The patriotic garden decor that honors a veteran well is usually quiet. Pick one strong focal piece, fly the flag the way the Flag Code describes, plant red, white and blue flowers that can take a Texas summer, and leave a place to sit. For a veteran who has died, add a plaque and a […]
There’s no right way to spend Mother’s Day without mom, and no wrong one. Many people get through it with a small plan: a visit to her place, her recipe on the stove, a few stories told out loud, or a quiet day with the phone off. The first year is often rough, and later […]
The Mother’s Day garden gifts a mom of three tends to keep are the ones about her family: a Mama Bird Stake with three eggs in the nest, one for each child, set where she’ll see it from the kitchen. Add a plant that’s ready to go in the ground in May, and an hour […]
For many people, seeing a butterfly after someone dies feels like a visit, a quiet sense that the person is close. Nobody can prove that, and nobody can take it from you either. The idea is very old: the word psyche is Greek for both “soul” and “butterfly”. Below are seven honest answers to the […]
Christmas gnomes come from the Swedish tomte and the Norwegian and Danish nisse, small bearded spirits said to live in the barn or under the house and protect the farm. Families paid them in Christmas Eve porridge. Today a Christmas gnome stands for a well-kept home, a cozy winter and a little luck. That’s the […]
Good native plants for birds in Texas give them something in every season: berries from yaupon, possumhaw and Texas persimmon, seeds from Maximilian sunflower and little bluestem, nectar from Turk’s cap and autumn sage, and cover from live oaks, cedar elms and agarita. Plant in fall, put out shallow water, and leave the seed heads […]
Hummingbirds in Central Texas start arriving in March, black-chinned around the second week and ruby-throated about two weeks later, according to a Travis Audubon forecast. Some stay to nest through summer. Then a second wave passes through on the way south, and Texas Parks and Wildlife says fall migration peaks in mid-September. That’s the short […]
An owl decoy works for a little while, if at all. Birds learn fast that a plastic owl never moves, and the Cornell Lab notes that plastic owls may work at first, but woodpeckers get used to them. Moving it often and adding motion helps some. Netting, blocking access and taking away food do the […]
Good sympathy gift ideas keep helping after the flowers fade: a meal, a specific offer of help, a donation in their name, a tree or plant, a framed photo, a handwritten letter, or something for the garden they’ll see every day. Pick what fits the person, send it when it’s needed, and say why in […]
Steel is the traditional 11th anniversary gift on the American list, and The Knot describes it as symbolizing the strength and durability of a partnership. Eleven years in, a marriage has been tested a few times and held. Steel is a fair way to say so. That’s the short answer. The rest of this guide […]
