A garden is a labor of love, even if it's just a couple of containers on a balcony. It takes time, attention and love. And normally it pays us back 3 fold with beauty, fruit and a sense of having created something lovely. So when snails, slugs or aphids start attacking, here are 5 natural repellents to keep your garden happy and healthy...
Last week we met up with a retired Apartment Therapy editor while shooting a house tour down in Costa Mesa. He showed us some sights and we stopped in at The Camp, an outdoor mall, for a quick bit to eat in a yurt. Despite being a mall, the landscaping was gorgeous: lots of succulents and xeriscaping, raised vegetable beds and the best looking green roof we've seen...
One of our favorite pastimes is losing ourselves in the fantasy of living in a modern little prefab on a hill. Often, reality comes crashing in when we realize how expensive prefabs can be. Then we imagine being able to DIY something (not that we've ever built even a treehouse) but if we were to tackle building our dream house, we'd start right here with some (almost) free plans for 3 different styles of tiny homes...
We know it's only Wednesday, but we're thinking ahead. We've been living somewhat stressed out recently and the last thing we need is to have more chores on the list. So right now the plants are lucky they're getting watered, forget about maintenance (though we did give them some worm gold over the weekend). This image reminded us that though you can dress your balcony (or any outdoor space) to the nines, sometimes its more important to have a spot to sit down and just enjoy the view...
We love it when readers send in their industrious ideas for building furniture. We've blogged using shipping pallets as furniture before, but reader cathinca actually made it happen. Here's how her small deck started, see the final results below:
Right up there with putting your pillows in the sun, this tip comes directly from my grandmother who was matter of fact and eco friendly back when it was just called being frugal. Not only was she an avid gardener, but because she was a southern california gardener she was always very aware of water consumption. So whenever it rained not only did she move most of the plants to a spot where they could catch the rainwater but she also put out barrels and bowls to collect as much of it as she could:
posted originally from: AT:LA
The Green Life opened last July as a smart design meets earth friendly boutique carrying all kinds of organic bedding, non toxic cleansers, and things for home and garden. This week they launched their online store along with free shipping on Amenity Home Duvet covers:
posted originally from: AT:LA
Supporting our local communities with either our time or our money helps to strengthen where we live and makes the community a richer place to be. As you consider gifts this year, think about gifts that are fun for the recipient, don't take up shelf space and also help support local arts and non profits:
posted originally from: AT:LA
On one of our walks we spotted something unexpected at the house of the famed landscape architect and Venice resident Jay Griffith:
posted originally from: AT:LA
Thanks to Rowena who pointed out that Martha Stewart has blogged her favorite eco-friendly way to clean up her pets' accidents (specifically when they grace her sisal carpeting which is normally a total nightmare to clean).
posted originally from: AT:LA
We talk a lot about the wonders of adding a coat of paint to spruce up, well, life. It seems the right color can transform a room or a piece of furniture into something so awesome you hardly recognize it. Painting is normally a quick endeavor that can happen in an afternoon or over a weekend. Make it green by checking out a paint that doesn't have harmful fumes and toxins, aka a low or no VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) paint:
posted originally from: AT:LA
Hanging out in the returns area at Ikea we were reminded a) we hate returning things, it always takes forever and b) oh yeah you can recycle toner cartridges, light bulbs and batteries at Ikea.
posted originally from: AT:LA
Have stubborn rust stains in your toilet bowl? If you live in an older apartment then chances are you do. As much as we try to stay green with our cleaning products, sometimes it seems like you have to go harsh to tackle a major stain like rust. But we just read on the queen of clean that Tang sprinkled around the bowl and left for an hour or two will do the trick. And it's non toxic.
posted originally from: AT:LA
We can now count Target as a supplier of great living wreaths along with one of our favorites, vivaterra. We bought our Christmas tree at the Target in Culver City and spied these little gems in the garden center. They're pretty and compact and, of course, alive. What we especially love is that once the season is over we can plant these in our garden, give away cuttings to our friends or just keep the wreath alive for as long as we want.
posted originally from: AT:LA
Yes I live without a dishwasher. I'm certain I can't be the only one. I also do a lot of baking which means a lot of washing up. Did I mention I only have a one sink sink, instead of a two sided sink?
posted originally from: AT:LA
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