At Home Living 071616

Saturday, July 16, 2016 An advertising feature of The Topeka Capital-Journal

Xeriscaping

Yard requires little water, maintenance, page 6  Jamie Kidd on summer bugs, page 2  Home sales spike in Topeka area, page 3  Moving? Tips for an easier transition, page 7  Incorporating heirlooms into decor, page 9

homes.cjonline.com Trish williams/Special to THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL

2 | Saturday, July 16, 2016 | The Topeka Capital-Journal | homes.cjonline.com

Don’t let summer gardens ‘bug’ you Is summer beginning to bug you? If not, it will soon.

You put in all that hard work in the spring preparing the ground, conscientiously selecting your flowers and vegetables, carefully planting them in just the right spot, stepping back and admiring your efforts and for what?

To have rude little invaders feasting before you do?

Who are these party crashers?

Stink bugs

Stink bugs, which are shaped somewhat like a warrior’s shield, are “true bugs” because they have piercing and sucking mouthparts.

The stink bug is recognized easily by its distinct “aroma,” which is used to fend off predators.

Much like skunks, stink bugs don’t have to move

Jamie KiDD

jamiehan@ksu.edu

quickly; they just turn and spray. Actually, they dribble.

Stink bugs can’t bite. However, if provoked, they may prick you with their mosquito-like beak. This same beak is used to pierce tomato skins and suck out juices. Small golden-yellow, pink or white spots appear on the tomato and are known as “cloudy spot.”

Heavy feeding will cause the spots to enlarge and give the tomato a golden color.

Hard, whitish, callous tissue

develops beneath the skin at the wound site.

Stink bugs will be gone before you notice the damage, so control measures are impractical or impossible.

Fortunately, the feeding period for stink bugs is short, and the fruit is still safe to eat even if it looks a little funny.

Squash bugs

Squash bugs are dark gray to dark brown. The shieldshaped bugs feed on plants the same way stink bugs do, only they’re more destructive.

Squash bugs suck the life out of the plant or squash.

Their feeding causes yellow spots that eventually turn brown. The feeding also disrupts the flow of water and nutrients, which can cause the plant to wilt.

Squash bugs mainly feed

MARK YOUR CALENDARS

n The Shawnee County Fair will be July 21-24 at the Kansas Expocenter, S.W. 19th Street and S.W. Topeka Boulevard. In addition to entertainment, the fair features art, food, plant and animal exhibits. n The Shawnee County Extension Master Gardeners will present “Fall Lawn Care” at 7 p.m. Aug. 11 at the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library, 1515 S.W. 10th Ave. The free program will focus on proper fall lawn care, which might include overseeding an existing lawn or establishing a new lawn. on pumpkins, squash and some cucumbers. It’s all but impossible to kill the adults, so it’s essential to inspect your plants for infestation and treat the immature bugs.

KIDD continues on 5

homes.cjonline.com | The Topeka Capital-Journal | Saturday, July 16, 2016 | 3

Topeka-area home sales up 9.2 percent in May

By Shanna Sloyer

Special to The Capital-Journal

Homes sales were up for the first half of 2016 in the Topeka area — good news for anyone considering putting a house on the market in the foreseeable future.

According to the Sunflower Association of Realtors, home sales in Topeka were up 9.2 percent in May to 343 units, compared to 314 sold houses in May 2015. Total sales revenue was $50.2 million, an 11.8 percent increase from a year earlier.

Also promising, the median sale price of homes increased to $132,900 in May, up from $129,500 in May 2015. Homes spent an average of 19 days on the market before selling and sold for 99 percent of their listed asking price.

“One of the things that stands out the most is the decrease in days on the market and the increase in the sale price sellers are getting on their homes,” said Carrie Calhoon, president of the Sunflower Association of Realtors and a Realtor with Reece & Nichols.

Calhoon attributes the trend to houses that have been priced competitively from the beginning.

“Listing your home for the right price is important,” Calhoon said. “If it’s too high, it will sit longer.”

Justin and Michelle Garner recently sold their North Topeka home for the full asking price within four days of listing it.

With the help of a Realtor, the Garners looked at comparable sales in their neighborhood.

They also averaged the information to price their home by number of square

feet of available living space.

“It surprised us how quickly it happened — how fast people responded and were interested and how quickly we received our first offer,” Michelle said.

“Find a good Realtor to help you through the process. We would have had no idea how to go about selling by owner. It was a relief knowing we had someone who knew what they were doing.”

For buyers looking to purchase a home in the Topeka area, the supply of homes on the market

is down while demand is up, which could result in buyers having less room for negotiation on a listed asking price. In May 2015, 1,030 active listings for homes were available, compared with 884 units at the same time this year.

The median list price for homes on the market at the end of May was $109,900.

During the first six months of 2016: n The number of homes sold was 1,306, compared to 1,219 for the same period last year, reflecting a 7.1 percent increase. n The median sale price

rose 2.9 percent, from $113,000 in 2015 to $116,250 this year. n The median number of days a house stayed on the market decreased to 29, down from 38 in 2015.

With statistics trending toward a seller’s market, Calhoon doesn’t anticipate sales stalling during the second half of 2016.

“It’s staying strong,” she said. “I haven’t seen any indication of home sales slowing down.”

Shanna Sloyer is a freelance writer from Topeka. You can reach her at ssloyer@yahoo.com.

Find out more about your favorite listings at homes.cjonline.com

4 | Saturday, July 16, 2016 | The Topeka Capital-Journal | homes.cjonline.com

homes.cjonline.com | The Topeka Capital-Journal | Saturday, July 16, 2016 | 5

Kidd: Kansas invaded by Japanese beetle Continued from 2 Squash bugs lay eggs on the underside of leaves, especially between the veins where they form a “V.” Eggs also might be deposited on stems. Eggs will be laid from early June through mid-summer. Eggs hatch in about 10 days. Nymphs — the immature bugs — require about four to six weeks to become adults.

There are several things you can do to control squash bugs: n If you have just a few plants, you can remove or knock the nymphs and adults from the plant

‘‘

The adults attack nearly 300 plant species, including fruits, vegetables, farm crops, ornamentals, trees and shrubs.”

Jamie Kidd, on japanese beetles

and then drop them into a pail of soapy water, which kills them. Watch for those hiding under the leaves. n Crush the eggs. n Trap squash bugs by laying out boards or pieces of newspaper. The bugs will congregate under the boards at night, and then they can be collected and destroyed in the morning.

n Remove plant debris during the growing season to reduce potential hiding spots. n Apply insecticides if plants are found wilting early in the season because of squash bugs.

The best time to apply insecticides is during low bee activity, which is early in the morning or late at night. Be sure to spray under the leaves.

Use products with at least one of these active ingredients: carbaryl, permethrin, rotenone or methoxychlor. Be sure the label indicates if the ingredient is safe to use on your vegetables or fruits and double check the number of days to observe before harvest.

Japanese beetle

Northeast Kansas has been invaded by the Japanese beetle. We’re no longer the exception.

Japanese beetles are extremely destructive pests.

The “white grub” stage is a serious turf pest. The

adults attack nearly 300 plant species, including fruits, vegetables, farm crops, ornamentals, trees and shrubs. I’m writing about them now because they are being misidentified. People are seeing the green June beetle and thinking they have Japanese beetles.

Japanese beetles have a brilliant metallic-green coloring and wing covers with a copper-brown or bronzish tinge. They have five vertical bands of white hair tufts that look like five white spots on each side of the abdomen and a pair of white hair tufts on the dorsal

surface of the last abdominal segment. They are active daytime fliers and feed gregariously.

Green June beetles have a green, almost velvety, coloration when viewed from above and a coppery-metallic underbelly. They are daytime fliers and big eaters.

Green June beetles produce an audible buzz similar to buzzing bees, but they don’t sting or bite. They are larger than Japanese beetles, but much less destructive.

Jamie Kidd is a horticulturist with K-State Research and Extension in Shawnee County.

6 | Saturday, July 16, 2016 | The Topeka Capital-Journal | homes.cjonline.com

Topeka couple’s xeriscaped yard needs no mowing

By Dianne Lawson

Special to The Capital-Journal

Glenda and Bruce Bower’s yard is full of beautiful plants, flowers and objects of art. It’s also full of birds, butterflies and bees — but no grass or lawnmower.

“We gave away our mower. Why are we watering the grass, I wondered?

It doesn’t look good anyway,” Glenda, a retired special education administrator, said. “We got interested in xeriscaping. After everything is established, you don’t have to water.

They didn’t say (you) don’t have to weed.”

The Bowers’ entire front yard is covered with plants, prompted by the gardens at the childhood home of William Shakespeare’s wife.

“I saw Anne Hathaway’s garden in Stratford-uponAvon, and it inspired me,” Glenda said.

The Bowers’ first objective was to have blooming plants, but now their goal is to have flowers that bloom at different seasons.

In the front yard is a large assortment of flowering plants, including candy tufts, daylilies and daisies.

Other plants, including red hot poker, butterfly bush, bee balm and coneflowers, have been planted to attract birds, butterflies and bees.

Glenda no longer puts out hummingbird feeders because her flowers attract the birds.

When Glenda started trying to attract pollinators to her yard, she focused on blooming flowers. Now, she also wants plants that are free of pesticides and from organic seeds.

“We want flowers blooming all year long so whoever is coming through can get a drink,” she said.

Glenda attended the annual Monarch Watch open house at the University of Kansas. The program has a

Photographs by Trish Williams/Special to THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL

Red hot poker and daisies are among the flowers that adorn the yard at the Topeka home of Glenda and Bruce Bowers.

Left: Among the touches that add character to the Bowers’ yard are a deer chaser water fountain, left, and a snow lantern. Right: The xeriscaped front yard at the Bowers’ house shows off a variety of flowers, plants and shrubs. demonstration garden and a plant sale every spring.

Glenda bought milkweed to attract monarchs to her yard, because she’s aware of the butterfly’s decreasing population and wanted to do her part to help.

The yard’s hen-andchickens succulent was salvaged from Glenda’s

mother’s property after the 1966 tornado.

“It’s probably the fourth or fifth generation,” she said.

The Bowers’ wedding rings were patterned after bittersweet. Because of that, they decided to plant bittersweet along their fence.

In the backyard is a walnut tree, notoriously hard to grow grass under.

Because the backyard is shady, they grow plants that don’t require sun.

“Hostas do well out here,” Glenda said, adding other trees include dogwood, redbud and Japanese maple.

In addition to the backyard containing shade-loving plants, it has objects of art scattered throughout.

A miniature deer chaser fountain — also called a bamboo-rocking fountain — keeps mosquitos away from the water because the fountain is constantly moving. The larger ver-

sions of the fountains were designed to frighten deer with their clanking noises.

A snow lantern reminds the Bowers of a Japanese garden in Portland, Ore. Bruce, who is retired and a former adviser at Capital City High School, built a small foot bridge that joins brick pathways that wind around plantings.

The Bowers have four bird feeders and a squirrel feeder. Three of the bird feeders are by the three bay windows in their dining room. The bird feeders contain cracked sunflower seeds, a general seed mix, cracked peanuts and safflower seeds. The seeds attract a wide variety of birds, including woodpeckers, American goldfinches and cardinals.

Bruce built a wooden pagoda squirrel feeder to keep the squirrels away from the bird feeders. Does it work? No. On a back corner of their house is a large screenedin porch, letting the Bowers, their dog and two cats look over the side and back of the yard. The cats like to watch birds eat at the bird feeders.

A pair of house wrens inhabit a gourd placed just outside their screened-in porch. Glenda said she’s not sure if it’s the same pair of birds every year, but assumes it is.

“Normie comes every year and makes a nest in the gourd. Naomi comes two weeks later and kicks his nest out and makes her own,” Glenda said. “Normie perches on the gourd and sings every morning.”

The Bowers live across the street from a park with a creek. They also see birds there, including bald eagles and kingfishers, as well as deer, fox and other animals. Glenda is keeping track of the number of species of birds she sees in her yard or at the park. The number is currently 66.

homes.cjonline.com | The Topeka Capital-Journal | Saturday, July 16, 2016 | 7

A little prep makes move into new home easier Estimated 17M to 20M move during summer Brandpoint It’s that time of year when college students are getting ready to move into dorms, young families are transitioning to new homes now that school is out, and retirees are looking for an easier, more maintenancefree living situation.

In fact, an estimated 17 million to 20 million people move during the summer months.

If you are among those about to start the next chapter in your life with a new home, follow these tips for an easier move,

Tribune news service

Millions of Americans move during the summer months.

A little planning, such as labeling boxes and reserving a truck early, can make the move go smoother. provided by the experts at Penske Truck Rental: n Prep for packing.

Save time by ordering your moving supplies, such as boxes, labels, bubble wrap and packing tape, online. Sometimes you can collect boxes at work or ask

your local grocery store if they have any available. n Purge before packing.

Less is better when moving belongings. It’s easier to throw away, donate, sell or give away items that you don’t need than it is to pack them and move them.

n Pack smart.

Begin with out-of-season and non-essential items.

Start early to avoid the stress of last-minute rushing. It’s OK to leave a box open; it’s much easier to tape a box shut on moving day than it is to pack at the last moment. n Label boxes well.

It only takes a moment to label a box, but it can save you hours of frustration later.

Start by labeling the room the box belongs in and then add details about contents, including warnings such as “fragile.” As you load the truck, try to keep boxes from each room grouped together. n Reserve a truck early.

Reserve your moving truck two weeks ahead of time. To get the right size truck, allow 150 cubic feet

of truck space for each fully furnished room. n Transfer services.

In addition to changing your address, call service providers and utilities to discontinue cable TV, trash collection, water, gas and electricity. Consider scheduling cut-off for a day or two after you move, just in case there is a delay and you still need those services. n Be ready the evening before.

Pick up your truck rental the evening before the move to save time on moving day. n Start early.

By leaving early in the morning, you’ll run into less traffic and have extra time to unload at your destination. Take turns driving and take breaks every two to three hours. Be pa-

tient and drive within the speed limits. n Drive wise.

Moving trucks are taller, wider and heavier than passenger vehicles. Keep in mind they require more distance to stop. Be aware of low-hanging tree branches and building overhangs.

Park only in well-lit areas and keep the rear door padlocked and the passenger compartment doors locked. n Keep important items close.

Create a travel bag to keep your phone, paperwork, credit cards, identification, a change of clothes, beverages and snacks close at hand. Have a passenger snap a few photos while you’re on the road and when you reach your destination.

A move is something to remember, after all.

8 | Saturday, July 16, 2016 | The Topeka Capital-Journal | homes.cjonline.com

homes.cjonline.com | The Topeka Capital-Journal | Saturday, July 16, 2016 | 9

Incorporate antiques, heirlooms into decor

By Katherine Roth The Associated Press

In this age of minimalism and decluttering, the common response to an offer of a family heirloom or antique might be, “I don’t have space,” ‘’It’s not my taste,” or simply “No thanks.”

Well, “pull yourself out of that as fast as you can and start saying yes,” urges Susan Sully, of Charleston, S.C., author of “Past Present: Living with Heirlooms and Antiques” (The Monacelli Press, 2016).

Unless you find a piece really ugly, she says, just take it.

“What’s so bad about temporarily having too much stuff?” Sully asks.

“The worst is saying no and having lost the precious tangible objects that tell the story of your family or a place you love.”

San Francisco decorator Ken Fulk, designer chairman of the New York Botanical Garden’s Antique Garden Furniture Fair, agrees: “No room is complete without something of age and provenance and character.”

And that show’s manager, antiques dealer Karen DiSaia, describes heirlooms and antiques as “the connective tissue of life, offering a feeling of depth and history.”

The trick to blending old

SUSAN SULLY/THE MONACELLI PRESS

One of the rooms in an 1850s Alabama farmhouse shows off numerous antiques and heirlooms. The room is featured in Susan Sully’s book, “Past Present: Living With Heirlooms and Antiques.” and new in your home’s decor is careful curating — and keeping an open mind, Sully says.

Her book is packed with photos and descriptions of 20 homes around the country, from a converted fire station to farmhouses to elegant city dwellings. She offers tips on displaying odd collections, setting inviting tables, arranging tabletop compositions, and bringing together objects from different styles and periods.

“Start by dropping all your preconceptions about what goes with what. Just put things together and see what happens,” she advises.

“Then rearrange them a few different ways and look at it

all again. You might have two pairs of completely different chairs, but put them together and you might be surprised.”

Create what Sully calls an “anchor lineup” and then have fun curating the small stuff: “You don’t need a lot of things in each room — just a few great pieces that converse with each other.

Start with an uncluttered, interesting foundation, with one or two interesting, eye-catching pieces in each room that are there to stay.

Then you can start a rotating exhibit of vases and lamps and oddments.”

The book includes the dining room of a Federal Revival home in Birmingham,

Ala., where a wall lined with gilded, leather-bound books and two sleek contemporary glass vases adds a warm yet airy backdrop for a heavy, dark-stained English library table. It’s surrounded by light-colored Hepplewhite-style dining chairs beneath an ornate Italian chandelier.

The parlor area in an

1880 home in San Antonio, Texas, features high Victorian detail and white furniture juxtaposed with strong colors in a series of Josef Albers lithographs. They share a corner with a small pile of painted wooden cubes found in an antique shop.

“I’ve always been interested in having at least one modern piece of furniture or contemporary painting in each room, so the house doesn’t look like a museum,” said the homeowner, banker and art collector Carl Groos.

Even for space-challenged apartment dwellers, antiques hold an important place.

After downsizing from a large home to a much smaller condominium, Atlanta antique collectors Stephanie and Bill Reeves grouped together portraits that had been displayed throughout their house.

“We displayed the portraits as if they were in a bigger room,” Bill Reeves

explains. “As a result, the space looks bigger.”

Sticking to a palette of taupe, gold and brown allowed them to bring together pieces from different continents and centuries in an elegant and understated way, they said.

And don’t treat heirlooms like stuffy museum pieces, Sully advises. Instead, “take what’s old and give it life again by actually using it. ...

Allow heirlooms to relate to the rest of the room. These are beautiful things with stories to tell and history to share.”

Use the fancy stemware and silver: “Life is short, and silver only really tarnishes when it’s unused. It wants to be handled and washed.

I hand-wash the knives, but throw the rest in the dishwasher and it looks great,” she says.

“If you mess it up, c’est la vie. But making heirlooms a part of your life adds depth and character, and makes every day more glamorous.”

TIP OF THE WEEK How to remove stains from fabric

To remove coffee or tea stains from fabric, rinse the affected area with cold water immediately.

Rub in a couple of drops of a mild, white dishwashing liquid and rinse well.

Then treat with a mixture of one-part white house-

hold vinegar and three-parts water. Rinse again and launder as you normally do.

Note: If cream was used in the coffee, you may have to sponge the stain with dry-cleaning fluid.

Source: www.heloise.com/

10 | Saturday, July 16, 2016 | The Topeka Capital-Journal | homes.cjonline.com

Service Directory

homes.cjonline.com | The Topeka Capital-Journal | Saturday, July 16, 2016 | 11

12 | Saturday, July 16, 2016 | The Topeka Capital-Journal | homes.cjonline.com