Morning – Features

Melinda
Morning - Features

Melinda’s Garden Moment: Privacy Plants

Create an intimate space in your garden for relaxing or entertaining with strategically placed plants and furnishings
Site Staff,

  Create an intimate space in your garden for relaxing or entertaining with strategically placed plants and furnishings. These narrow Temple’s Upright sugar maples (Acer saccharum ‘Temple’s Upright’) create a private seating area and block the view of an adjacent public right of way. The North American native can grow 6 to 12 feet wide and 50 feet tall. A…

Thinking Green
Morning - Features

Thinking Green: Water Heater

Hot tips on hot water heaters.
Emily Welker,

We’ve had a nice long break not thinking about how hot the water in our homes can get, but that break is about to be over. Winter is approaching fast and you don’t want to start your day with a cold shower or icy hands while you wash the breakfast dishes. Find out Danny Lipford’s recommendations on a home water…

Ask Danny
Morning - Features

Ask Danny: Cracks in Asphalt Driveway

We're not cracking jokes here: winter's on its way.
Emily Welker,

It’s not freezing out there yet, but in this part of the country it’s inevitable. And our homes and driveways take a beating in winter weather. Find out what to do about severe winter weather driveway damage before you crack under the strain. It’s in today’s Ask Danny. Categories: Morning – Features

Melinda
Morning - Features

Melinda’s Garden Moment: Pretty & Poisonous

Pretty to look at but beware of the poisonous nature of these two tropical beauties
Site Staff,

  Pretty to look at but beware of the poisonous nature of these two tropical beauties. Castor beans (Ricinus communis) grow 6 to 10 feet tall and produce large star shaped leaves up to 2 ½ feet across. The spiny red seedpods add to their beauty but the seeds within are very toxic. Remove these or plant them where they…

Stick It To Cancer
Morning - Features

Thinking Green: Insulation

Insulate yourself from spending too much to heat your home.
Emily Welker,

Insulation. It’s about to be a major issue if you don’t have it where you live. Find out how to keep your home warm when the weather turns cold in this morning’s Thinking Green. Categories: Morning – Features

Ask Danny
Morning - Features

Ask Danny: Stuck Garbage Disposal

Don't get stuck with this problem over Thanksgiving.
Emily Welker,

The last time you want to deal with a stuck garbage disposal is right now, when we’re all gearing up for the holidays and all the cooking you have to do. Fortunately, a stuck disposal doesn’t have to mean you dispose of your plans for a delicious feast — and easy cleanup. Let Danny Lipford show you how to deal…

Melinda
Morning - Features

Melinda’s Garden Moment: Divide & Revive Plants

Revive a declining dieffenbachia with a bit of pruning and start a few new plants from cane cuttings
Site Staff,

  Gardeners never like to give up on a plant, whether it’s your own or one you purchased on sale in need of some major TLC. Revive a declining dieffenbachia with a bit of pruning and start a few new plants from cane cuttings. Dieffenbachias often lose their lower leaves, resulting in long leafless stems topped with just a few…

Thinking Green
Morning - Features

Thinking Green: Plastic Bottles Into Carpet

A shocking revelation: carpet made from recycled bottles.
Emily Welker,

Have you ever scuffed your feet across the carpet during a dry upper Midwestern winter and wound up shocking someone with an unexpected zap of static electricity? Have you ever done it to a family member? Have you ever done it on purpose? Danny Lipford has, and now, there’s a new reason siblings and pets have to be thankful those…

Ask Danny
Morning - Features

Ask Danny: Painting Galvanized Metal

There's plenty of time to tackle this task before the snow flies.
Emily Welker,

If the late-appearing freeze hasn’t galvanized you to get going on the last-minute yard and home improvement tasks awaiting you, here’s something that might. Turns out painting galvanized metal can really take your home’s appearance up a notch. Check out Danny Lipford’s best recommendations on how to handle it in this week’s Ask Danny.   Categories: Morning – Features

Melinda
Morning - Features

Melinda’s Garden Moment: Persimmon

Plant a North American persimmon for a bit of shade and fruit you and the birds will enjoy
Site Staff,

  Plant a North American persimmon for a bit of shade and fruit you and the birds will enjoy. The American persimmon (Diospyros virginiana) is native to eastern United States but adaptable to climates across North America. New hardy varieties have been introduced by Canada. The botanical name means Divine Fruit or Food. And once you taste a ripe persimmon…