Dear Aggie: Can I sell vegetables from my garden? Do I need any special certificates or approvals? Read More ⇒
Wintertime is officially here, and for many of us that means frosty mornings and colder days. Read More ⇒
So long, 2020. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out. Read More ⇒
This column will wrap up my columns for 2020. We wish all of you God’s richest blessings in the new year 2021. Read More ⇒
PHILADELPHIA — Housing today looks largely the same as it did in 1950, Diana Lind observes in her new book “Brave New Home: Our Future in Smarter, Simpler, Happier Housing.” Many builders are still constructing 2,500-square-foot homes with two-car garages on tree-lined streets. Read More ⇒
With the pandemic still looming large, we’re facing a long slog at home during the winter months ahead. Read More ⇒
PULASKI — The Selkirk Landing Apartments project in the village of Pulaski is becoming a reality on a 28.5-acre piece of long-vacant land, recently sold for $196,000, and in about a year to be bustling with a multi-generational mix of residents in a progessive-minded housing development in p… Read More ⇒
As questions go, this one troubles me a lot: Do we love our homes more than we should? It bothers me because I’ve been a homeownership nut my entire adult life. Read More ⇒
When you’re spending a large chunk of money on a home, it’s wise to make sure you know exactly what you’re getting. That’s why a home inspection plays a lead role in the real estate transaction. Read More ⇒
Home prices surged the most on the record in the third quarter, according to a report Tuesday from the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Read More ⇒
Whether you want to reduce the greenhouse gases your home produces or lower the cost of your utilities, a heat pump might seem like a good idea. Here are some important factors to consider before you make a purchase. Read More ⇒
For some teens, getting a license means offering rides to friends, taking trips to the mall, freedom. For one Evanston, Illinois senior, it was mostly about the birds. Read More ⇒
EDINA, Minn. — In the Edina home of Kellie and Phil Schechinger, the open floor plan is well suited to their casual entertaining style. Windows let in light and show off backyard trees. A 12-foot-long dining table fits with ease. A large kitchen island provides a natural place to gather. But… Read More ⇒
The coronavirus pandemic, combined with low interest rates, spurred home buyers and sellers to change how they lived. The pandemic also changed some of their behaviors when they entered the market, according to a report the National Association of Realtors released Wednesday. Read More ⇒
OSWEGO — To bee or not to bee may not exactly be the question, but if it has to do with bees, Jim Howard probably has the answer. Read More ⇒
All seasons affect your home, but perhaps no other season impacts it more than winter. The cold temperatures, wind, snow and freezing rain combine to make it a season not to be ignored. Read More ⇒
In your eagerness to add warmth to your interiors during the quarantine gardening boom, don’t forget about one humidity-filled haven: the bathroom. Read More ⇒
ITHACA — Project FeederWatch, a joint research and education program of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Birds Canada, opens Nov. 14. Read More ⇒
Americans are coughing up $4,600 more on average to buy their dream home than six months ago, thanks to a record run-up in prices for a once-cheap plywood substitute. Read More ⇒
ITHACA — A Cornell University-led project will use computer modeling and outreach to find optimal strategies to minimize COVID-19 cases and transmission among workers in food processing facilities, while maintaining the best possible production. Read More ⇒
Rice Creek, Canal Forest Restoration Project offering trees to public, seeking help collecting seeds
OSWEGO — A partnership between SUNY Oswego’s Rice Creek Field Station and the Canal Forest Restoration Project (CFRP) is on a mission to restore native tree species to New York state’s canal region seeks help from the public in receiving and planting trees, as well as collecting specific seeds. Read More ⇒
U.S. new home starts increased in September on a sharp gain in single-family house construction while building permits climbed, indicating residential building had plenty of momentum at the end of the third quarter. Read More ⇒
If I could paraphrase some lyrics from the musical Chicago it would be “Come on, why don’t we paint the garden, with all those Jazz.” That is what I feel every time I see Jazz Hands Variegated loropetalum. This award-winning shrub simply puts a song in your spirit and will add that artist’s … Read More ⇒
Tens of millions of homes nationwide will soon come up for sale as baby boomers slowly release their 46 million homes, worth $13.5 trillion, according to Fannie Mae data. “Baby boomers hold a significant share of aging housing stock, and many of them are getting ready to transition out of it… Read More ⇒
Q: We recently renewed our lease for another year. The property manager wants to tour my house with potential new tenants. Our lease does not end for nine months. This seems off, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. What is our recourse? Read More ⇒
The mornings have become like “flower glow” at The Garden Guy’s (Norman Winter)house thanks to three new panicle hydrangeas making their debut in the spring of 2021. I have been amazed at what I am seeing, and to an extent what I am feeling, with these new introductions. Read More ⇒
Early this year, Lynda Junge watched her Downers Grove, Ill., wedding invitation business grind to a halt as the coronavirus pandemic caused couples to postpone their nuptials. Read More ⇒
PALM BEACH, Fla. — It’s located in one of the most envied and desirable towns in the world, and yet a seemingly well-priced 14,000-square-foot mansion for sale here is languishing, despite its six bedrooms, seven baths, a large swimming pool and frontage along the Intracoastal Waterway. Read More ⇒
WATERTOWN — Tug Hill Tomorrow Land Trust, focusing on the future of its nature, has announced a three-year campaign “to save what matters most.” Read More ⇒
HARTFORD, Conn. — Earlier this year, lifelong Plainville, Conn., resident Gary Vincent planted eight giant pumpkin seeds in an unfenced, uncovered garden plot owned by Plainville’s Our Lady of Mercy Church. Vincent, 70, began growing giant pumpkins in 1981 after his wife brought home five se… Read More ⇒
LOS ANGELES — It’s been a busy year for Derek Jeter. In 2020 alone, the baseball legend became a Hall of Famer and a landlord and now, hopefully, a seller. His mansion in Tampa, Fla., has come on the market for $29 million. Read More ⇒
Oh, the possibilities with that Wicked witch! Son James dazzled me again with a combination planting featuring this year’s hot new coleus ColorBlaze Wicked with coleus and Canary Wing begonia. Immediately I noticed his carefully intentioned design of having the lime green margins of the cole… Read More ⇒
LOS ANGELES — Every Hollywood idea has to start somewhere, whether it’s scribbled on cocktail napkins, pecked out on a vintage typewriter or the outcome of an afternoon in the writers’ room. For the sitcom “The Last Man on Earth,” the idea came around the dining room table at the Santa Monic… Read More ⇒
Getting older often means living alone. Read More ⇒
A longtime bohemian standard during the 1970s, hanging houseplants have returned in a big way as demand for plants has skyrocketed in the pandemic and Instagram influencers create indoor jungles. Read More ⇒
LOS ANGELES — Oscar-winning director James Cameron is eyeing a blockbuster sale in Malibu. His prized compound, a collection of two mansions he’s owned for decades, hit the market last week at $25 million. Read More ⇒
The weather forecast has several days with morning lows in the 50s, which is a cause for celebration. We can look for those long-lost fleece vests and, even better, it gives horticulturists like The Garden Guy the ticket to forget flowers for a week and write about a new golden conifer calle… Read More ⇒
With everyone spending more time at home, demand for residential toilet paper is way up. That’s bad news for the world’s oldest forests. Unlike the industrial rolls found in many offices and restaurants, the cushy TP Americans love for their own bathrooms is made almost entirely of trees cut… Read More ⇒
RUSSELL — Lucas J. Manning owned just a hammer and an iPad when he and his wife Sarah B. Manning decided to renovate an old stone house and document it on YouTube. Now, after nearly four years of working on weekends, the house is starting to take shape, and the YouTube channel is starting to… Read More ⇒
The Azalea Bowl at Callaway Gardens is one of my favorite places, even when the 3,000-plus azaleas aren’t blooming. The seasonal color and serenity will have you energized in short order. Such was the case recently when my wife Jan and I became mesmerized with their plantings of flowers, and… Read More ⇒
LOS ANGELES — Actress Joanna Kerns, who gained fame in the 1980s and ‘90s as matriarch Maggie Seaver on the sitcom “Growing Pains,” and architect-author Marc Appleton have sold their home in Montecito for $8.35 million. Read More ⇒
LOS ANGELES — Academy Award-winning actress Geena Davis has listed her longtime home in Pacific Palisades for sale at $5.995 million. Read More ⇒
Labor Day weekend is upon us and perhaps you would like to head to the mountains, hike on the Appalachian Trail or lay on a white-sand beach — but love for your mixed containers trumps everything. The solution to this recurring dilemma? AquaPots. Read More ⇒
LOS ANGELES — Actress Lori Loughlin and her husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, have one less thing to worry about as they await sentencing for their role in the college admissions scandal. The pair have sold their Bel-Air estate to Tinder co-founder Justin Mateen for $18.75 million… Read More ⇒
SACKETS HARBOR — An innovative program at the Battlefield State Historic Site that was created as a way to bring bits of history to the public during the pandemic has been so popular that it will continue indefinitely. Read More ⇒
LOS ANGELES — Film producer Jason Blum of “The Purge” and “Get Out” fame is looking to get out of his place in downtown L.A. The filmmaker has listed his designer-done condo at the Ritz-Carlton Residences at LA. Live for $6.995 million. Read More ⇒
Truffula Pink gomphrena has already been hotter than the proverbial $2 pistol, but I’m here to tell you it is even better than we thought. It has been the champion of all butterfly plants at my house and if your peak butterfly season is September/October and you find them for sale, BUY THEM! Read More ⇒
LOS ANGELES — It’s not quite a beet farm, but Rainn Wilson’s home boasts a similar vibe. The actor, who played Dwight Schrute on “The Office,” has put his bucolic compound in Agoura Hills on the market for $1.699 million. Read More ⇒
Protect your trees and they’ll protect you Read More ⇒
LOS ANGELES — Ron Finley — the self-proclaimed “Gangsta Gardener” — carries his persona like a shield. He’s this tall dude with hemp Patagonia pants and a slightly silver goatee who seems pretty laid-back until you’re close enough to read the keep-your-distance tension in his eyes. Read More ⇒
Dear Aggie, I’ve been hearing about a food hub in the north country lately and I’m wondering, what’s a food hub? Read More ⇒