Easy garden plants

Bats: Attract garden allies to yard

Smaller trees add beauty and diversity to your yard

Kathy Van Mullekom: Holly days

How to keep dahlias blooming in the garden

Blue bulbs bring a rare color to the spring garden

Green lawn, happy planet

Make your own eco-friendly cleaning products

Instead of cluttering your house with harmful household cleansers, use these ten tips to make your own.

Seed-starting pots you make from newsprint are practically free. Because they break down quickly, you can plant them right in the garden, reducing transplant shock. Both black and colored inks used in today's newspapers are safe.

Weekend wasters struggle with DIY home-repair jobs

When her husband decided to fix a leaky pipe in the bathroom in their West Hills home, Ethel Brook, 78, watched his progress with chin in hand and furrowed brow. As one weekend rolled agonizingly into two, the retired market researcher gently...

Home repair 101

Contractors have a name for those homeowners who dive into major home-improvement projects without first understanding the scope of the work they're tackling: They call these do-it-yourselfers "weekend warriors," and it's not a nickname contractors...

DIY: Safety valve kit provides washing machine leak protection

When our neighbor had a near-flood, it got our attention.

DIY: Install solid shelving

Keeping closets orderly and uncluttered is an ongoing challenge, even for those of us who are tidy. Like a garden, when a closet becomes overgrown with stuff, selective pruning is required.

Hands-on Approach

Gifts from the heart On Mother's Day, it really is the thought that counts. Back away from the credit card and summon your creativity to give heartfelt, spend-...	DIY yogurt The question isn't why you should eat yogurt. No, the question is, why make your own? The answer is easy.
How salvaged wood becomes furniture The salvaged wood look is a huge trend in home design, but the transformation of reclaimed urban tree to dining room tabletop is quite...	How to cut your own hair While it's best to leave the pixie cut or layered bob to the pros, you can perform basic trims if you need to save on salon visits or need...
How to repot a houseplant If you manage to keep alive a houseplant for, oh, more than a few months, there will surely come the day when it has outgrown its starter...	Easy ways to clear your indoor air There are plenty of laws and regulations about outdoor air pollution, most of us don't give a second thought to the air in our homes. But we...
Learn to plant a tree Plant a tree? Sure! If Queen Elizabeth II is out there doing it in her mid-80s, you can too. Here's how ...	Do it yourself: Paint for big savings When money is tight and a room needs a facelift, there's no easier, cheaper or faster fix-up than a coat of paint. Paint brightens dull...

Modern native garden Joel Lichtenwalter and Ryan Gates of Grow Outdoor Design help an L.A. couple with their...	A twist on tradition "I love beautiful things: shine, glamour. That's what I do," Robert Vetica says, making his choice in houses something of a surprise: a 1928...
Typewriters click with history In an era of iPads and text-spouting telephones, the ancient, clunky typewriter has become an improbable object of desire. Analog...	Extreme Makeover: Joplin homes Hundreds of volunteers and the producers"Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" rebuilt seven homes in seven days in Joplin. The homes were...
Super-chic desk Whether your desk at home is for working or playing, give it a swift makeover with chic, useful accessories. --Fauzia Arain,...	Cool small dwellings
Dwell on Design	Small-space solutions Room dividers can be the ultimate solution for small spaces. For anyone trying to do more with less, the most important big screen in the...