Orchids seduce, delight and frequently meet an untimely death. Muttering, “I killed another one,” often precedes the shopping trip to buy more exotic beauties.
When inviting orchids into the home, longevity will not be an option unless you are willing to perform basic plant maintenance. Already in bloom to attract buyers, the challenge is to keep an orchid alive and nurture it into multiple bloom cycles over several years.
In 1933, the United States Steel Corporation developed a very special steel. Some clever marketeer dubbed it corten, referring to its corrosion resistance and tensile strength.
This steel alloy was unique in that it used oxidation to its advantage. As corten rusts, it develops a protective layer, removing the need for paint or expensive weathering treatments. Akin to terra-cotta and adobe, corten steel’s natural patina lends anything built with it an earthiness that is irresistible.
When Jim Darke first moved into his house in South Land Park in 2019, he knew immediately he would convert the garage into an art studio.
The painter and cartographer downsized from his former home in Little Pocket, but knew he still wanted a space where he could spread out his art materials. Though he has a studio at Arthouse on R, he does most of his work in his reimagined garage.
Scant rainfall and drought, measured in degrees like “severe” and “extreme,” have slithered back into our lives. Folsom Lake is a mud puddle, the Sierra Nevada snowpack was 59 percent of normal and rainfall is more than a foot below average.
Sacramento did not receive an April downpour. Zero precipitation was recorded for the entire month Downtown, a record, and the driest April since 1877, when data was first collected. Not even a trace of moisture settled on lawns and flowerbeds.
As a landscape architect, Bill Roach puts a great deal of importance in his outdoor living space. When a past-its-prime ranch house in Arden Park came up for sale, Roach and his partner looked beyond the tired structure to the spacious backyard with limitless potential.
“The lot was one of the things that made us pull the trigger on buying this house,” which sits on more than three-quarters of an acre, Roach says. But in addition to the ramshackle home, “the backyard was also very scary.”
After scouring nursery shelves for plants and seeds, and spending a few months anticipating the perfect sweet pepper or magnificent melon, guessing when it is ripe can backfire. Harvesting homegrown edibles too soon or late means biting into something inedible.
Sacramento’s summer flavor jackpot begins with timely harvesting and is extended with proper storage. There are clues to help avoid a disappointing mouthful.
