Martha Stewart Living March 2021

TIME SPENT with my mom always renews me. During a recent visit (our first in a year), she held up a card she had just received in the mail that had a majestic marble lion on the front, and asked my 6-year-old son, “What’s this?” He paused before blurting out, “The New York Public Library!” She nodded and then posed, “But who is it?” He was stumped. My mother explained that the two lions flanking the grand stairs of this breathtaking Beaux-Arts building actually have names: Patience and Fortitude. They were given their monikers during the Great Depression by the mayor of the city, Fiorello La Guardia, who believed these two qualities were essential to overcome challenging times. Fast-forward nearly 100 years, and as I write to you during the…

ON THE ROAD FIRST BLUSH Nature’s earliest bloomers burst onto the scene this month, heralding warmer days ahead. For a spectacular preview, visit Cheekwood Estate & Gardens, in Nashville. During Cheekwood in Bloom (March 6 to April 11; cheekwood.org), you can wander along 150,000 unfurling tulips, and unwind in weekend meditation classes. Here, more places to see spring’s awakening. KENNETT SQUARE, PA. Like a rippling magic carpet, three million perennial bulbs, including bell-like blue squill and buttercup-yellow daffodils, flutter in the fields at Longwood Gardens. longwoodgardens.org DALLAS At Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden, you’ll take in the hyacinths, pansies, and tulips at ground level, and the snowy blossoms of 150 Yoshino cherry trees, which pop in late March, overhead. dallasarboretum.org NEWPORT BEACH, CALIF. Year-round mild temps at Sherman Library & Gardens make it a paradise for thousands of…

During the past year, as we’ve all been confined to our homes, nurturing houseplants has exploded in popularity, becoming a loved pastime for both adults and children. As a result, I’ve received a trove of questions from friends and colleagues about how to care for them. I have five greenhouses at the farm that keep me gardening year-round. One brims with begonias, cacti, ferns, and succulents; one is for citrus trees. Another holds tropicals, like agaves, aloes, cycads, and bay and fig trees; clivia, amaryllis, narcissus, topiary, and flower seedlings occupy yet another. The fifth is where I grow vegetables, passion flowers, and oversize trees that we move outdoors in summer. I try hard to practice healthy and orderly growing methods for all my plants. Admittedly, I devote extra attention to the…

Cheater’s Mac and Cheese Replacing a traditional béchamel sauce with cream cheese, which melts almost instantly, makes this recipe ultraspeedy. Feel free to swap in other vegetables, such as fresh or frozen cauliflower florets or peas, for the broccoli. 4 ounces short pasta, such as penneKosher salt and freshly ground black pepper (optional)1½ cups fresh or frozen broccoli florets2½ ounces cream cheese (⅓ cup)1 tablespoon unsalted butter½ ounce Parmigiano-Reggiano, finely grated (⅓ cup), plus more for serving 1. Cook pasta in a pot of generously salted boiling water 2 minutes less than per package instructions. Reserve 1 cup pasta water and cover to keep warm. Add broccoli to pot; continue boiling until pasta is al dente and broccoli is bright green, 1 to 2 minutes more. Drain. Return pot to medium heat; add…

HEAT UP THE KITCHEN Punctuate this room with a red fixture, cooking essentials, chic stools, or a stove that makes the statement. Warm Reds Treat it like a wall hanging, and a rust-toned rug delivers a wash of color without a stroke of paint. “This muted red is rich, yet easy to live with,” says Lorna. “And the rug makes a big statement, but it’s also versatile enough to take down and reuse elsewhere when you want a change.” The pattern’s a perk, too: It’s eye-catching, and its multiple hues can inspire other elements in a space. For a layered look, Lorna mixed in a bench, pillow, lamp, and basket in the same family. Sunny Yellows For a nice dose of vitamin D, add a graphic trim to neutral curtains. Lorna stitched a few yards…

MERCURY MOSAICS, Minneapolis For Mercedes Austin, tiles are pieces of a dynamic puzzle. The lifelong creative (“I drew floor plans as a little kid,” she says) first took to the medium while watching her college roommate embellish a table with broken bits of ceramic. “It was a bold, colorful project, and very tactile. It inspired me to take note of an art form I’d never considered,” says Austin, who studied painting and photography. In 2002, she launched her line from her attic, creating bubble and square shapes; since then, it’s grown to include classic subways and unexpected designs like hexagons, slender diamonds, and Moroccan fish scales. Today, a team of 35 artisans hand-cuts her forms with wet saws, fires them, and brushes on glazes, each mixed to enhance one of three…