With the arrival of spring, thoughts turn to sprucing up the garden and the home. Make the most of the season with these “good things.”
Put a cork on it
A corkboard is handy for posting reminders, but it’s often difficult to find a suitable spot for one on the wall. Instead, cut one to fit inside a door or a cabinet panel. Measure the dimensions of the space. With a straightedge and a box cutter, trim a piece of sheet cork (available in many hues at home-supply stores) to those dimensions. Affix cork to surface with nails.
Old hose, new use
The next time you retire a leaky hose from the garden, don’t trash it. Instead, cut it into shorter lengths and slide the pieces over the handles of your buckets. When you carry heavy loads, the rubber will cushion your hands and give you a better grip.
It’s crudites season
Create an hors d’oeuvre centerpiece that recalls a vegetable patch. Buy a large, deep galvanized-metal planter from a garden-supply center, line the bottom with sprouts and pour in enough water to moisten them. Arrange vegetables, such as cherry tomatoes, carrots, radishes, asparagus and cauliflower, in sections inside the container, varying the colors. Serve immediately with herb dip or cover with moist paper towels and refrigerate up to 2 hours.
Clean cuts
An egg slicer can perform more than one function in the kitchen. Use it to quickly and cleanly cut soft fruits, such as strawberries or bananas. The fruit slivers can be used to garnish waffles, pancakes, French toast and oatmeal.
Keeping dirt in line
Window boxes filled with vibrant flowers are a welcome sign of spring. But when it rains, the soil in them often spatters, dirtying windows and sills. To prevent the muddy splashes, spread river stones (available at garden centers) in a layer over the tops of the flower beds. The stones will act as a barrier while keeping the soil moist for the blooming plants.
Not just for laundry
Clothespins can be used to organize and hang papers, photos and cards when they’re turned into decorative refrigerator magnets. To make them, remove the springs from wooden clothespins, and lightly sand wood with sandpaper. Coat with acrylic paint; let dry. Reattach springs, and affix a small magnet to one side of each pin with multipurpose cement.
The headboard of dreams
Here’s a way to display a favorite quilt and provide your bed with a new headboard. Paint a drapery rod and two brackets (available at home-supply stores) to match the bedroom walls and let dry. Install the brackets above the bed, positioning them at the desired height, and put the rod in place. Drape the quilt over the rod, lining up the bottom edges so that it hangs evenly.
Put it in writing
Prevent confusion the next time you make the seasonal switch from storm windows to screens. Use a label maker to identify which room and specific frame a screen or storm window fits, or write the information on a strip of painters’ tape with a permanent marker. Stick the labels to a top corner of each screen or window.
Cut and carry
Here’s a convenient way to transport flats of blooms you’ve purchased and recycle a shopping bag at the same time. Start with a large paper bag that has handles. Cut the bag along both long sides of one side panel. Repeat on other side. Fold cut panels in to create more support at the base of the carrier; trim excess paper. Store the carrier in the trunk of your car to reuse as necessary.
Greener garden-bed prep
If you need to create a new garden bed but prefer not to resort to chemicals, try this technique. Lay stacks of four to six sheets of newsprint side by side on the grass, overlapping edges, to mark the desired shape of the bed. Soak the paper with a hose, and cover with 2 inches of mulch. Plant directly in the prepared area, using a trowel to pierce the layers.
Support staff
Tall-growing orchids need a little extra support to stay upright, but the stakes they lean on are usually an eyesore. For ones that won’t detract from the beauty of the blooms, purchase precut 16- to 18-gauge floral-stem wire from a crafts store. Bend into a 90-degree angle 4 inches from the top. Curve the top portion to form a horizontal U. Plant the stake next to the orchid and hook the U around the stem.
Questions should be addressed to Ask Martha, care of Letters Department, Martha Stewart Living, 11 W. 42nd St., New York, NY 10036. E-mail to mslletters@marthastewart.com.
&Copy; 2009 Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc.
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