Aug 01 2025
August can feel like the month when the garden begins winding down. Tomatoes are ripening, cucumbers may be sprawling everywhere, flowers are starting to look tired, and hot afternoons can make the idea of planting anything new seem slightly unreasonable. But August can actually mark the beginning of an entirely new gardening season. For much …
Aug 01 2025
Summer has a fragrance all its own. Fresh citrus, crushed garden herbs, lavender warming in the sun, mint picked straight from the pot, and flowers opening during long evenings all seem to belong to the season. Essential oils offer an easy way to bring some of those aromas indoors. Bright citrus oils can make a …
Aug 01 2025
August has a different energy from the beginning of summer. June often arrives with anticipation, July settles into long days and familiar rhythms, and then August appears with the first subtle signs that another season is approaching. The evenings begin arriving a little earlier. Gardens look full and slightly wild. School supplies appear in stores. …
Jul 31 2025
Fuchsias are the kind of flowers that barely look real. Their dangling blossoms combine vivid pinks, reds, purples, whites, and corals in intricate layers, hanging from arching stems like tiny lanterns or ballerina skirts. Trailing varieties spill beautifully from hanging baskets, while upright forms can fill containers and garden borders with color from summer into …
Jul 30 2025
Cheesecake can be dense and classic, light and fruity, deeply chocolatey, bright with citrus, or made entirely without dairy. That range is part of what makes it such a fun dessert to celebrate. These five recipes cover several very different styles. There is a rich New York-style cheesecake, a cool no-bake strawberry version, a dark …
Jul 30 2025
Few garden flowers have the presence of a peony in full bloom. Their enormous, silky blossoms can be delicately cupped or extravagantly double, appearing in shades of white, blush pink, coral, crimson, burgundy, and even yellow. Some varieties add fragrance to the display, filling the late-spring garden with a sweet perfume that makes their relatively …
Jul 29 2025
Few animals command attention quite like a tiger. A flash of orange between trees, the unmistakable pattern of black stripes, enormous paws, and a face that somehow manages to look both beautiful and formidable have made the tiger one of the most recognizable animals on Earth. Yet despite their enormous cultural presence, wild tigers occupy …
Jul 28 2025
A popsicle that never melts might be the perfect summer craft. Made from soft felt, a little stuffing, colorful embroidery floss, and a handful of cheerful embellishments, this adorable felt popsicle plush is simple enough for a beginner but cute enough to display long after summer is over. The design is inspired by a pastel …
Jul 27 2025
The first time you open a crochet pattern, it can look as though someone removed half the letters from every sentence. Instructions such as **“ch 3, dc in next st, sk 1, 2 dc in ch-sp; rep from ” make perfect sense to an experienced crocheter but can look like a secret code when you …
Jul 27 2025
Few desserts deliver as dramatic a contrast as crème brûlée. Beneath the thin sheet of caramelized sugar is a cool, silky baked custard made primarily from cream, egg yolks, sugar, and flavoring. Tap the top with a spoon and the brittle caramel cracks before giving way to the soft custard underneath. National Crème Brûlée Day …
