May 1997

Between friends

A Dab Will Do You

For these projects, cellulose and natural sea sponges pair up with painter's tape and water-based paint for some new twists on the age-old technique of sponge painting.

Amazing vase

Selecting a vase for your flower arrangements is sort of like picking out a swimsuit: Put the wrong suit on the wrong body type and the results could be less than ideal.

Luscious Lilacs

If you're searching for the latest in floral motifs, look no further than your grandmother's garden. Old-fashioned blooms are enjoying a resurgence-- on fabric and as decorative accents for the home.

Anniversary Sampler

To celebrate the 75th birthday of Better Hermes and Gardens magazine, we've created this homespun cross-stitch sampler for our readers.

Your Guide to Guidance

As today's schools juggle the many educational needs of American children, perhaps no one has more balls in the air than the school counselor. He's cheerleader and hall monitor.

Mother's Day Gifts

These gifts will delight your mom and help homeless families, too. Part of each purchase goes to The Better Homes Fund, the nonprofit charity founded by Better Homes and Gardens to help homeless parents and kids. A card with each gift explains your donation.

Complex Carbohydrates

They're the best thing since sliced bread

Used Motor Oil: Pour Choices

Smart About Wood

ASBESTOS: BETTER LEFT UNDISTURBED

Stylish Spring Projects

Elegant Arbor

Just as a room divider defines indoor spaces, this elegant arbor defines and divides quiet garden and lively swimming pool areas.

Creating mood in the garden

Diamond Jubilee Rose

To celebrate the 75th birthday of Better Homes and Gardens magazine, we've had this charming rose grown exclusively for our readers.

Perennial Gardening

Glorious Daylilies

We are pleased to offer each of the long-blooming daylily varieties suggested by our editors on page 128. From Oakes Daylilies, the extra-large, triple-division-size plants are made up of at least three fans. You can expect blooms at the end of the first season and blooms for up to 14 weeks in subsequent seasons.

EDITOR'S CHOICE

A Green Sheen and a Bold Gold

The Grapes Get Sun-Ripened So You Don't

Between a Plant and a Hard Place

Young Pawpaws Need Protection

There's One Grown Every Minute

Breaking news

Daylilies like to mingle

Do not call this daylily yellow. No longer are all daylilies lemon-colored, and no longer are they too timid to venture out of the safety of their regimented daylily beds. Now the daylily feels quite comfortable in perennial beds and mixed flower borders.

Brightened by Leaves

Ellen Coster and Maurice Isaac were garden neophytes not all that long ago. But as their Mattituck, New York, garden has grown, so they have learned. A talented and helpful designer set them on the garden path, and now they know how to enjoy a colorful yard throughout the growing season, even during the usually ho-hum transitional times.

The cottage cleans up

Throw open the windows. Sweep away the cobwebs. Air out the rugs. Like a good spring cleaning, Shelley Golden has shaken the dust out of cottage-style decorating. In her romantic Michigan home, she creates pared-down spaces filled with personality and warmth.

Decorating then & now

"Wicker is hot." "Slipcovers are in." "Bringing nature indoors is the latest rage.

Good morning kitchens

There's no better way to get the day started than in the company of the sun's morning rays.

Nutrition Information

With each recipe, we give important nutrition information. The calorie count of each serving and the amount, in grams, of fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, carbohydrates, fiber, and protein will help you keep tabs on what you eat.

A Case for Stairs

Tread lightly if you are planning a staircase for a new or remodeled home. Stairs add beauty and value when skillfully built, but a design misstep can cause the project to stumble. Here are some tips.

Kids' Water Garden

We're Growing Our Web Site

Better Homes and Gardens Online is growing bigger and better every day. Just in time for spring planting, we're premiering our new gardening section. Looking for the best perennials, trees, or shrubs? Our garden editors share their picks for the best of the best.

Remodeling Survival

With careful planning, it is possible to survive major renovations.

Laundry solutions

On a gentle morning, the youthful Spring Princess twirls herself into her royal robes-- clean sheets drying on a clothesline. But her mother, revealing her commoner's origins, chides, "No, dear. I'm not washing again today!" It's always been this way: Some of us are drawn to the sweet smell of laundry on a line while others are focused on the sheer work of the wash. Surely there must be a middle ground where cleaning becomes less a chore and more a simple, diverting task. There is, if you employ some of the laundry-room strategies in the pages ahead.

A New Focus on Safety

Despite their sales success, Japanese car-makers have been slow to emphasize safety. Toyota appears to be changing that with its 1997 Camry, a welcome shift that could make a good car even better.

Backyard Pond

Did you know that many plants can grow in the water? You can see for yourself if you make a water garden. Adding creatures can help keep the water clean. Turn the pages for directions on making a pond for your yard.

The man next door

Spring is in the air, and while many folks are outside on weekends getting a start on their gardens, police are warning residents to lock their front doors. They don't want crooks to reap an abundant harvest of their own.