Can I respring these types of chairs?

Fri, 03 May 2024 18:40:34 +0000

I bought a used patio set with this style chairs. 2 out of the 6 chairs sit a bit low due to heavy use. If I supported the seat upwards and heated the spring with a blow torch, could I revive these tired springs? Similar but opposite of how cars' front springs are lowered with heat. Is this possible? Or do I have any other options? Thanks in advance

Best way to fill this gap?

Fri, 03 May 2024 18:32:53 +0000

Doing a little renovation on our guest bath and shocker, the walls aren’t square. We replaced the vanity/sink and put in the backsplash, so all of this is new. I preferred to have the sink flush against the back wall instead of over here on the side, therefore we’ve got this gap happening. Any ideas on the best way to fill this gap? I wouldn’t mind if it wasn’t my teen boys main bathroom… they make all the messes

Flooding solutions

Fri, 03 May 2024 18:12:56 +0000

Any suggestions for a cost effective way to fix this? Should I cut the concrete in front of the garage and install drain channels with grates?

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Suggestions on a better way to keep this door ajar for my cat to get to the litter box?

Fri, 03 May 2024 17:53:53 +0000

I don’t want to add a cat door. Need it ajar so the dogs don’t bother the cat doing her business. Is there anything made for this purpose? The rest of the house does not match my “handyman special” contraption! TY!

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Broken lock? Sliding glass door won’t open. Any advice?

Fri, 03 May 2024 17:28:52 +0000

Came home to a door that will not open. I think the locking mechanism is jammed? First three photos are of the same door, but one in another room. Last photo is the door after I disassembled what I can access, but it remains stuck closed. Anyone have any advice?

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Rotted load bearing plank. Now what?

Fri, 03 May 2024 16:33:33 +0000

Now what?

Two story house built in 77. What started as reducing a 6’ slider to a 3’ door has turned into a lot more work.

After removing the T1-11 siding from around the work area I exposed this (pictured). The very wide lumber plank that divides the bottom floor and the top floor is rotted out. The deck $& gas lines are obstructing access.

How do I fix this? I’m assuming this plank is sistered with another plank behind it. If I cut out the section with rot I can just long nail a fresh replacement section in its place to the sister plank behind it. Is this correct?

As for access I’m guessing I can just shore up and cut away the deck and then when done sister some lumber to bridge the cuts. Ugly from underneath but structurally sound.

Suggestions? Critique?

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Shades for this French door?

Fri, 03 May 2024 16:16:23 +0000

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Should there be caulking sound outside outlet plate?

Fri, 03 May 2024 15:05:13 +0000

Hello,

Was outside on my deck and noticed the plate for outlet sits out from the siding with no caulking. Is this normal or should I caulk this?

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How do I level out these concrete stairs?

Fri, 03 May 2024 10:26:03 +0000

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DIY electric welder my grandfather made

Fri, 03 May 2024 08:01:19 +0000

Just sharing it for laughs. I swear, older generations were different breed

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Garden Visit: At Home with Landscape Photographer Caitlin Atkinson

Fri, 03 May 2024 08:00:28 +0000

For years I’ve marveled at (and been envious of) the work of photographer Caitlin Atkinson, who captures gardens, interiors, and still lifes with a serene, dreamy, almost ethereal feel. She is a master of catching the sun as it shines soft and warm, as it creates glowing halos around plants, highlighting and hugging simultaneously.

Caitlin photographed landscapes for the book Under Western Skies: Visionary Gardens from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Coast, written by Jennifer Jewell, that spotlights innovative and inspiring gardens in the West. [N.B.: More recently, she’s been working with Kendra Wilson on Gardenista: The Low-Impact Garden, to be published next spring.] Caitlin’s work, of course, involves almost constant globe-trotting, but when she is able to be at one of her own homes, either in Nevada City or Santa Cruz, you can find her digging and tending her own patches of dirt.

Caitlin Atkinson at Home

Caitlin’s gardens have different styles, as they are in different climates and settings. The Nevada City garden, in the foothills near the Yuba River, is, as Caitlin describes it, “more of a subtle color story.” One area of the garden consists mostly of blues and is situated in a very sunny, dry, and hot spot. She also has a fescue meadow that she continues to seed and plant into. “The drought has more of an impact here, along with the risk of fires.”

The Santa Cruz garden, on the other hand, is a beach cottage with more colorful plantings. And even though the garden gets sun all day, the proximity to the ocean creates a very mild climate. “The hardest things to work with there are the sand for soil, the wind off the ocean, and the salt air,” shares Caitlin.

Join us for a closer look at her two gardens.

Photography by Caitlin Atkinson.

Nevada City Garden

Above: “Everything I plant has to be low-maintenance, very tough, deer-and bunny-resistant, plus like where it lives or it will not make it,” says Caitlin. Both gardens started slowly and continue to evolve that way as well. Above: Caitlin decorates her porch with pots purchased from Flora Grubb Gardens in San Francisco. Agave ‘porcupine’ fills most of them, while a Clematis armandii vine frames her forest view. Above: “My work often gets incredibly busy right when you might be the busiest in the garden, so I often do not get to do much in the garden. It can sometimes turn into a real wild scene, but mostly things are left to their own devices with a little maintenance when I can,” says Caitlin. Above: This simple concrete bird bath attracts mostly acorn woodpeckers. Caitlin adds, “Of course robins, seasonal finches and hummingbirds are in the garden, but they are not so much at the water.” Above: The fire pit set on gravel belonged to Caitlin’s grandfather, who was a landscape contractor on the peninsula. “It burns logs,” Caitlin shares. “So I don’t use it in the summer because of the fire danger.” Above: Caitlin started by adding drought-tolerant plants and has transitioned to more California natives due to their low maintenance and water needs, the fact that they look more appropriate, and their importance for pollinators and other wildlife. “One of the biggest changes I have made is in collecting and starting my own seeds from local plants. In Nevada City, I have started plants like the bush lupine, foothill penstemon [the purple flowers, pictured], yarrow, milkweed, etc.” Above: A cool-toned field of Festuca ‘Siskiyou Blue’ and ‘Elijah Blue’ bow to the bold Agave americana.

Santa Cruz Garden

Above: A boardwalk made from recycled redwood fencing leads to the sunny front door. Caitlin rents her Santa Cruz cottage, but she still tends to it with the same care as if she owned it. “I think a lot of people don’t garden when they are in rentals, but it is really worth it, even if just starting with a few seeds!” Above: “In Santa Cruz, I have been working to incorporate coastal bush lupine and Artemesia, which are on the coastal dunes nearby.” Above: A low-maintenance but still striking collection of Agave attenuata, Leucadendron ‘Pisa’, orange-hued Stipa arundinacea and silvery Helichrysum.

For more drought-tolerant gardens, see:

Fri, 03 May 2024 04:20:52 +0000

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How bad are my pipes? Renovations underway and my contractors sent me these pics of my 7-year old plumbing.

Fri, 03 May 2024 03:28:56 +0000

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New apartment and my outlets are painted/grouted over. How do I fix this?

Fri, 03 May 2024 01:25:56 +0000

Obviously I don't want to electrocute myself, but I'm not sure if the outlets are blocked off for a reason.

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What to do with 3” gap around new shower surround

Fri, 03 May 2024 00:31:23 +0000

Unsure what to do with the gap between new shower surround and drywall. 2.5”- 3” all the way around top and a little more down the sides.

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Got a skid steer, keep getting stuck. Washington state, early May.

Thu, 02 May 2024 23:26:14 +0000

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Renter drilled into my fireplace, what are my options (to remove and look decent after)

Thu, 02 May 2024 21:30:45 +0000

As shown… The renter used anchors that they drilled into the fireplace to hang a TV… I’m only used to wall anchors and I can’t get these out of the brick and I’m not sure how

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The sword in the stone…please help!

Thu, 02 May 2024 20:35:09 +0000

This is a 2 foot drill bit. I miscalculated and think I hit a joist. It’s extremely stuck. No amount of leftyloosy-ing or rightytighty-ing is working. I also don’t have direct access to where it came out. Any suggestions??

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A Garden From Scratch: How to Plant for Success (A Case Study)

Thu, 02 May 2024 08:00:13 +0000

So you’re finally ready to plant up an area of your garden. How do you ensure you’re giving your plants the best possible start? In part 5 of my series on making A Garden from Scratch (scroll to the bottom for the other installments), I look at one border in my own garden and explain how I prepared it and put it together.

1. Get the timing right.

Above: What I started with. This was a tired lavender walk that needed a lot of plants replaced and was interspersed with climbing roses. I wanted a more substantial border as this was also a key view through the garden, so I removed everything except for the established ‘Blush Noisette’ rose on the right-hand side of the border.

Autumn and spring are perfect times to get a border planted, giving plants a chance to settle and send out roots when soil is likely to be warm and moist. Because I am nearly always running behind, the new border here would eventually go into the ground in early May. It’s not ideal timing as they need a lot more attention and irrigation if there is prolonged hot weather, but in reality it’s feasible to plant perennials at any time the ground is not frozen—just be prepared to keep an eye on them in summer.

Make sure you have all your plants gathered, ready for planting. If you are buying plants and want to keep costs down, know that 9-cm plants will be the most economical, while 1-liter or 2-liter plants will provide more instant impact. That said, those small plants will have caught up with the larger plants within one season and definitely within two seasons. If you’ve got time, growing some of the plants from seeds or cuttings will be the most economical of all. You can also divide plants from elsewhere in the garden, too, creating more plants for free. (See Your First Garden: How to Start a Garden for Practically Free for other ideas.)

2. Enrich the soil.

Above: Preparing the planting area.

I widened the existing border as much as I could while still leaving a path through the middle. At this point it can feel like there’s a lot of space, but once plants mature and grow over the edges this central path will narrow considerably. As this area has poor very free-draining soil, I dug in well-rotted manure through the whole border to prepare it for planting; whatever your soil type, the most beneficial thing you can do at the outset is to add as much compost as you can to enrich the soil.

3. Lay out the plants.

Above: Laying out the plants.

Place all of your plants along the border where you think you’ll want to plant them. Then spend some time considering how the plants will look as they grow. Think about how wide they will spread and allow enough space for plants to grow (check the plant label for approximate dimensions). Group perennials together in threes or loose triangles which will create more impact with blocks and color. What you are trying to create is a naturalistic feeling rather than regimented order. (See A Garden from Scratch: How to Choose Plants and Put Them Together for my tips on plant composition.)

Repeat some plants through the length of the border to help create rhythm. In this border, Alchemilla mollis, Geranium ‘Rozanne’ and Calamagrostis ‘Karl Foester’ are repeated down the length of the bed. And leave space for self seeders—over time, if you prefer a more naturalistic look and you’re happy to encourage self-seeders, your border will fill out with these volunteer plants. This border has several self-seeders, especially Salvia turkestanica, Digitalis parviflora and D. ferruginea gigantea, and occasionally Baptisia australis and Alchemilla mollis, creating free plants and a more abundant and lush border.

4. Get digging.

Above: Finally, ready to plant.

Once you’re happy with the layout, you can start planting. Dig holes that are twice the size of your pot and plant so that the eventual surface level is the same as it would have been in its pot. If the roots of any plants are dense and “potbound,” rough up the surface of the roots or tease some of the root out—this will encourage roots to grow out into the soil rather than staying contained, which will help it establish more effectively. As you backfill the hole with soil, ensure there are no air pockets around the roots and when it’s filled, tamp it down with a fist to ensure it’s all firmly in place. Water the whole area well. In newly planted areas, and because my garden has exceptionally sandy soil, I also then add an additional mulch layer (usually bark chip) on top to protect the soil and retain moisture.

5. Watch it grow, then edit.

Above: Color also helps to create a cohesive feeling through the border. The dominant flower color in this border is blue, beginning with spring bulbs and alliums in all shades of blue and purple.

When you’re planning a border, there are many elements to think about—how plants work together, their shapes, texture, flowers and so on. You also have to account for time and how the border will evolve through the whole growing season. As you watch the border through its first and second season, you will notice if there are any gaps you can fill in this succession. Or you may want to edit and move some plants around—although some plants are fussy about being moved (especially plants with tap roots), most perennials can easily be dug up and replanted, ideally while they are dormant.

Above: In this image taken slightly later in the season, it’s easy to see how the repetition of some plants through the border helps to draw the eye through the planting.

6. Enjoy your border.

Above: The same border five years on.

Even when all your plants are fully grown, you’re not done. And that’s a good thing. In my garden, the original plants in that border are mature and the copper beech hedge that provides a backdrop along the length of the border has now grown to the height I will keep it at. It still continues to evolve each season as self-seeders come and go, and I continue to edit and add new things.

Spread the Seed: International Sunflower Guerilla Garden Day Is Here

Wed, 01 May 2024 08:00:53 +0000

There’s a certain romanticism to guerrilla gardening. Who wouldn’t be moved by the idea of clandestine gardeners planting on derelict land without permission for the sake of communal beauty? However, I suspect most of us are probably not quite bold enough to undertake the level of covert cultivation that would be deemed “guerrilla gardening.” But what if you knew you wouldn’t be alone in your small act of civil disobedience? What if there were an organized effort in which people all around the world would engage in minor garden-related delinquency on the same exact day?

Above: Sunflowers perking up a sidewalk in Brussels, France. Photograph by brusselsfarmer2 via Flickr.

On May 1, International Sunflower Guerrilla Garden Day (ISGGD), citizens will plant sunflower seeds on untended spots in their cities. The movement began as a grassroots effort in 2006 by a group of guerrilla gardeners, including one who calls himself Girasol 829, or “The Brussels Farmer” in Belgium. In the book On Guerrilla Gardening, Richard Reynolds explains its origins: “From the outset they wanted the project to link and shape both the physical landscape and the online landscape. They decided to plant sunflowers (Helianthus annus) all over the city and to encourage other people to do the same around the world.”

Reynolds continues: “For Girasol, giant sunflowers were the perfect plant to use. Not only would they be hugely visible within a short space of time, easy to photograph for the virtual-meets-real aspect of their art project, and easy and cheap to plant, they are also richly symbolic.” To these guerilla gardeners, sunflowers represented beauty, productivity, community, and optimism. They also happen to offer a circular and regenerative project: Guerilla gardeners can gather the seeds in fall to replay next May. In 2007, the founders deemed it an official day and in the years since then, the initiative has spread across the globe.

Above: Guerilla gardeners planting in an empty patch under a tree. Photograph by brusseslfarmer2 via Flickr.

In New York City, where there is a long history of guerrilla gardening, activist gardeners in Queens from Smiling Hogshead Ranch have been celebrating ISGGD since 2015. Their efforts have led to city-wide sunflower seed planting, including the Seed the City initiative by Green Guerrillas, the non-profit group who famously took over derelict lots around the Lower East Side and turned them into gardens in the 1970s. Writing by email, Sarah McCollum Williams, the executive director of Green Guerrillas told Gardenista, “We are still distributing sunflower seeds for community gardeners and their groups to participate in this year’s International Sunflower Guerrilla Gardening Day, but we won’t have any public-facing events around it this year.” But that’s in part because the day has taken on a life of its own. It’s a sentiment that Girasol, the founder of ISGGD, shared in 2013 when he wrote, “This project has always been an open idea, to be reused, shared and spread and we are happy to see that groups everywhere do it on their own without waiting for our call to action.”

Above: Sunflowers dotting the median in London. Photograph by Richard Reynolds via Flickr.

So don’t wait for an official event: This is guerrilla gardening, after all! Getting involved is simple: Buy a packet or two of sunflower seeds and then look for vacant or abandoned lots, tree pits, sidewalks, or any area of earth that is not cared for. If the soil is compacted (which it often can be in these spots) use a tool like a screwdriver or even a stick to dig a hole for your seeds. Then push the sunflower seed into the ground, pointy side down, and cover the seed with soil and water it in. Wait three months and you will (hopefully!) be rewarded with sunshine-y blossoms to brighten a formerly neglected part of your neighborhood.

8 Favorites: Blue Flowers for the Garden

Tue, 30 Apr 2024 08:00:55 +0000

Recently, one of my clients asked if I would add some blue flowers to her garden. Her young daughter had learned that dogs are color-blind and can see only blues and yellows, and now she wanted to make sure their garden had blue flowers in it so that their dog would be able to enjoy them. Naturally my heart swelled and my list of blue flowers grew. I bolted to the nursery and picked up some favorites.

Because of this project, I learned to truly appreciate how blues add a cooling and calming splash of color. I also learned, after reading the book, How the Rose Got its Thorns and Other Botanical Stories, by Andrew Ormerod, that few plants produce anthocyanins, the pigments responsible for the blue hue, which is why blue flowers are relatively rare in nature. “They are most commonly found in environmentally impoverished habitats where pollinators are scarce—with its short wavelength, the color blue stands out and attracts bee pollinators,” he writes.

Here are eight of my favorite blue flowers (and possibly dog and bee favorites, too).

Featured photograph of baby blue eyes, above, by Joe Decruyenaere via Flickr.

1. Lobelia, Lobelia erinus ‘Magadi Compact Dark Blue’

Above: Photograph via Campbell’s Nursery.

Sometimes you need a fast-growing annual to add to pots, containers, and window boxes that are in a sunny spot. This lobelia is so good at filling planting gaps with color. With a trailing habit, it’s slightly upright, slightly relaxed, and produces vibrant blue flowers in the spring through summer if deadheaded. In mild climates this annual can reseed—in a good way. Hardy in USDA Zones 8-11. I like to plant mine from six-packs or from seed.

2. Siberian bugloss, Brunnera macrophylla

Above: Photograph by Patrick Standish via Flickr.

What makes this perennial extra cute are the heart-shaped leaves and the tiny baby-blue flowers that arrive in the spring and continue through the summer. Add this deer-resistant, easy-to-grow ground cover to a partly shaded cottage or woodland garden and pair it with hellebores, bleeding hearts, and ferns. Grows to 1 to 2 feet high and as wide. Hardy in USDA Zones 3-9.

3. Baby blue eyes, Nemophila menziesii

Above: Photograph by Kier Holmes.

Native to California, this darling annual gifts you with bright blue dainty flowers in the spring. Easy to sow from seed, it is commonly added to wildflower seed mixes. Pro tip: Sow your seeds in a partly sunny spot and provide them with ample water. I sowed my seeds in the fall for my spring bloom, but I live in a warm-winter areas. In cold-winter areas, sow your seeds in the spring. The flower grows to a petite 10 inches high and in a container, will tumble playfully over the edges. You can purchase seeds through Larner Seeds.

4. Pincushion flower, Scabiosa Caucasica ‘Fama Deep Blue’

Above: Photograph by Kier Holmes.

I grow this flower in my garden and and am rewarded with mega large ruffled blue blooms—4 inches across! I swear, these flowers are constantly buzzing with bees and butterflies from spring to fall. It also makes an excellent long-lasting cut flower, and the more I cut, the more blooms I get. Grows to 2 feet tall and wide and likes full sun and well-draining soil. Perfect when added to pots or edging a perennial bed or cutting garden. Hardy in USDA Zones 4-9.

5. Germander sage, Salvia chamaedryoides

Above: Photograph by Seán A. O’Hara via Flickr.

Native to Mexico, this silvery leafed evergreen subshrub grows to a little over 1 foot tall, spreads to 3 feet wide, and produces light blue flowers from mid-spring to fall if you deadhead the faded flowers. Pruning this plant mid-season also keeps it compact and stimulates fresh new growth. Low water, deer-resistant, and pollinator-friendly, this salvia is cold hardy down to USDA Zone 8. Other blue salvias to consider: Salvia nemerosa ‘Crystal Blue’ and Salvia azureaS.

6. Globe thistle ‘Blue Glow’, Echinops bannaticus

Above: Photograph by Kendra Wilson, from 10 Easy Pieces: Perennials for the Seaside Garden.

Definitely not to be confused with its weedier relative, this polite perennial pumps out steel-blue, Dr. Seuss-like spherical blooms on slender stems in the summer. Grows to 4 feet tall and 2 feet wide and makes a unique, long-lasting cut flower—dry or fresh. Poor, rocky soil doesn’t bother this sturdy plant. Bees, butterflies, and nocturnal moths love the nectar-rich tufts, and luckily deer and rabbits leave it alone. Great for rock or cutting gardens. Hardy in USDA Zones 3-8.

7. Blue cape plumbago, Plumbago auriculata ‘Imperial Blue’

Above: Photograph by Lim Zhan Peng via Flickr.

This carefree mounding shrub sports sky blue flowers for many months and has serious cottage garden appeal. It’s also butterfly-attracting and surprisingly deer-resistant. The ultimate size of this shrub can vary from 6 to 20 feet high, depending on whether you let it scramble as a flowering ground cover (perfect for erosion control or slopes), or give it some support where it loosely climbs. Plant plumbago in a sunny to mostly sunny spot with good drainage. Bonus: it tolerates windy, seaside conditions. Hardy and evergreen to 25 degrees; otherwise consider it a fast-growing annual.

8. Borage, Borago officinalis

Above: Photograph by Marie Viljoen, from Plant Based Diet: 16 Edible Flowers to Grow.

Edible star-shaped blooms adorn this old-fashioned and easy-to-grow garden herb. It’s the ultimate bright blue flower for supporting bees. Hardy in USDA Zones 3-10, borage grows quickly to about 1 foot high, likes a sunny to partly sunny spot, and can reseed freely if the spent flowers are not cut back. Perfect when paired with orange calendula and smart when added to a vegetable garden or orchard to attract necessary pollinators.

Elm Samaras: The Tree’s Winged Seeds Are Edible and Easy to Collect Right Now

Mon, 29 Apr 2024 08:00:24 +0000

If there ever was a time to learn how to identify elm trees easily, it is in their brief, green samara season. Samara are winged seeds, and the wafer-like seed cases of elm trees are distinctive, as well as tenderly edible. They appear in mid-spring, with each seed wrapped neatly in a soft chartreuse package, which later dries and acts as a wing, to help carry the seed when it is mature and ready to be dispersed. Clusters of spring-green samara give elm branches a plush, ruffled appearance. When they are young, elm samara are a deliciously succulent treat, easy to collect, and often very abundant.

Here are eight ways I like to eat them.

Photography by Marie Viljoen.

Above: Siberian elm samara in New York City.

Like other fruit, nut, and winged seed trees (like maples), elms can have mast years, or a bumper crop, where branches appear to be bursting with samara. The seeds appear before the trees leaf out, so collecting a couple of handfuls is blissfully easy and does not impact developing foliage.

Above: Camperdown elms have a weeping form.

All elms produce edible samara. The trees I see most often in New York City are the long-time landscape favorites Siberian elm (Ulmus pumila) and Camperdown elm (the European native, U. glabra). While Siberian elms are widely planted in parks, they are also considered invasive in parts of North America. I’d say we’re doing wild areas a favor by collecting their seeds before they mature and are dispersed, but there is no forager capable of denuding a mighty, 80-foot tree. Native American elms (Ulmus americana) have slightly fuzzy winged seeds, and the trees are better-known for having been decimated by Dutch elm disease, a fungal infection spread by elm bark beetles. (For quick identification of four elm species by their samara, the linked iNaturalist post is very helpful.)

Above: Elm samara are juicy, sweetly nutty, and a little starchy.

Whether you have bagfuls or a handful (which you should nibble on the spot), elm samara can easily be included in a quick meal. At home, wrap or cover them before storing them in the fridge, where they will keep very well for at least a week. Wash them just before using them (or they spoil more quickly).

Above: A burrata island in a sea of samara—just add balsamic vinegar, olive oil, pepper, and salt.

The samaras’ texture when raw is succulent, almost-but-not-quite-sweet, and delicately starchy (in a nut-like way). Use them in abundance as a pillowy filling for summer rolls, alongside crunchy vegetables and edible flowers in a salad, as a foil for a soft cheese, or scattered across gentle, spring-adjacent toast toppings.

Above: Atop chickpea and ramp leaf crackers with labneh and ramp leaf salt. Above: Ramp leaf oil, labneh, peas, ramp leaf salt, and elm samara on seed bread toast.

Keep it simple. For the most modest of samara forages, make the most of your micro-season. Season toasted seed bread with a light slick of pungent ramp leaf oil, slather it with tangy labneh, add the sweetness of just-cooked peas, fleck that with raw elm samara, and finish this treat with ramp leaf salt.

(The ubiquitous ramp leaf recipes are in Forage, Harvest, Feast – A Wild-Inspired Cuisine, $20 from Chelsea Green Publishing.)

Above: Avocado, elm samara, extra virgin olive oil, and Maldon salt. Above: Eight-minute eggs in a nest with field garlic, sesame oil, shoyu, and Aleppo pepper. Above: …or just add avocado.

Cooked very lightly, the texture of the samaras becomes very silky. I blanch or sauté them for no longer than a minute

Above: Cook samara no longer than a minute.

For a quick noodle bowl I add a cupful of elm samara to thin udon noodles boiling in dashi, for the last minute of (the noodles’) cooking. I strain the noodles and samara, holding the strainer under cold water to chill. A quick shake, then a simple dressing of toasted sesame oil, shoyu (or dark soy sauce), Korean chile flakes (or other), and toasted seeds. It is a fleetingly exquisite spring lunch.

Above: With chilled udon noodles, soy, sesame, and chile. Above: A fermented black bean and samara sauce for scallops is ready in a few minutes. Above: Six-minute scallops with quick black bean and samara sauce.

A happy find of exceptional sea scallops from Pura Vida Fisheries at our local Brooklyn farmers’ market inspired this memorable light lunch (or appetizer, or…) . The scallops sear gently and briefly and are seasoned with a spoonful of salty black bean sauce brightened with orange juice and just-cooked samara.

Scallops with Elm Samara and Black Bean Sauce

Serves 4 (2 scallops each)

The black beans here are the salty, fermented soy beans (douchi) available at Chinese grocers or online.

Sauce:

2 Tablespoons fermented black beans
2 Tablespoons avocado or neutral oil
3 Tablespoons orange juice
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1 packed cup tender elm samara

Scallops

2 Tablespoons avocado or neutral oil
8 sea scallops

For the sauce: In a small bowl (or pestle and mortar) mash the beans lightly, to crush some of them. In a small pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the beans with the orange juice and cook gently for 3 minutes. Add all the other ingredients except the elm samara and cook for anothe

Quick Takes With: Dan Pearson

Sun, 28 Apr 2024 08:00:26 +0000

There are maybe a handful of living landscape designers whose names non-gardening types may recognize. Dan Pearson is one of them. Known for his beautiful, bordering-on-wild gardens and commitment to fostering biodiversity, the British designer, horticulturist, and writer (his quarterly online magazine, Dig Delve, is a must-read) started gardening at 6, opened his practice in 1987, and has since gone on to design jaw-dropping gardens all around the world, many of which we’ve covered here on this site (go here, here, and here for a sampling). Now in his fourth decade as a landscape whisperer, he continues to create immersive experiences that garden-philes plan trips around: “I’ve just started work on a public park in Japan, the second phase of Delos at Sissinghurst will begin this year, and I am working with Rachel Whiteread at a sculpture park in south of England,” he tells us.

Clearly, the garden guru is very much in demand, but anyone can have access to his ideas via his online Create Academy courses (he launched “A Naturalistic Design Masterclass” in 2021 and a follow up, “An Expert Guide to Planting Design”, last year.) And, of course, you’ll learn a lot from his Quick Takes answers below—including his favorite plant, tool, and outdoor wear.

Photography courtesy of Create Academy, unless otherwise noted.

Above: When he’s not in London or on a work site, Dan can be found at Hillside, his 20-acre property (a former cattle farm) near Bath.

Your first garden memory:

Making miniature moss gardens out of pincushion mosses.

Garden-related book you return to time and again:

Any of Beth Chatto’s books.

Instagram account that inspires you:

Cassian Schmidt. Cassian’s observations of plants growing in the wild and the way that he interprets those plant communities in naturalistic plantings are beyond compare.

Describe in three words your garden aesthetic.

Above: A gravel path flanked by effusive plantings at Hillside.

Wild, immersive, and contextual.

Plant that makes you swoon:

Above: One of Dan’s dogs admiring his Yoshino cherry tree (Prunus x yedoensis). Photograph via @coyotewillow.

Prunus x yedoensis—the quintessential Japanese cherry for blossom. I love the anticipation of bud break every March, the way that every inch of the branches is covered in the single, soft pink flowers and how the tree buzzes with bees on a warm spring morning.

Plant that makes you want to run the other way:

Euonymus fortunei ‘Emerald ‘n’ Gold’. Of all variegated shrubs this is the most difficult to live with. The brashness of its yellow makes it the loudest and worst-dressed guest in any garden, demanding attention.

Favorite go-to plant:

Above: Butomus umbellatus. Photograph via @coyotewillow.

Umbellifers. From cow parsley to giant fennel umbellifers have the most pleasing form and are all pollinator magnets. I couldn’t garden without them.

Hardest gardening lesson you’ve learned:

To be able to let go of a garden when the time comes to move on. Creating a garden requires total application and commitment and a large part of the process is making an investment in the future. When I have had to give up gardens I have made—both for clients and for myself—there is always a sense of loss, of grief almost, which takes some time to process.

Unpopular gardening opinion:

Above: The critters at Hillside love a bit of overgrown messiness.

Don’t cut your hedges. An overly tidy garden is not great for wildlife. If you can let some of your hedges grow out they offer much better forage and homes for birds, mammals, and insects.

Gardening or design trend that needs to go:

Instant gardening. Anything instant usually has a hidden cost, which is usually environmental. Take things slowly, reuse and recycle, buy small, and watch plants grow—it gives a much deeper sense of engagement and satisfaction.

Favorite way to bring the outdoors in.

Above: Forcing a branch of Prunus cerasifera in March. Photograph via @coyotewillow.

Branches of forced cherry plum blossom and pussy willow in early spring.

Old wives’ tale gardening trick that actually works:

Slugs do love beer. I’ve used crushed shells, copper rings, and sheep’s wool, but beer traps still seem to be the only effective and foolproof mollusc deterrent.

Favorite gardening hack:

Old carpet as a weed suppressor around the base of newly planted trees, shrubs, and climbers.

Every garden needs a…

Above: The majority of his property is pasture, much of it oversown with a local native wildflower seed mix.

…soul.

Favorite hardscaping material:

Boulders, as they bring a sense of age and gravity.

Tool you can’t live without:

My Niwaki hori hori.

Go-to gardening outfit:

Above: This Workwear Gilet is a collaboration between Labour and Wait and Lavenham; £212.50.

My Labour & Wait Lavenham jerkin.

Favorite nursery, plant shop, or seed company:

Beth Chatto Nursery is my go to for the range of special species and cultivars they stock, with cultivation advice gleaned from years of experience. I always find something new to add to my wishlist.

On your wishlist:

I made a large wildlife pond three years ago and I am about to commission a green oak pavilion to be able to sit out under cover and watch the rain falling on the water and the full moon reflected in it.

Not-to-be-missed public garden/park/botanical garden:

Hermannshof. Cassian Schmidt, who originated the ground-breaking and influential experimental massed perennial plantings, is no longer working here, but visit in the next couple of years and they should still be looking good.

The REAL reason you garden:

I can’t not.

Thanks so much, Dan! Follow him on Instagram @coyotewillow.

For other recent Quick Takes, see:

DIY finished attic conversion in 1924 home to office and chill space

Sun, 28 Apr 2024 01:38:26 +0000

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Husband and I recreated a dry creek to help with water runoff

Sun, 28 Apr 2024 01:17:01 +0000

It only took about 3 hours of work! It looked like the previous owners had tried to divert the water, and while they did an okay job, the major storms we had earlier this year really took their toll. We had to shore up some leaks that burst through the downhill side and had to dig down a few times where water wasn’t flowing well enough. Eventually, we tried using an old plastic drainpipe, and while it worked okay, it wasn’t very pretty.

Today, we dug out the existing trench and I found a product called Edge Right that we used as erosion control on the downhill side. We then put down some non-woven geotextile landscaping fabric which we then covered in a soil/gravel mix and topped with river rock. I’m so excited to see it in action when it rains!

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FML

Sun, 28 Apr 2024 01:17:01 +0000

I just broke my counter top does anyone have idea on how I can fix this the cheapest way possible

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Preparing to build a deck, but my soil is not draining properly after removing the grass.

Sun, 28 Apr 2024 00:59:45 +0000

I did some work in my backyard in preparation for a deck I'm planning to build. The area is 12'x7', and previously had grass and a small flower bed. I am planning to build the deck using tuffblocks instead of concrete footings since it's a small area. I dug up the grass and had to dig a little deeper for the tuff blocks because I want my deck to be level with the concrete pad (the ground slopes away from the concrete pad). Got some rain overnight, and now the water puddling around the tuffblocks. The soil below the grass is pretty clay heavy, but never had any drainage issues before, and also don't have any drainage issues in the rest of yard which is also grass. I do plan to add 1"-2" of limestone screenings under each tuffblocks when I start putting the deck together, as well as weed cloth over the whole area. The last few days were sunny and windy, so the soil has dried up quite a bit. I had also tamped down the soil under the tuffblocks, which might have been a mistake. Wondering if this is something that will be resolved once I add the limestone screenings, or if I need to do something to improve the drainage on this soil before I build the deck. Thanks!

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Got these 1/4" 16x54" panels for a steal. Wife is convinced they're tempered but one of the panels has two chips on the edge, one pretty significant. I said they would have shattered due to at least the one big chip. What do you guys think?

Sun, 28 Apr 2024 00:52:06 +0000

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Best way to baby proof these stairs?

Sun, 28 Apr 2024 00:06:33 +0000

Our stairs are bit complicated for fitting standard baby gates, would like ideas on methods and products available in market? There's Regalo gates with screw in hinges, but with the zigzag shape, not sure if they will be stable enough. May be there's a simple solve but I'm new to all this so would appreciate some ideas. Thanks.

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Fixing Up A Old Rusty Kids Bike From The Neighbors. Primed & Painted & Had It Looking GREAT! The Guy At Lowes Sold Me This Enamel To Seal It & Prevent Chipping & It Destroyed The Paint. What Should I Use When I Redo It?

Sat, 27 Apr 2024 23:58:57 +0000

I guess I'm going to sand it back down and re-paint it. Is that the best course of action? What should I use to seal the paint and prevent chips on a kids bike that will surely get tossed around a lot?

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Can a third step be added on or should new wooden steps be built?

Sat, 27 Apr 2024 23:46:30 +0000

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Found this while digging

Sat, 27 Apr 2024 22:55:54 +0000

So I was digging in front yard, redo the landscape just brought the house 1yr. Saw this concerte and a metal pipe sticking out. What do y'all this it was light post? Flag pole ? Any ideas to use it now?

Thank you reading.

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Bear head I donated to the Mohawk Elders' of Akwesasne.

Sat, 27 Apr 2024 22:20:31 +0000

Tig welded 18 gauge cold rolled steel, rusted with peroxide mixture, gun blue for the nose, a red patina chemical from Sculpt Nouveau for the tongue and Jasper stones for the eyes. Finished with a matte clear coat from 2K. Which is better? raw steel or chemical finish?

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I can't decide

Sat, 27 Apr 2024 21:44:03 +0000

The ones that make it through I catch in traps but I’d like to put an end to the problem. I thought about putting mouse pellets up there and sealing it up.

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About to snip and remove these, I am guessing old phone wire? 100 yo home

Sat, 27 Apr 2024 19:49:18 +0000

As the title says I am in the middle of a home remodel and want to remove this bundle of wires in a closet prior to painting the room/closet, my guess is old phone wires?

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Catio on our patio

Sat, 27 Apr 2024 19:23:30 +0000

My husband and I spent the last two weekends constructing an outside ✨sanctuary✨ for our fur babies. He acquired some 4x4s from work, milled and processed them into 1x3s, and we got to building. It’s his dream to have his own wood shop and this is our first big project together. Swipe >> for progress photos!

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Garden beds outside look to have white mould?

Sat, 27 Apr 2024 18:30:19 +0000

Helping my wife clean out these outside garden beds I Made her. Looks to be white mould or something growing in them - what do I do?

When I build them I put a bunch of chopped wood in the bottom so I wouldn't need to put in a ton of soil.

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Why does bathroom sink smell like sewage?

Sat, 27 Apr 2024 18:01:50 +0000

It has a P trap. It got clogged and cleared at one point about a year ago. When the water runs it smells like sewage, and lingers until it dissipates once the sink drains.

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Is this the correct replacement capacitor for my air conditioning unit? (Its not the same size?)

Sat, 27 Apr 2024 17:37:26 +0000

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What would you recommend for window covering in this situation?

Sat, 27 Apr 2024 17:12:59 +0000

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My bathroom sink smells like absolute doo doo but I’ve tried everything…

Sat, 27 Apr 2024 16:01:38 +0000

I’ve tried all the solutions and at best they only offer temporary respite from the stench. Should I buy a snake? Should I keep pouring baking soda and vinegar every few months? Should I keep buying draino? I can’t keep smelling this foul stench! SOS

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Maintenance and Property Repair of your Home

Best way to make this pretty

proper order for replacing baseboards and carpet

Two of the plastic pieces of the fridge ice maker broke off. Are they necessary? Do I need to swap out the ice maker?

Easiest way to drill a large hole through this metal?

How do I get this doorknob off? It's an old Weiser

Is this good enough to put polyurethane on?

Circular saw keeps deflecting after entire blade is in the wood.

Thanks for the advice yesterday. I ended up just removing the cabinets entirely.