For best results, launder bath towels every three to four days using the following guidelines:
- Non-chlorine bleach can be used safely on white towels when they start to look a bit dingy, but avoid chlorine bleach, which eats up towels.
- Do not use fabric softener, which actually stiffens towels.
- Wash white towels on the hottest setting.
- When drying towels, use one scent-free dryer sheet.
Dusty miller, known for its velvety foliage, is small enough to be pressed in a telephone book. When dried, the leaf fronts turn silvery white, while the backs go gray. Both are on view in figure-eight garlands, which flank a doorway in the style of architectural moldings.
The leaves are affixed to plum-colored rice paper and laid under glass in inexpensive clip frames.
See More Plant-Pressing How-Tos
Sources
Clip Frames (23 1/2" by 9 3/4" ), from ikea.com
Located stateside in the charming town of Washington, Connecticut, is a true gardening wonder: a quintessentially English garden.
Hollister House Garden, named after the 1760 house around which it is built, was created by art and antiques dealer George Schoellkopf in the manner of such famous English landscapes as Sissinghurst and Great Dixter: formal in its structure, yet rather wild in its style of planting.
Resources
For more information, visit hollisterhousegarden.org.
These stately pedestals, made to fit over a chimney's flue, help prevent drafts and add a distinctive note to rooftops. Though pricey, they also make a grand spot to prop up plants. Choose antique or new pots -- find the latter at masonry yards -- and place a plastic pot liner inside each. (For fit, you may need to trim top of liner, then cut down the side and overlap edges.) We filled ours with purple cordylines, silver tradescantia, and rex begonia vine (Cissus discolor).
Here's an illuminating way to point guests to the party: Put your house number in lights. Download our number templates, print, and cut out. Trace each digit onto the side of a cardboard gift box. Using a craft knife, cut out numbers. Tape vellum to interior of cut sides. Set boxes outside, placing a battery-operated push light inside each to illuminate the digits.
Short shower curtains look tidy and tailored, and they don't trap dust and moisture. To create the look in your bathroom, cut a fabric curtain 2 inches longer than the desired length, then fold and sew a 2-inch hem. Leave the plastic liner hanging full-length in the tub to contain water from the shower.
