PubDate: 05-30-2010
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HOME&GARDEN Coming next Sunday
‘ALICE’ CHESS PIECES
Protecting hostas
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Online
THE FLOWERS OF MAY
Bait can stop slugs’ munching H5
Artful figures to be on tour
SUNDAY MAY 30, 2010
Dispatch.com/multimedia
Coral candles by Pottery Barn ($10 to $19)
Rope knot doorstop by Warm Biscuit ($46)
ERICH SCHLEGEL
NEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVICE
Growing crops such as these tomatoes upside down deters pests and weeds and saves space.
Cove away from cove Nautical themes offer a cooling air of elegance
Upside down gains fans as way to grow By Kate Murphy NEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVICE
By Kim Cook
Sand dollar lamp by WilliamsSonoma ($295)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
W
ith the summer upon us, many of us are thinking about oceans, rivers and lakes, those calming bodies of water that beckon us. How do you keep the vacation alive after it has ended — or keep the dream of vacation alive before it has begun? Nautical motifs in decorating. If that has you thinking kitsch, think again. This year’s designs are all about stylish accessories and contemporary graphics far removed from the whimsies of beach-side souvenir shops. Adding a few nautical touches to even the most landlocked home can evoke a nice summery vibe.
With an emphasis on natural elements and a quieter palette, the decorative pieces tend to be textural and more subdued. You don’t have to live anywhere near sand to give the impression that you’ve enjoyed some excellent beachcombing. Pottery Barn stocks resin sand dollars and striking alphabet cone shells to dress a mantel or fill a clear vase. Add some sugary white sand, river pebbles or beach gravel for a no-maintenance accent that will last all season. Take a look at what retailers are offering.
Alphabet cone shells by Pottery Barn ($19)
Sail pillows printed with numbers by Wisteria ($89) Resin sand dollars by Pottery Barn ($19)
Sea grass, sand dollar, sea urchin and starfish wreath by Williams-Sonoma ($78)
Nautical wall clock by Warm Biscuit ($92.50)
If pests and blight are wrecking your plants, it might be time to turn your garden on its head. Growing crops that dangle upside down from homemade or commercially available planters is growing more popular, and its adherents swear they’ll never come back down to earth. “I’m totally converted,” said Mark McAlpine of Guelph, Ontario, who began growing tomatoes upside down two years ago because cutworms were ravaging the ones he planted in the ground. He made six planters out of 5-gallon plastic buckets. He cut a 2-inch hole in the bottom of each bucket and threaded a tomato seedling down through the opening, packing strips of newspaper around the root ball to keep it in place. He then filled the buckets with soil mixed with compost and hung them on sturdy steel hooks bolted to the railing of his backyard deck. “Last summer was really hot, so it wasn’t the best crop, but I still was able to jar enough whole tomatoes, half tomatoes, salsa and tomato sauce to last me through the winter,” said McAlpine, who plans an additional six upsidedown planters this year. Upside-down gardening, primarily of leggy crops such as tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers, is more common partly because of the ubiquity of Topsy Turvy planters, available at retailers such as Walmart, Walgreens and Bed Bath & Beyond. According to the company that licenses the planter, Allstar Products Group in Hawthorne, N.Y., sales this year are twice last year’s, with 20 million sold since the device was invented in 2005. Not to be outdone, Gardener’s Supply and Plow & Hearth recently began selling rival upside-down planters. “Upside-down gardening is definitely a phenomenon,” said Steve Wagner, senior product manager for Plow & Hearth. The advantages of upside-down gardening are many: It saves See UPSIDE DOWN Page H2
With outdoor spaces, the sky is the limit By Melissa Rayworth Genevieve Gorder, host of HGTV's Battle on the Block HGTV
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Homeowners with sprawling backyards often put at least a bit of effort into decorating their outdoor entertaining space. Maybe they splurge on some high-end outdoor furniture and an elaborate grill, plus a few accessories to give the space style. But what about the rest of us? When a home has more modest outdoor space — perhaps a porch or patio, or a balcony off the master bedroom — these limited spaces are often ignored. Genevieve Gorder often sees clients who paid top dollar for a condominium with a small patio or balcony only to ignore the space because they don’t know what to do with it. Gorder, host of HGTV’s Battle on the Block and a judge on HGTV Design Star, says these small and mid-size spaces can seem tough to tackle.
Taking indoor comforts such as a fireplace, comfy chairs and an ottoman outdoors makes for memorable times.
“Any outdoor spaces can be kind of intimidating,” agrees designer Brian Patrick Flynn, founder of decor demon.com. “When you design a room, you have four walls, and it’s easy to conceptualize what will fill it. Outside, the possibilities are endless, and you don’t really have a sense of scale. The sky goes on forever.” But there are great design strategies for turning even the most unexceptional deck or patio into an inviting space for outdoor entertaining this summer:
Feature the floor “The biggest impact for your buck is to focus on the floor,” Flynn says. See OUTDOORS Page H2
05-30-2010
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