Better Homes and Gardens April 2023

I’VE OFTEN NOTICED that garden fashions move slowly—over a period of years compared to TikTok trends that might cycle through in weeks. Many folks would say they don’t follow what’s “in” or “out” in their normal gardening life anyway; they just plant what they please. But we’re human, after all, and it seems impossible that most of us aren’t influenced by what we see from a gardening magazine, social media, YouTube, or even a neighbor. A case in point came to me while I was writing our garden feature (page 62) on the rose-filled yard created by actress Julie Newmar (she’s the original Catwoman) at her home in Los Angeles. At nearly 90, she can deftly list dozens of her favorite rose hybrids. Just hearing her say the names made me…

I make a handful of campsite reservations in the off-season (Jan./Feb.) for the peak camping times in spring, summer, and fall. Having them already on the calendar forces us to set the time aside and means we’re not trying to snag hard-to-get reservations the week beforehand.EMILY TEEL, food editorOne year I picked up a calendar of Iowa state parks. One weekend each month my partner and I went hiking wherever the calendar told us to go. We explored many wonderful places and saw the beauty of our state. Plus it was so affordable, and nothing was more than a few hours away. The calendar also held us accountable—the beautiful images made us feel a little guilty if we wanted to skip!ASHE PURSCELL, editorial assistantI like to plan long-weekend getaways around…

Milestones We Dig It The Better Homes & Gardens Test Garden® turns 25 this year! For the past quarter-century, we’ve been trying new varietals and methods, tracking successes and failures, and creating beautiful containers and planting beds near our Des Moines headquarters. “The Test Garden is home to hundreds of perennials, trees, shrubs, and a changing palette of annuals, bulbs, and vegetables,” says manager Sandra Gerdes, above. “We plant and replant to bring better choices to you through the pages of the magazine and on BHG.com.” Check out 25 of our top performers from over the years, starting on page 80. Livestream Event Shop with the Stars Does your outdoor space need a style upgrade? Join our cover stars, Dave and Jenny Marrs of HGTV’s Fixer to Fabulous, for a live online shopping event from…

The Dream List Most mornings when Pamela Lightfoot Burrell heads out to her garden, she is greeted by the mellifluous call of the white-rumped shama. “The sun is shining; the birds are singing. It’s simple pleasures here,” she says. More than two decades ago, the garden designer and her husband, Rex, created their own tropical Eden on the north side of Kauai. “The property told us where things should go,” Pam recalls of how she plotted the layout. “It kind of created its own zones.” Pam designed the cultivated areas—including vegetable beds and borders that add texture year-round—to integrate seamlessly with the natural landscape, which overlooks mountains and three valleys. “It is just magical here,” she says. It’s easy to understand why the birds keep returning, singing all day long. 1. FOCUS…

Tips and advice for living green 1 HIRE A HERD When it comes to tackling brush and noxious weeds, goats are the GOAT. No chemicals needed. A herd of 24 grazers can devour an overgrown ½-acre lot in about 24 hours. Cost per ½ acre is around $500 depending on location (available in 24 states). goatsonthego.com 2 Put Food Waste to Work Keeping food waste out of landfills reduces greenhouse gases. Try one of these new home composters. Bokashi Compost Bokashi (Japanese meaning “fermented organic matter”) uses a special microbe-rich bran that breaks down kitchen waste—including meat and dairy scraps—in about 10 days. The airtight compost bucket makes it odor-free. ● 2.5-gal. Bokashi Starter Kit, $119; teraganix.com Vermicompost Earthworms turn food scraps and fiber (paper and leaves) into worm castings, a super-nutritious fertilizer. Once established, worms can eat…