How to Dress Maternity Basics Up and Down

How to Dress Maternity

Basics Up & Down

by Caitlin SKIDMORE

Dress basics down for date night with a casual or edgy completer piece, like this ruffled leather jacket. A monochromatic look will make you look long and lean, no matter what color family you choose. Pump up the impact of monochromatic pieces by playing with a variety of textures, like we did with lace, leather and a sleek belt.

Most women struggle with feeling like they have nothing to wear, but when you’re expecting, it can feel even more that way!

Here are a few tips to help you make the most of your closet during your pregnancy.

Make sure you have great basics for however you spend the majority of your time. Here, we’ve chosen pieces you can easily dress up for work or down for date night: a black top and a pair of black jeans. Both are classic and versatile, and black is on trend for spring and summer this year.

Dress your basics up by pairing a classic top and bottom with a blazer, add a pop of color, like we did with the belt and a touch of print, with these leopard pumps. The color, texture, pattern and shine combine to create a polished look perfect for a casual office. If you need a more formal look, swap the black jeans for a pair of dress pants or a skirt.

To look more polished and put together for any event on your calendar, add a completer piece or a third item. A completer piece can be an actual item of clothing, like the blazer or leather jacket, or if it’s too warm for an actual layering piece, try an accessory with enough visual weight to read as a third piece, like a scarf or a statement piece of jewelry.

Caitlin Skidmore is a McKinney-based writer and style coach. Photos: Katie Soyka Photography Model: Amy Minton

Putting Down Deep Roots

by Peggy Helmick-RICHARDSON

o the lush greens and bright colors of North Texas yards and parks this time of year leave you envious of those landscapes with the justperfect plants in the oh-so-ideal locations? D

Countless successful gardeners across our state credit not so much a green thumb but a good friend for the visual treats they cultivate. For over 40 years, McKinney’s own Neil Sperry has offered gardening suggestions and solutions through his popular radio program and many publications.

This father of three and grandfather of seven also devotes much of his life to cultivating strong and healthy communities and families. And if you haven’t had the pleasure of meeting him, now’s the time.

Born in San Antonio and raised in College Station, Neil started college at Texas A&M in the early 1960s where his father was a professor. He opted

to leave the dwindling horticulture department at A&M after visiting horticulture professor Dr. D.C. Kiplinger at Ohio State during an intercollegiate flower judging competition.

Impressed with the innovative studies Dr. Kiplinger’s students were involved with, he returned to Texas and sent the professor his transcript. Dr. Kiplinger’s response was to welcome him to the school and let him know that since school housing was already spoken for, he had rented his neighbor’s basement apartment for him. Neil recalls, “What a wonderful person and I couldn’t have been happier.”

So much so, that after a brief stint at Colorado State University to work on his graduate studies, Neil opted to return to Ohio State to complete his master’s degree.

In addition to his admiration for Dr. Kiplinger, there was another reason Neil chose to return to Ohio State. During his senior year, he had become engaged to his now-wife Lynn, a music and education student at the university.

The Sperrys wed in 1967 and returned to Texas in 1970 when Neil

got a job with the Extension Service at the Texas A&M Center in Dallas. One of his responsibilities was to produce radio broadcasts for the Extension Service. First settling in Farmers Branch, both longed for a more rural environment to raise their family. That’s when Neil met McKinney resident and realtor George Fields at a Kiwanis Club meeting. After 39 years, the Sperrys still live in their McKinney home on 11 acres that George found for them.

In 1978, Neil switched to commercial radio, first working for WFAA. That same year he began broadcasting his 5-minute “Plant Talk Texas” that continues to air on a number of stations across the state. Two years later, he moved to KRLD where he hosted a local weekend gardening talk show. With the growing popularity of this radio program, and later his “Texas Lawn and Garden Hour,” he quickly became the go-to gardening expert across the state.

Airing live from 11 a.m. to noon every Saturday in over two dozen cities, today “Texas Lawn and Garden Hour” offers his fans from Alpine to Bonham, Levelland to Victoria, an opportunity to get the answers to their gardening questions.

In 2010, Neil moved to WBAP AM/FM. Fans now listen to his “Texas Gardening” and phone in questions to him from 8 to 10 a.m., every Sunday morning. Revealing that the show is broadcast from his home, he explains that the time and locale allow him the opportunity to still go to church with his family afterward.

Taylor Publishing released the first edition of his popular Neil Sperry’s Complete Guide to Texas Gardening in 1982, and the revised second edition. Between the two editions, well over one million copies have been sold.

In 1997, he wrote 1001 Most Asked Texas Gardening Questions. “Nobody

knows much about that one,” Neil notes. “That publisher went out of business three weeks after it was put on the market. After they declared bankruptcy, I ended up buying all the remainders because they were nowhere to be found.”

Neil also published his popular Gardens magazine from 1987 until last year, and now Neil has opted for a free weekly e-gardens newsletter.

His latest book, the self-published Lone Star Gardening released in 2014, has proved so popular with fans that it is now in its second printing. This feat is even more remarkable since the book is not available through Amazon or retail stores. If you want a copy, it must be ordered directly through Neil’s website or purchased at locations where he is making presentations.

Explaining his dissatisfaction with his Complete Guide books because “they were done by committee with bottom line responsibilities,” Neil enjoyed the freedom to create the 344-page handbook he wanted. In addition, the 840 color photos were taken by Neil, and he was adamant the book be printed in the U.S.

Neil has also directed his horticultural expertise to his own community.

In 1991, he was savoring the blooming crape myrtles that adorned the medians of Stonebridge when a colorfully creative concept blossomed for him. A long-time admirer of Tyler’s Azalea Trail, that event inspired him to want to create something even more striking for McKinney.

“Their azaleas are beautiful, but they bloom for only three weeks,” he declares. “Crape myrtles bloom for three months for crying out loud, so let’s do something like that!”

In addition to the crape myrtles, the city is now home to the seven-acre World Collection Park. Dedicated in 2011, the park initially was home to all 125 identified varieties of crape

myrtles, but several of the varieties have been lost due to drought and harsh weather conditions and will need to be replaced. Neil estimates that the project boasts about 10,000 crape myrtles, and the park is now home to several hundred of these. Organizations and businesses regularly donate trees to the project.

Over the years, Neil has also served on a number of boards and given his time and talents for countless efforts, but two that he directs his passion toward today are McKinney ISD’s Serenity High School and the Denton State Supported Living Center.

So what trends is Neil seeing for North Texas gardeners?

“Native Texas plants have been a fad of the last 15 years or so,” he replies. “My dad was a range ecologist and my Uncle John taught plant taxonomy, and they always said that it doesn’t matter if a plant is native, it needs to be adapted to where you are going to grow it.”

One trend Neil enjoys now is the brilliantly-colorful hybrids being grown by small plant breeders and propagators now being offered through independent retailers. On his Facebook page he recently raved about a new Crazytunia petunia hybrid. “The Purple Kermit has a purplish flower with green around the edges,” he enthuses. “It’s very striking.”

And the biggest mistake he sees amateur gardeners make is lack of planning. “They don’t anticipate the size of a plant when they plant it; and even before that, they don’t have a plan for their landscape,” he explains, “You wouldn’t just buy a chair you like and put it in the living room. You would match it up with the other things you have. But many people find a home for a plant rather than a plant for the home.”

But no one needs to despair over their lack of gardening expertise because Neil is always ready to help. u

To learn more about Neil and his gardening wisdom, what he offers gardening aficionados, sign up for his weekly e-gardens newsletter, discover what stations run his Texas Lawn and Garden Hour, or order his Lone Star Gardening or handmade pens, go to www.neilsperry.com.

For information on The Crape Myrtle Trails and World Collection Park, go to www.crapemyrtletrails.org.

To ask Neil questions, tune in to WBAP 8-10 a.m. Sunday mornings and call with your queries to 800-288-WBAP (9227). To listen via streaming, go to www.wbap. com, or through the WBAP app or other streaming radio app.