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Pick shelling peas when pods are full and rounded but before the peas inside become tough and starchy. Harvest snap peas when pods first start to fatten but aren’t completely full. Some varieties have a tough string along the pod suture that must be removed before eating the entire pod. Harvest snow peas when pods are still flat and the seeds inside are small and undeveloped. If the peas inside enlarge too much, harvest and shell them similar to English peas....

½ cup sugar ½ cup water 3 sprigs fresh rosemary

1 ½ cup all-purpose flour ½ teaspoon salt ¼ cup shortening ¼ cup butter, cut up ¼ cup ice water

Container-grown perennials are easy to plant and commonly available. Start by digging a hole that’s a little wider but no deeper than the pot your new perennial came in. Loosen the roots and spread them out if the plant has become rootbound (when the roots start to grow in circles around the edge of the pot). Then firm the soil in around the roots and water well. Bare-root perennials are typically less expensive than container-grown versions of the same plant....

⅔ cup all-purpose flour ⅔ cup coarsely ground cornmeal ⅔ cup granulated sugar ½ teaspoon ground ginger ¼ teaspoon kosher salt ½ cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces Fruit Base 4 cup 1/2-inch thick slices peeled and cored pears 3 cup 1/2-inch thick slices peeled Fuyu persimmons or plums 3 tablespoon finely chopped crystallized ginger 1 tablespoon lemon juice ¼ cup granulated sugar 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour ¼ teaspoon kosher salt ¼ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg ¼ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper...

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Artists aplenty try to capture the oranges, yellows, and reds of maple (Acer species), sourwood (Oxydendrum arboretum), and sassafras (Sassafras albidum) leaves glowing in sharp-angled light, along with the browns of oaks. Even raking can please as millions of leaves crunch underfoot, evoking autumns past – annual passages signifying decay but also rebirth of color. The show doesn’t end when leaves disappear; winter’s starkness accentuates the beauty of bark. My attention always snaps to as I drive past sycamores (Platanus occidentalis) clad in camouflage....

Plants for Creating the English-Style Front Yard Garden Plan 1 Smooth hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens ‘Annabelle’): Zones 4-9 4 Garden cosmos (Cosmos bipinnatus): Annual 7 Checkerbloom (Sidalcea malviflora ‘Party Girl’): Zones 5-9 7 Snapdragon (Antirrhinum majus): Annual 5 Milky bellflower (Campanula lactiflora): Zones 5-7 6 Speedwell (Veronica spicata ‘Sunny Border Blue’): Zones 3-8 1 Peony (Paeonia lactiflora): Zones 2-8 5 Asiatic lily (Lilium ‘Cote d’Azur’): Zones 4-8 1 Variegated hosta: Zones 3-9 5 Scarlet sage (Salvia splendens): Annual 9 Floss flower (Ageratum houstonianum): Annual 6 Asiatic lily (Lilium ‘Connecticut Yankee’): Zones 4-8 3 Garden phlox (Phlox paniculata): Zones 4-8...

Easy evenings sipping sweet tea in the cool air are made even more enjoyable (and stylish) by Charlotte Lucas, who shaped a porch that’s the envy of the neighborhood. A painted floor enlivened with a Greek-key pattern sets the stage for inviting seating areas. “I didn’t want to simply line the porch with rockers,” the Charlotte designer says. “There needed to be seating versatile to any occasion.” To that end, she created a dining nook anchored by a comfy Woodard love seat....

1 cup raw cashews Boiling water ½ cup water 2 teaspoon cider vinegar 1 teaspoon lime juice 1 clove garlic, minced ⅛ teaspoon salt

¼ cup halved pitted green olives 1 jalapeño peppers*, sliced 6 cherry tomatoes, quartered 1 tablespoon snipped fresh cilantro