February 2010

BETWEEN FRIENDS

as our annual color issue, February's Better Homes and Gardens is always full of beautiful hues. But my letter this month focuses on just one color: red, the signature hue of the American Heart Association's "National Wear Red Day" February 5.

Add color inside and out

Yum yum! create a cookie online

Brighten Your Yard with Bulbs

Make quick, delish dishes for your heart

Love notes

Things to do this month...

Random Acts of Kindness week begins Feb. 15. Make a powerful yet simple gesture to a stranger: Pick up the tab for the car behind you in a drive-through or the person behind you at the coffee shop.

Qa What's the best way to make cut flowers last longer?

INDISPENSABLE: PRETTY VASE

3 super bowls

Romantic reads

Blogged...

$16 message in a bottle

Sweet treats

Big ideas come in small packages. These key chain-size gadgets store more while you're on the go.

Share the love

Stylemaker Matthew Mead makes our hearts race with simple handmade gifts.

Beyond beige

A family who once knew only neutrals settles into a comfort zone with fresh, livable colors.

Citrus

Hues inspired by pink grapefruit and blood oranges are a zesty antidote to the winter blahs.

Dream room

A restful palette, cozy bedding, and the right nightstand will make your bedroom a cocoon of color and comfort.

The everything room

When your home has only one living space, it needs to work hard. That was designer Elaine Griffin's reaction when she first saw Kathy and Dennis Merget's living room. The couple have two demanding jobs, four boys, and one 17x27-foot living space with blue shag carpet! "The Mergets are an athletic family, and their furniture arrangement showed that," says Elaine. "It was perfect for tossing the football

30 tips & tricks. for choosing, using, and loving color

1 "Pick colors using objects as your guide-- an old celadon teapot, the burnt sienna in a paisley fabric, a blade of grass. It's so much more lively than paint chips. I always, always, always start with a 'thing.'"

Isn't it romantic

Gallons of paint, an abundance of pink, and some glitzy touches create a highly feminine home that's still perfectly practical.

Shelf life

An easy-to-install wall system and a few simple organizational tricks turn a basement walkway into a tidy workstation.

The view from here

No matter how you look at it, this garden-- designed for beautiful vistas-- is a sight to see.

Spring social

Mix colorful bulbs with perennials for a dazzling early-season show. After the flowers fade, the yellowing bulb foliage will seem to simply disappear as perennials fill in.

'Til spring comes

TALKING POINTS

Qa: How soon can I plant cool-season flowers?

Looking for an angle

GOTCHA COVERED

4 things to do for soon-to-arrive birds

THIS MONTH IN THE GARDEN

What do you think?

Got a juice guzzler?

{By the numbers} 20 The percentage of people in the U.S. who suffer winter blues

YOGAHAHAHA

Great ginseng

Qa What new nutrient should I look for in my multivitamin?

{Five to buy} healthy, hearty soups

Doctors on call

Two for the road

Make a mother-daughter getaway the trip of two lifetimes.

Basics training

Your child may be years away from leaving home, but the time to start teaching grown-up life skills is now.

$75 Cost of a dozen roses or a

TRADE YA!

Qa We're almost ready to retire and still owe about $100,000 on our house...

Please send $$$

I did it!