June 2000

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Garden Projects Galore

BH&G TV

Sit down, put your feet up, and enjoy Better Homes and Gardens Television. Let hosts Heidi and Michael Spound share inventive decorating ideas and delectable recipes-- all with a dollop of lighthearted fun. Then, we'll head out to the BH&G Test Garden, where expert Chris Dawson has a host of timely ideas for making your garden bloom with vigor.

Between friends

Making an Entrance

Give your entryway a welcome fix-up to increase style and function. This trio of before-and-after transformations will give you the inspiration and the know-how.

Take It to the Mat

A beautiful mat can be a work of art in itself. Think beyond shades-of-white mat board. Fabrics and art papers create custom looks for little time and money.

Sunny-Side Up

Let the sun shine in while hanging onto privacy with window treatments that join sheer and opaque fabrics. When you sew a see-through panel to the top of heavier fabric, you get the best of both worlds.

Heirloom Stitcheries

Paper Work

For a new twist, decorative papers dress windows affordably and simply-- with little or no sewing involved.

Shapely Garden Gate

Garden Benches

These seats hold a special place in our hearts and in our gardens because of what we do while sitting on them-- read, dream, think, or simply appreciate a well-tended view. To make the love affair last, pick outdoor pieces that are as sturdy as they are beautiful. Here's the latest on styles and materials.

It's Done with Mirrors

Outdoor Projects

No matter which way you head, a stroll in the woods yields nature's quiet little surprises-- a view framed by an arching bough, boulders fording a creek, a log lying right where you need a perch before pressing on. You can build that same sense of happy discovery into your own backyard by crafting picturesque and practical features like the ones gathered on these pages.

Choosing a New Roof

Decks with Extras

Turn a boring deck plan into a beautiful one by adding arbors, built-in benches, and planters that give blooms the platform they deserve.

Backyard Projeccts You Can Build

You can duplicate the projects and decks shown in this issue with our Better Homes and Gardens Project Plans. These professionally drawn wood-worker's blueprints are available only from the magazine and are not sold in retail stores. Each plan contains a photo of the project, a complete list of materials to get you started, detailed construction drawings, full-size patterns where appropriate, and clearly written instructions to take you step-by-step though the project.

Buildings for the Birds

Houses mostly, but also a couple of churches and a cone-roofed condo

Birdhouses to Build

Backyard Koi Pond

If Eastern meditation can soothe people's souls, a Japanese water garden could be an entire body wrap. That's what Pattie Honstein and husband Alan Eidson thought, so they built this center of serenity in their Santa Maria, California, backyard. It's a tranquil refuge from the stress and noise of their fast-paced lives.

Plant-Perching Deck Rail

Not a wagon--an 'estate' car

In parts of Europe, no one calls them station wagons. They're called estate cars, a more dignified term. Maybe that's one reason why these vehicles are more popular over there.

Service-Plus Laundry

Washing clothes isn't half the work it was years ago-- so it makes sense for a laundry room to hold more than just a washer and dryer. In many cases, it's a logical spot for working on hobbies or for storing recreational equipment, pet supplies, and nonperishable groceries.

Is your water a winner?

The water purification business is gushing with products. You can buy jugs of purified water at the grocery store, or whole-house purification systems from dealers. But don't be drawn in by scare-reports about dangerous water. If you're afraid that your water isn't safe, test it. Here are the common methods.

Enter the Better Homes and Gardens 2000 Home Improvement Contest

Whether you're redecorating a bedroom or starting a major remodeling job, your home improvement project may rate a top award.

Money Talk Pays Off for Kids

Add this to the list of a parent's embarrassing moments: Your 4-year-old-- the center of attention at his birthday party-- rips open his birthday cards and shakes them upside-down to see how much cash flutters out. You might want to move quickly onto serving the cake and ice cream, making a mental note to later explain to the birthday boy the meaning of "discreet." But don't fret about whether you're raising a greedy child. Instead, pat yourself on the back for instilling at an early age the concept that money has value.

Magnificent Obsessions

Growing up, we all knew kids who were collectors of things. Their passionate devotion to a stash of marbles, a box of baseball cards, or a chain of chewing gum wrappers intrigued us. Or maybe you were the collector and experienced firsthand the thrill of finding an item for which you'd been searching, or the delight at discovering something valuable at a garage sale or flea market.

Like a Velvet Painting

In our "backyard"

A Chicken in every plot?

Hiding heavy metal

Reader Shopping

A Vegetable in Every Pot

You may have no room for a vegetable plot out back, or no inclination to dig and hoe, but that's no reason to forgo a harvest of fresh produce. Plant your favorite vegetables and herbs in containers for a garden that demands no heavy labor-- just daily attention from a watering can. Container-grown vegetables can be surprisingly productive; the leaves harvested from a single pot of Italian arugula (above), for example, add their spicy zip to several weeks' worth of salads. And, as anyone who has ever bitten into a fresh-off-the-vine tomato will tell you, you can't beat homegrown flavor.

Bring the Garden Indoors

Outdoors-In Decorating Garden Style Projects from the editors of Better Homes and Gardens Books features 50 original, simple, affordable, and doable projects that will motivate you to bring a fresh garden motif inside.

Family hideaway

Lynda and Larry Lindsey made their garden for living. Every day from spring through fall, they eat breakfast and dinner on the patio, feed the fish, and sit together in the arbor. They started the garden 24 years ago and have added a project each year. More to come? Lynda laughs. "I usually have one."

Summer whites

Whether it's warm-weather dressing or weekend-friendly decorating, the same rules apply, says designer Connie Driscoll (right): "Keep it light and white." In her Nantucket cottage, classic furnishings have been dressed down in crisp neutrals and summer-weight fabrics. It's a look that's both playful and pedigreed-- and easy to live with, whatever the season.

Classic porches

Ahhh ... pool passes and flashlight tag. Remember the summers of your childhood? If you long to get back the footloose feeling of those endless days-- even for an hour-- then gather the family and head for the porch. Make your outdoor escape timeless with fresh lemonade and classic white wicker, and decorate the porch to be as comfortable as your family room. These two Charleston-area families share how they live outdoors without roughing it.

Holding court

Your house is your castle, but you don't need a king-size space when the subject is courtyards. Courtyards are like patios with walls, and they're most commonly added to the front of a house to enhance the entry and provide street-side privacy. But unused space on the side of your house, or even out back, can easily be converted to a courtyard.

The Best And the Brightest

Instead of blindly squeezing, pinching, and thumping your way through the produce section of your supermarket, here are better ways to choose fresh fruits and vegetables.

Storing It Smart

Improper food storage lets uninvited guests find their way into even the cleanest and best-kept kitchens. You may welcome family and friends, but don't show any hospitality to insects or other pesky undesirables. Remember: An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Is There a Doctor Online?

More than 33 million patients are expected to go online for health information this year. You can talk to a doctor (free of charge), purchase prescription drugs, chat with people who have medical problems similar to yours, and even find out if you are eligible for a clinical trial.

A WILD & WACKY Day for Dad

An egg dish not made from eggs! Coffee made with yogurt? A hug hidden in a card. We've got some surprising and crazy ways for you to say "Happy Father's Day."

The Shopper's Mart

The family next door