone counters and footrests to complete this outdoor bar and kitchen. A durable cedar pergola and hand-forged mission-style fixtures make this structure beautiful to look at in the evenings. Ensure you use a sealer with bluestone in a program like this one, since it would otherwise absorb grease from the grill.

Arterra Landscape Architects

Concrete

Not all concrete is made equal. I haven’t yet noticed stamped concrete I enjoy, but this layout team poured sections that appear as large, strong pavers.

Stained benches and measures warm up the concrete. I think materials like concrete, steel and glass require wood finishes to bring life to the compositions. I have been very impressed with using concrete by Bernard Trainor.

John Lum Architecture, Inc.. AIA

Polycarbonate

Polycarbonate panels create displays that allow for privacy and light here. That is clearly not a natural substance, but I really like the chances these panels provide. With a modernist sensibility, mixing materials like those with materials in an older vernacular could be artfully done. Purists, hold your comments!

Scot Eckley, Inc..

Steel

Using weathered steel, or Cor-Ten, eliminates maintenance requirements, like painting. This substance is used to make bridges, walls, treads and whatever you can imagine. It has even become more prevalent in civic spaces.

How to start picking materials: With all these materials to choose from, I recommend considering walkways initially, and then selecting materials based on the future of the job and the experience you would like to create.

For inspiration escape the showroom and take a walking tour of your city with your camera. Now’s public spaces are being developed by talented designers and are fantastic areas for gleaning thoughts on distance and substance usage. Let me know where you find inspiration!

Browse the job of landscape designers around you

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11 Ways to Eliminate Your Summer Porch

Embracing simple summer living can be as straightforward as spending some time each day on your backyard. There’s something utterly relaxing about hanging out on the porch, whether it’s to sip morning coffee or unwind in the end of the day — then there’s the additional perk of making your area feel warmer, friendlier and more connected. Make your porch a location you can’t wait to spend some time on with these 11 simple, amazing ideas.

Wettling Architects

1. Channel the Hamptons. Natural wood, sandy beige and blue create a classic beach house combination that works anywhere. Engineered teak furniture fades to sandy gray as it weathers, and it seems just right with indigo and linen-hued cushions and cut hydrangeas.

See how to groom a beach house, from deck to drawer knobs

Historical Concepts

2. Reach the flea market. Digging for treasures at outside flea markets and summertime yard earnings is always an adventure. Folding chairs, classic wicker and little wood tables are organic choices, but keep an eye out for interesting containers for plants, mirrors and art, also. Imperfect finds you could pass up to your living room could be piled onto a summer porch, so keep an open mind.

Linn Gresham Haute Decor

3. Set up an outside dining space. Eating al fresco is even more pleasant when you’ve taken care to create your space as comfy as you can. Begin by using a table as big as will comfortably fit on your own porch — ample room is best for leisurely meals. Add plump cushions to chairs, line your desk with lanterns and hang rope lights overhead.

Barn Light Electric Company

4. Bring shade outside with cut flowers. Next time you are cutting blossoms out of the garden or scooping up a market bouquet, why not take a couple extra to your porch? Vases of flowers or possibly a little posy would be unexpected and completely charming on the porch — you can sit and love the blossoms as you sip your morning coffee.

Shelter 7

5. Hang a porch swing. Only considering a porch swing invites relaxation. And swinging on a single while fretting on a summer afternoon is even better. Be sure to get help hanging your swing therefore it has the appropriate support.

Cortney Bishop Design

6. Repurpose and refresh. Take advantage of a free weekend to liven up your porch with a couple creative DIY projects. Fashion a stump into a plant stand, give your porch flooring a coat of colour or whip up some new cushions utilizing vintage fabric or inexpensive burlap.

Kate Jackson Design

7. Display summer equipment. Prop up that surfboard, screw in a couple of hooks to hang wet beach towels on and toss sandals in a basket by the door. By providing your most often used summer items a home, you will make things easier on yourself and make instant decor.

Wind and Willow Home

8. Stencil a message. Eschew the typical welcome mat in favor of something more creative: words stenciled directly on the floor. Paint words onto the steps, front walk or porch floor to get a personal touch.

Cassie Daughtrey Realogics Sotheby’s Realty

9. Monogram it. Oversize monograms are an enjoyable way to set your house apart from the neighbors’. Embellish plain letters in the craft store or keep an eye out at flea markets and thrift shops for classic letters made from metal or wood. Do not wish to use your initials? Display the abbreviation to your town instead.

Terracotta Design Build

10. Cool down. If sunlight and heat are keeping you from appreciating your porch just as much as you could, an outdoor ceiling fan or some pair of outside drapes could help. Bonus: The moving air by a fan might help discourage mosquitoes, also.

Crisp Architects

11. Create a cozy spot for two. Rather than letting it sit fill that little nook or awkward corner with a pair of chairs and a little table. Bring out coffee in the morning, a publication and iced tea in the afternoon, or even a nosh and a glass of wine as the sun dips in the day.

Tongue & Groove

Tell us : What is your favorite way to use your porch in the summertime?

More: Banish the bugs that this summer

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Great Design Plant: Deer Grass

Plants should look great in the backyard, but they must also do good too. Deer grass (Muhlenbergia rigens)is a no-brainer: indigenous, adaptable, wildlife food source and shelter. It is said that the powerful sweep of the welcome western United States native could be credited to Native Americans, who among other things wove its foliage to baskets and storage vessels. While we have only ourselves to blame for the rampant spread of many undesirable plants, deer bud reminds us of people’ great deeds.

The western United States includes numerous varied growing conditions and climates — not all them the friendliest or easiest to handle. Consider this unthirsty, easygoing indigenous your free pass; it may manage situations from irregular frost and intense sun to drought and seasonal flood.

Edger Landscape Design

Botanical name: Muhlenbergia rigens
Common names: Deer bud, deergrass, meadow muhly
USDA zones: 7 to 11 (find your zone); hardy to 15 degrees Fahrenheit
Water requirement: Low once established
Light requirement: Entire sun but tolerates some shade
Mature size: 4 to 5 ft tall and wide
Benefits and tolerances: Drought tolerant; provides shelter for birds; birds eat seeds; tolerates urban conditions; mature plants are deer resistant
Seasonal attention: Evergreen; darkened plumes project 2-3 feet above foliage in summer and autumn
When to plant: Plant from toddlers in autumn

Poetic Plantings

Distinguishing traits. Tired of waiting for your nursery purchases to fill in? Grass grows to full size in a couple of seasons.

Deer bud is a big, bunching, warm-season bud. It may be confused for pampas grass, with its own green strappy leaves and silvery floral tufts. But unlike the rampantly invasive pampas grass, we can welcome indigenous deer bud into our gardens with open arms. Some restoration projects throughout the western United States have deer grass as a substitute for invasive grasses like pampas grass.

Luciole Design Inc..

Grass requires next to no grooming. Leave this up for wildlife throughout autumn and winter and allow its gold color light an otherwise dormant backyard.

Edger Landscape Design

The best way to utilize it. You’d be hard pressed to find means not to utilize deer grass in the backyard. It thrives in full sun and well-drained soil, but is nice with some shade and seasonal flood. Mass deer bud with other flowering natives, especially pollinator attractors, such as a gentle and meadowy wildlife sanctuary. You will want to leave lots of room, a few feet between plants, to love deer bud’ soft, mounding form once it fills in.

Should you prefer something simpler, use deer bud as a specimen. Its breezy texture may also be used to soften architectural succulents and Southwest natives, without even making the look overly cluttered.

Deer bud is also a garden problem solver. Unstable stream banks and hillsides may benefit from the root system.

Urban Oasis

Planting notes. Western U.S. natives, though drought tolerant and low maintenance, may be finicky about growing conditions — the right drainage, sun exposure and soil are crucial. This isn’t the case for deer marijuana, a tolerant and fairly fuss-free bud. Described as very elastic, deer grass thrives in full sun, even reflected warmth, but tolerates some shade.

Located along riparian zones, it tolerates times of dry soil and times of seasonal flood — just be sure it does not stay too wet for too long. To start, water it regularly. Afterward deer bud can go literally all summer without watering, but additionally, it will do just fine with a summer water. Browning leaves in summer might mean that your deer grass is a little thirsty.

Deer grass could be cut back in late winter, just before new growth pushes out, but many indicate that a very simple rake-through for dead foliage is everything you need. Should you decide to trim and tidy up your bud, wait as much as you can, as many indigenous and beneficial critters overwinter in its own foliage.

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I became a gardener 17 decades ago when we bought our first house, a north-facing ranch set on a corner of a block in which the remaining homes faced east or west. We had two side yards and a small front yard. On the rear was about 10 ft of yard, which split the south side of the house by our neighbor’s driveway. There and on the west side, there was no garden in any way, just grass right up to the base.

The east lawn, on the other side of the attached garage, was ruled by trees. There certainly are a bit of earth cover and a few shrubs. Half the yard was thick and luxuriant, but the other was scraggly and more dirt than anything due to the colour.

The brunt of this landscaping was dedicated into the front lawn. Does that sound like an attack? There were 14 footprints jammed to the beds on either side of the front entrance, and they had been a hodgepodge of types, planted without any thought for layout or even reason.

Amy Martin Landscape Design

I was eager to start gardening but felt overwhelmed with just how much needed to be achieved; each lawn seemed to be yelling for attention. My husband, Paul, and I had been the parents of a kid, as well as new homeowners, and our budget was small. Paul had no interest in gardening and was dedicated to the most minimal of care: mowing. I was dreaming about creating a thing Garden of Eden–ish, or its own 21st-century approximation; never mind that I knew next to nothing about gardening.

I had a huge vision but no plan. I handled my yards with energy and passion, learning as I went, but I took the long way around and ultimately generated more work than was sensible for me to keep the point of life, if ever whatsoever.

If this is your very first season of lawn gardening and care, here’s the advice that I wish I’d been given when I was in your shoes.

1. Clean up. You may not want to listen to that, but it is in fact the very first and most important thing to do. Begin with the yard even in the event that you have more weeds than real bud; mow it and give it a good raking. Spring raking removes thatch and any debris in the fall and winter. When you look closely at this film, you are going to observe the yard is somewhat bare, and except for your trees and a couple of shrubs there are not many plants, but it’s beautifully kept and very gratifying — a lovely, peaceful place in which to unwind.

Watch more of this house, which has emerged on Portlandia

2. Pot any existing garden beds. If you are such a beginner that you are not quite sure you’ll understand a marijuana from a perennial, that is OK. Snap some pictures and take them into your local garden centre or post them in the Design Dilemmas section in Discussions, and also a kindly gardener will most likely help you.

guides to winning the marijuana war

jenny_hardgrave

3. Edge your garden beds. This is only developing a clean split between the bud and the garden place, as revealed here. Take a flat-edged spade and “cut” across the edge of your bed. If your beds are straight lines, then that is where you can get creative and add some curves.

Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens

If your grass is thick, then this could become a really big job quickly, so I do not advise expanding existing beds your very first season.

Edging materials can be utilized, but I would not bother. I actually removed the black plastic ones from my very first garden, because I didn’t like the appearance and they didn’t do the job. I prefer the cleaner look of the yard meeting the soil covered with compost, which brings me to my fourth suggestion.

Kaufman Construction Design and Build

4. Mulch. If you don’t have many plants, this can be even more important. Mulch produces a tidy appearance, but even more important, it suppresses weeds and helps maintain moisture from the soil. Be mindful to not coating it any thicker than 4 inches, and then leave a little room around the foundation of each plant.

How to Decide on a Mulch — And Your Soil Requires It

Environmental Landscape Associates

5. Edge the yard along sidewalks and your drive. This is like eyeliner; it’ll make everything pop up. If the yard is quite overgrown, rent a gas-powered edger to perform the tough work, but after you do the significant cutting, it can be kept with an electric edger, which can be comparatively cheap. My mum mum (another story!) Enjoys to advantage by hand with a serrated kitchen knife. This works well for smaller tasks, but be cautious!

Dabah landscape designs

You could be asking yourself, but what about gardening? What about the flowers?

This is where things get fun, but you need to focus. If there are limits on your time or your budget — like you will find for nearly everyone — that is crucial.

6. Prioritize. When I reconsider my very first house, I understand that to begin, I should have ignored the west and south yards, where the bud moved right to the brick base. There are worse things than boring, and well kept goes a long way. The east yard, which was the natural play lawn, was not a priority, possibly because our baby was not even ambulatory. When I could do it all over again, I would have focused my very first efforts on the front lawn, the one I actually saw daily.

Pick where you need to begin. Your front lawn is your obvious choice, and also the job may be as straightforward as tidying everything up and flanking the front door with a couple pots of annuals.

It’s really OK to begin slowly. Getting things cleaned up and setting new lawn maintenance routines may be all you would like to handle your very first season.

austin outdoor design

Simply maintaining and cleaning, which is a great deal, you’ll learn whether you really enjoy gardening. If you end up just wanting to be done with it, give yourself a break and choose an easy-care approach. Plant a row of shrubs like hydrangea or boxwood. If you have gratifying foundational plantings, keep them preserved and call it good.

Garden Tech Horticultural Services LLC

If the cleaning gets your heart racing and you are excited for more to come, should you find you can’t wait to get to the planting, odds are that you are a gardener at heart. Now you need to:

Katia Goffin Gardens

7. Determine your own style. Would you like matters manicured and formal or informal? Would you love symmetry?

Or is your joyful “mess” of a cottage garden that which you crave?

Browse through ideabooks and images here on under the Outdoor Living category. As you make your own ideabooks, your preferences and style will emerge.

Maria Hickey & Associates Landscapes

8. Assess conditions. What type of light do you have? Whether your lawn is mostly in sunlight or in the colour, you’ll have to plant so. This can be a disappointment for new anglers, that have dreams of peonies and roses and lilacs dance in their minds. It could be disappointing to think about plants that could manage less sun; it certainly was for me.

I recall reading a variety of writings by gardeners who started with this frustration and discovered that colour gardening became their preference. I discovered this patronizing then, but with time that I too have adopted the special elegance of colour gardens.

7 Shade-Loving Rarities of the Plant World

Donna Lynn – Landscape Designer

As part of analyzing conditions, think about what you already have and what you may want to remove. On our existing property, there is an 8- by 80-foot mattress which runs the span of one our yards and borders the woods. The former homeowner set up a post and rail fence but planted nothing more than 12 inches.

Years ago a friend let me dig everything out and replant it with an assortment of shrubs and perennials. It was amazing, but I’m in the process of taking it all out. Our gardens have changed. I already have so much to keep, and such a massive bed at the border of our house isn’t a priority. We removed the weapon, and I’m in the process of removing the plants. Many I will Have the Ability to reuse, but some I will be offering to friends, which Is the Reason Why you should:

9. Put the word out. As you start to understand exactly what you would like and need, let folks know. What you are longing for — a row of peonies or even a bed of ferns — may be the very thing a friend, or even a friend of a friend is trying to part with.

Rebekah Zaveloff | KitchenLab

10. Appreciate the beauty. A gardener learns how to take the long view, and you must, or how could you bear to wait years for your vision to come to — sometimes literal — fruition? One of the hazards is the tendency to see just what’s wrong and to miss the beauty of now. Do not let that happen with you. Week by week, even day by day if you are able, take some opportunity to observe and appreciate all you’ve accomplished.

More: What to Do On Your Garden Today | Guides into Flowers

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