We’ve traditionally been taught to keep pesky clovers off our lawns. Now, more and more people are making a case for appreciating those once-vexing clovers. What was once considered a weed, is now often thought of as a hassle-free, eco-friendly option for landscaping. Before your next weeding marathon, we’re here to answer all your questions and make a case for letting clover flourish in your lawn. What Is a Clover Lawn?...
Whether your living room has achieved greenhouse status or you are simply the proud owner of a pothos or two that’s near and dear to your heart, your plants deserve plenty of TLC. In fact, the mere act of paying attention to them on the daily — or “listening” to them, if you will — is one of the most important things you can do as a plant parent. Just ask Alfred Palomares, Vice President, Merchandising, and Resident Plant Dad, 1-800-Flowers....
In the summer, boat captain Darryl Marsh earns his income shuttling seashell-seeking tourists through the backwaters off the coast of Swansboro, North Carolina, to idyllic Bear Island. But it’s the off-season, when lower temperatures scare all but the hardiest tourists away, that he loves. In a recent profile for Our State magazine, Captain Marsh, as he is known, revealed a tantalizing shelling secret: the off-season means sand dollars. Lots and lots of sand dollars....
Mastering the at-home manicure is no easy feat, and after years and years, we might start to think we’ve got it down pat. Over-confidence is a fickle thing, hm? The moment you become sure of your nail-painting prowess is when everything goes terribly, terribly wrong. It chips, smudges, and streaks faster than you can say Indiana Jones. More often than not, you’ll find a sneaky set of common manicure mistakes to blame, and you might not even know you’re making them....
July and August present two challenges to Grumpy. First, how can I bring continuous color to my shady garden in front of the house? Second, how can I do it without spending more than 20 minutes outside in the sizzling, soupy Alabama air? You can see my solution above. It consists of an annual flower, a perennial, and a vibrant pot. Let’s examine these elements, shall we? The Annual Flower For continuous bloom in shade and warm weather, you can’t do better than impatiens....
So you’ve finished tracking down the last of your RSVPs ahead of a big event and now you have a decision to make: Should you use place cards or not? To answer this etiquette stumper, we asked the experts to weigh in. Are place cards really necessary? Not always, seems to be the consensus, but there is one broad situation when party-planners insist place cards are non-negotiable. “If you’re going to have any sort of seated dinner, then place cards are necessary, whether it be small or super big,” says Tiffany Pilgrim, owner of August Events, an event planning company in Baton Rouge, Louisiana....
As we navigated through these uncertain times, we’ve all been looking for creative ways to lower our stress caused by the coronavirus crisis. We’ve toured virtual gardens across the South. We’ve teleported ourselves to national parks galore. Now, we’re grateful for another dose of nature as we remain safely at home, this time from the the television network BBC America. As Vulture reported, BBC America’s recently launched Wonderstruck—TV programming reserved for documentaries about the natural world—will replace BBC America shows on Thursdays with content from this wildlife-and-nature-oriented channel....
These past few months may have been filled with sparkling new indoor hobbies, like managing a growing houseplants collection, learning a new language on Rosetta Stone, or knitting enough blankets to cover Mount Rushmore. Or, it may have been filled with a whole lot of Sweet Magnolias and Virgin River episodes on Netflix. If you’re in the latter camp — or opted for misting your houseplants with a side of Netflix — and found yourself bingeing on Sweet Magnolias, you likely fell in love with the character Dana Sue Sullivan, played by Brooke Elliott....
Three months after historic flooding took the lives of 20 people and damaged hundreds of homes, the small town of Waverly, Tennessee, is still struggling to recover. “Overall, it’s been an emotional rollercoaster,” Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis recently told WKRN. He estimates it will take around 10 years to get Waverly even “close to being back where it was” after more than 17 inches of rain fell in less than 24 hours on August 21...
“Smile! It increases your face value,” as Dolly Parton tells us in a new video clip posted on social media on October 24. Ah, isn’t that the truth? And that quote—along with so many other sayings from the Smoky Mountain Songbird—certainly rings true during these tough times in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. That’s why we were so excited to see Parton announce her plans to release more such Dollyisms for her fans to enjoy, sharing the news alongside the playful video clip....
When fresh summer tomatoes are at their peak, it can be tempting to eat them by the dozen. But once you’ve maxed out on sandwiches, salads, salsas, and other tomato recipes, it’s a good idea to preserve some fruit for the future. And canning isn’t the only way to do it. When properly prepped, tomatoes freeze well too. Here is our test kitchen’s favorite way to freeze tomatoes and keep their flavor and color bright:...
No plant expresses the grace of the South better than gardenia. Intensely fragrant white blossoms contrast beautifully with shiny, leathery dark green leaves. The double forms make for classic corsage flowers, but gardeners struggle to perfect the delicate dance required for these plants to thrive. Balancing between tropical, humid climates, and damage from too much sunlight, choosing where to plant your gardenia is your first challenge. From there, tending to the variety (and size) of your gardenia plant will require a bit of work, but we have some best practices to follow when adding this flower to your gardening to-do list....
A few weeks ago, a post on Kelly Dixon’s Smart School House Facebook page upended the lives of many, many moms. “I stumbled across a post saying they make pancakes out of muffin mixes, and their kids love them because there are so many flavors,” read the post. A recipe was provided, and 65,000 shares later, the flip-the-script idea became an Internet sensation. “So simple, enjoy!” the post concluded. According to the post, the dead-easy “recipe” is as follows:...
You know the drill: Your laundry basket runneth over. It’s time to embark on the journey that is washing all of your clothes and staring down at your sheets thinking “hmmm, do I really need to wash my sheets this time around?” Yes, and your pillowcases and duvet cover, too. And, well, we hate to be the bearers of bad news, but your weighted blanket needs to be washed, as well....
Myrtle Beach mom-to-be Ashleigh Gilleland was leaving a restaurant in Sarasota, Florida, with her fiancé over the weekend when she noticed a note tucked beneath her car’s windshield wipers. The 21-year-old Hurricane Florence evacuee told Fox News that she assumed someone had something mean to say about her parking. Instead, she found a note offering words of comfort. Enclosed was $5 and a Walmart gift card. “Saw your license plate is from South Carolina....
Find me someone who gets jazzed about a spin mop and we will be fast friends. There’s nothing like the connections that can be made over home cleaning tools. They’re the ultimate weeder-outer of pretentiousness. If you can’t talk with me about vacuums and your favorite laundry detergent, then we’ll probably find ourselves on the hamster wheel of topics that inevitably happens when trying to find some sort of common conversational ground....
Kane Brown Honored With Champion of Youth Award By The Boys & Girls Clubs Of America The country star was recognized for his exemplary service to this extraordinary organization. Country star Kane Brown has plenty of awards, including AMAs, CMAs, CMTs, and ACMs, but he just added one more honor to his collection and we’re guessing it means even more to him. Brown was just given the “2022 Champion of Youth Award” at Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s 75th National Youth of the Year gala in recognition of his work helping young people....
While it is going to look very different this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, school is back in session. Some students have returned to the classroom, while others are Zooming in virtually. While not much is certain these days, we do know that learning is going to happen in a variety of ways and with a lot of helping hands The fine folks at Krispy Kreme want to acknowledge all of those educators and extra hands and reward their dedication with sweet treats....
The Braves may have broken a 26-year dry spell after winning the World Series last night, but they’re not the only ones who turned over a new leaf with this year’s series run. Country singer Lauren Alaina took home a victory of her own after overcoming her fears to perform the “Star-Spangled Banner” for the first time in 10 years. Her performance before Game 5 on Halloween night was the first time Alaina publicly performed our nation’s anthem since famously flubbing the lyrics at a Thanksgiving Day NFL game in 2011....
Just a few months after November’s delayed and spectator-free Masters Tournament, the “tradition unlike any other” will return this spring with limited fans. On Tuesday, Fred Ridley, Chairman of Augusta National Golf Club, announced that the club will allow a limited number of patrons at the 85th Masters Tournament, scheduled for April 5-11, 2021. “Following the successful conduct of the Masters Tournament last November with only essential personnel, we are confident in our ability to responsibly invite a limited number of patrons to Augusta National in April,” Ridley said in a statement....
