In the world of garden shrubs, the rose of Sharon has a lot going against it. The leaves are drab with no fall color; the bush is twiggy, stiff and ungainly; and the light-gray bark is simply dull. But the rose of Sharon has one redeeming quality: In mid- to late summer, it has something […]

Imagine a 60-pound bumblebee, a seven-foot-tall rose or a butterfly with a five-foot wingspan. You can actually see these and 24 more incredible Lego sculptures at the “Nature Connects” exhibit at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in Richmond, Virginia. Yes, artist Sean Kenney uses the same Lego pieces you use in your much smaller creations – […]

Humans are amazingly resilient in crises, but some cope with life’s stresses better than others. On any given day people face any number of minor annoyances such as being stuck in traffic or spilling coffee on their shirts or forgetting their keys. Then there’s the persistent stressors that come from work, relationships and finances. And […]

Kate McDermott, the Piechiatrist, once spent 2 1/2 years testing just crust recipes and owns 98 pie pans. She conducts workshops in her Port Angeles, Wash., home, which she has dubbed “Pie Cottage,” and holds frequent therapy sessions on Facebook Live. So, who better to turn to for piemaking advice – especially after pulling a […]

Our smartphones keep getting smarter. Not only do they help us talk to each other, they also help us avoid talking to each other. They alert us to breaking news and notify us when it’s time to leave for appointments. They know how long it will take to drive to work and which routes will […]

The garden is looking a bit dry. The tomatoes have those deep indentations that show they haven’t been growing properly with the right amount of water. And pulling weeds is easy because the soil is almost like sand. If you are able to water your garden, it should be done regularly these days. I keep […]

Big Daddy Tug offers seasoned advice on the best ways to barbecue There’s nothing like the aroma of wood smoke and the flavors it creates in a well-smoked meal. We’re talking authentic barbecue: Slow cooking at low temperatures with tiny tendrils of thin, bluish-white smoke allowing the natural juices to break down the essence of […]

Hallways are the most underappreciated, overlooked design opportunity in your house. Think about how many times you pass through them each day. What if they were something special? When designing halls for his clients, Washington interior decorator Jonathan Senner prefers more of a classic look, with neutral walls and a salon-style gallery. In hers, Seattle-based […]

Some pore over baby-name books. Or think back to favorite movie stars or characters from fiction. Many turn to a family tree, hunting for inspiration among beloved relatives and long-lost ancestors. For a transgender person in transition, the act of choosing a new name often isn’t that different from naming a new baby. Except, of […]

There are roughly 3.4 million women in the San Francisco Bay area, and Sebastian Stadil has swiped right on 203,000 of them. Mathematically speaking, that means Stadil — or, more accurately, a piece of software he built to swipe and message for him — has approached roughly 6 percent of San Francisco’s total female population. And […]