If you take a walk in your neighborhood this spring and summer, you are almost guaranteed to see at least a few hydrangea bushes in someone’s garden. These ubiquitous plants are easily recognizable by their distinct “snowball”-shaped blooms, that can range in color from white, green, or blue, to pink or red, with every shade...

There’s no better way to make a house feel more relaxing, cheerful, and inviting than with houseplants. They are beautiful to look at and help to purify the air. They bring a sense of peace and tranquility to every space that they occupy. Growing houseplants and watching them thrive provides any plant parent, novice or...

As the warm weather approaches, gardeners across the country are starting to plan their flower beds and vegetable patches in anticipation of the garden-planting season. Whether you’re a seasoned gardener, or if this is the first year you’ve decided to get outside and get your hands dirty, you’ll want to make sure that you’re doing...

The outdoors are great for relaxing, being active, socializing with friends, and making some of the best cottage memories, until mosquitos ruin it– for everyone. Some people even avoid spending time outdoors because of these blood-sucking pests. Summer is mosquito season because they thrive better in warm weather, and who can blame them, most of...

Plants are more than just pretty flowers to look at and delicious things to eat, but they serve us in other important ways. Did you know that about 40% of our prescription medications are developed from plant extracts or plant compounds? [1] Plants are well known for having medicinal properties, everything from reliving skin problems...

Nothing could beat a fresh strawberry on a breezy summer day. But many people are finding that store-bought strawberries taste blander than expected. They buy a box of perfect-looking, red, glossy strawberries only to experience a watered-down flavor of the once-vibrant fruit. There are many factors causing this dull taste, but fortunately, there are several...

Cleaning is a necessary part of maintaining a healthy and hygienic home. However, it’s crucial to approach cleaning with care, especially when it comes to using household chemicals. While it might be tempting to create a powerful cleaning concoction by mixing various cleaning products, certain combinations can be extremely dangerous and harmful. Let’s explore six...

There’s a humble mineral in your kitchen that has countless uses beyond flavoring your food – table salt! This versatile ingredient is a surprisingly effective solution for a wide range of household issues. It’s readily available, inexpensive, and often easier to use than many commercial cleaning products. From removing stubborn stains to enhancing your beauty...

Windows and sustainability haven’t always gone hand-in-hand. Scientists at the Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) have set out to change that. Their newly developed liquid window reduces both sun exposure and energy consumption in buildings. (1)  The Liquid Window That Reduces Energy Consumption According to a 2009 report by the United Nations, 40% of...

No one wants to enter a house and face a bad smell. In a Facebook post, one woman suggests sticking cloves into oranges to counter this issue, and everyone loved it. Her home smells like citrus and spice heaven.   Kimmi Charlton from Manitoba, Canada, has been putting cloves into orange for about a decade, and...

Let’s face it- very few people enjoy cleaning their bathrooms. When certain surfaces accumulate hard-to-remove stains, cleaning them becomes even more of a chore. This is particularly true of the toilet, which often eventually gets that pesky ring around the inside of the bowl. Luckily, there is an excellent hack for how to remove a...

Architects can design structures that seem to be impossible. They are creatives while also being masters of math and sciences. Putting all that together has resulted in some out of this world creations.  Enter “the skinny home”, or more commonly known as the House of the Big Arch.  The tall house in South Africa’s Bushveld ecoregion...