Electric kettles boil water faster than a stovetop pot and switch themselves off when the water reaches a rolling boil, which makes them one of the most-used small appliances in the modern kitchen. They draw power from the same household circuits that feed the electric lines in buildings, and like any appliance with a heating […]
Planting privacy trees adds color and beauty while increasing your property’s seclusion, and the right species can replace a fence line with a living screen that filters noise, blocks views, and shelters birds. Choosing the right tree depends on your space and the look you desire: tall, narrow evergreens planted in groupings add stately elegance,
Black and white is a classic pairing that appears in every room of the house, and bedrooms are one of the best places to use it. The two colors deliver strong contrast without competing with the furniture, bedding, and artwork that fill the space, and the palette is easy to update: swap in a colored
Bleeding heart vine (Clerodendrum thomsoniae), also called glory bower, is a tender, fast-growing tropical climber that covers a trellis in glossy, dark-green oval leaves and big clusters of showy flowers. Despite the name it is not the same plant as the herbaceous bleeding heart (Lamprocapnos spectabilis); it comes from the mint family and climbs by
Water lilies (Nymphaea) are the jewels of the aquatic world. They and the closely related lotus (Nelumbo) are rooted in soil, emerging above the water surface so they appear to float. Their flowers are round and centered around a radial notch, and the plants carry symbolic weight in ancient and modern cultures alike. Most water
The Primula genus holds at least 500 species and an almost infinite number of hybrids and cultivars, which makes primrose one of the most varied spring perennials you can plant. Most primroses are short-lived perennials, though they may remain evergreen in the zones where they are hardy. Cultivated varieties usually carry the common name primrose
Ginseng (Panax spp.) is a slow-growing perennial whose fleshy roots anchor one of the oldest healing traditions in the world. Most species are native to East Asia, and two, including American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius), grow wild in North American woodlands. Each plant carries a single stem with palmate, serrated leaves, and small white or greenish
Goldflame spirea is a compact flowering shrub grown for foliage that changes color with the season. New leaves emerge bronze-red in spring, mellow to bright yellow-green in summer, and finish copper-orange in fall, while clusters of small pink flowers open through the summer months. The plant, Spiraea japonica ’Goldflame,’ belongs to the rose family and
Japanese pachysandra is the ground cover that solves the problems other plants refuse: dry shade under mature trees, heavy clay, and slopes too steep to mow. The plant, Pachysandra terminalis, spreads by underground runners into a dense mat of leathery, dark-green leaves that blocks weeds and stays green through winter, though the foliage yellows slightly
The word profile appears all over construction, and it means different things in different settings. On a drawing, a profile is the cross-section of a material: the outline of a window frame, the thickness of an insulation board, the shape of an extruded aluminum member. On a project schedule, profile describes visibility: a high-profile building
