Michigan Home and Garden

Sharing the gardeners' ultimate "Joy"

2009-07-13T18:20:39Z

It's amazing, really, how a well-established garden can be a bounty of wealth when separated and shared. Recently, when friends Sue and Terry Bray asked me for some help reworking a garden at the Saginaw County Fairgrounds, I was more...

This character-filled house: Couple's 1861 home featured in 'This Old House' magazine

2009-07-12T11:15:00Z

Bradley and Alma Egen describe themselves as "old house people." Their current home, however, was not easy to get. Once they found it, they had to persuade the owner to sell it. And since they bought it, they've had three years of ongoing lists of projects to get it to be the home it is today.

Take that 'reel' mower and wrap it in recording tape

2009-07-12T11:00:00Z

I'm reeling in response to last week's column. That's where push came to shove, and my then-five-months-pregnant wife, who had been mowing the lawn, put the reel mower in my hands. "Surely the reason your pregnant wife had trouble pushing...

Couple raises 'artist version of a circus family' at Grand Rapids homestead that serves as open gallery, garden

2009-07-12T09:21:27Z

All eight Beerhorsts are artists, with even the youngest children contributing time and talent.

Yard and garden pest will not prevail!

2009-07-05T12:05:20Z

Seems we have a grub problem. Yippee! As if it isn't fun enough to get rid of those creepy crawlers, you know the moles and Japanese beetles won't be far behind! When we had moles a few years back, my...

As years go by, the yard -- and the yardwork -- grow

2009-07-05T11:00:00Z

Family history has a way of repeating itself. When I used to call my parents out West, my mother's standard question was: "When are you going to come home and mow the lawn?" Now, my parents didn't have a typical...

Labyrinths add peace, spirituality to backyards

2009-07-05T07:46:58Z

Jon M. Brouwer | The Grand Rapids PressMarjie Morrison, of Lowell, picks weeds out of her backyard Labyrinth at her house. Brenda Pawl finds her peace beneath the craggy branches of a near 100-year-old catalpa tree in her side yard,...

Tips for building your own labyrinth

2009-07-05T07:46:57Z

Lowell Township's Marjie Morrison teaches workshops on labyrinths -- their history and how people can construct them. She is helping to construct an outdoor labyrinth on the grounds of the Wittenbach Wege Center in Vergennes Township, hoped to be completed...

Looks like some heat relief in store!

2009-06-29T17:10:24Z

Some of my plants are saying enough is enough! After the 90-plus heat we experienced here in the week or so, leaves are crisp and tattered on my cora bells and hostas while my daisies that were set to...

A Salute to Summer: Red, white, blue star in patriotic tableware

2009-06-29T11:05:00Z

Most folks think of fireworks on the lawn when pressed to describe a Fourth of July celebration....

A Salute to Summer: Red, white, blue star in patriotic tableware

2009-06-29T11:05:00Z

Most folks think of fireworks on the lawn when pressed to describe a Fourth of July celebration. But many hosts know the kitchen is where you see the true colors of the holiday....

Warning: Don't cultivate mushrooms on your deck

2009-06-28T11:00:00Z

"Dad!" my older son exclaimed as I awoke following a late-night work shift. "You need to come and see this!" "Come and see what?" I asked, still in a daze. "The mushrooms!" he said with concern.Photo by Stan Harrison A...

From storybook to dream to reality: Westnedge Hill home looks as though it's straight out of the pages of 'Hansel and Gretel'

2009-06-27T12:00:00Z

Imagine living in a storybook-style home. For Rex and Holly Ringle, the imagination turned into a dream and then became a reality when they purchased their Westnedge Hill home.

Four gardens, chain-saw action on Hesperia tour

2009-06-21T11:00:00Z

HESPERIA -- Four gardens. A chain-saw woodcarving demonstration. Strawberry shortcake on the lawn of the local library. A book and plant sale. A return invitation for September. It must be the 2009 Hesperia Area Garden Tour....

Digital TV reception problems linger

2009-06-21T11:00:00Z

Things never seem to go exactly as advertised. Such was the case with our switch to digital television on June 12. Yes, the antennas we built to receive the new digital signals function as they should. Yes, we do get...