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Why Ice Cubes Work for Orchids The concept of watering orchids with ice cubes may seem counterintuitive because plants from tropical regions generally don’t do well with freezing temperatures. However, the Just Add Ice Orchids brand found that using ice cubes to water orchids causes no harm and makes caring for these plants a little easier. “Ensuring orchids get just the right amount of water, without over or underwatering is the biggest challenge for orchid plant parents,” says Marcel Boonekamp, director of growing for Just Add Ice....

Design Your Garden The app fits every home situation. Select from a number of different settings, including entryways, front porches, back patios, and even backyard ponds. There are different housing types, too, ranging from urban, rural, and everything in between. Not seeing what you are looking for? You can upload your own photo to play with. Visualize Before You Plant With more than 1,000 plants to choose from, the landscaping possibilities in our Plan-A-Garden app are practically endless....

¾ cup mayonnaise 1 tablespoon prepared horseradish 1 tablespoon lime juice ½ teaspoon dried oregano, crushed

What Are Macros? Macros—also known as macronutrients—are exactly what their name implies. Macro means large, so macronutrients are the nutrients that your body needs in, well, large amounts. There are three macronutrients: carbohydrate, protein, and fat. Each macronutrient is measured in grams, but the calories per gram of each macronutrient isn’t the same. Protein and carbohydrates have 4 calories for every gram. Fat, however, has 9 calories for every gram. If you’ve ever heard that fat is more nutrient dense than carbs or protein, this is why—each gram of fat has more than twice as many calories....

We’ll go over the basics of what constitutes a single-family home, plus we’ll take a look at what to expect if you decide to purchase one. The Single-Family Home When it comes what a single-family home is, the key word is “single.” Here, think “one” or “solo”—and picture that idyllic, standalone house with its own yard and driveway. “A single-family home is a freestanding home that shares no common walls with another residence and is set alone on its own piece of property,” says Courtney Klosterman, a home insights expert at Hippo, a home insurance company....

Think ahead and leave cream cheese on the counter for 30 minutes to an hour before using it, as it spreads and blends easier at room temperature. (If you forget, you can always try one of these tips for speeding things up.) Make a Super-Easy Appetizer If you love Asian flavors, you’ll be a fan of this easy-to-make party pleaser from chef Gabrielle Watson of Honey River Catering in Columbia, South Carolina....

When Should You Prune Blueberries? Pruning should be done while the plants are dormant. This could be any time after leaf drop to late winter. However, many growers, particularly in colder regions, prefer to wait until late winter. Most blueberry plants don’t need to be cut back at all at planting time. However, if they have weak or broken stems, these should be removed. As difficult as it may be to do, you should remove all flower buds on new plants (these are visible in late winter and can simply be rubbed off)....

But have you ever wondered how this food became part of our holiday tradition—and what the heck eggs have to do with a mythical bunny that fills our Easter baskets? We talked to culinary history experts to explain exactly why we celebrate Easter with eggs, when the custom started, and what history can tell us about this holiday tradition. Why Do We Celebrate Easter With Eggs? “Easter, in particular, is a time when families come to the table to mark the advent of spring....

“Fall’s changing colors have been delayed up to four days per decade in North American forests since the early 1980s,” says Andy Finton, a forest ecologist who is the landscape conservation director with The Nature Conservancy in Boston. This year has been particularly pronounced due to a long hot summer in much of the country, followed by an unusually warm fall. The disruption in fall color is happening in several ways: Summer droughts are making leaves turn brown and fall off before they can take on those desirable shades of red, orange, and yellow....

⅓ cup hoisin sauce ¼ cup rice or red wine vinegar 1 tablespoon soy sauce 1 tablespoon prepared Chinese-style hot mustard or Dijon-style mustard 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated 1 teaspoon sugar ½ teaspoon ground black pepper 2 cloves garlic, minced

“Transitional-style kitchens display an airy and casual elegance that draws you in,” says Atlanta-based interior designer Loretta Willis. “Its clean architectural lines and often neutral finishes speak to an ageless and classic style that borrows the best of traditional and contemporary design.” Another reason for its popularity? The versatile style draws from and feeds into surrounding rooms, making it especially effective for homes with open layouts. The keys to transitional kitchen design are a simple color palette and a cohesive design that eliminates visual distractions like patterns and clutter....

A liner made of flexible synthetic rubber or PVC sheeting or of rigid plastic or fiberglass. This liner contains the water and prevents leaks. A bed of sand. This provides the resting spot for the liner; less common materials include clay or concrete. Edging materials, typically stones or concrete pavers. Edging also prevents surface water from draining into the pond, which can cause contamination. Landscape Pond Maintenance Routines It seems counterintuitive, but there can be fewer steps to maintaining a large landscape pond than a small one....

Pull the sheet and foam pad to the back of one of the long side’s stretcher boards; staple in place at the center. Do the same for the other long side, then repeat the process for the short sides. Working from the center of each board toward the corners, add a few staples at a time to each side until you reach the corners. At the corners, fold and tuck the sheet as you would if making a bed; staple in place....

How to Make a Crepe Below are step-by-step instructions that will show you how to make crepes at home. Step 1: Combine the Ingredients The items needed for a crepe batter include common ingredients you may already have on hand: eggs, all-purpose flour, oil, milk, and salt. For smaller batches, this mixture can be whisked by hand, but if you are increasing the recipe for a larger yield, using a blender to mix all the ingredients is a helpful way to make a smooth batter quickly....

Whether you’re in the mood for traditional chocolate fudge or a new flavor such as vanilla fudge, mocha fudge, or caramel fudge, we have easy fudge recipes and tips for making chocolaty treats your family and friends will love. Step 1: Prepare Fudge Pan The first step in how to make fudge is lining the pan. Any pan will work, depending on the amount and size of fudge you want to make....

Follow our easy lemonade recipe below to make a homemade version of this refreshing ade using fresh lemon juice, or swap in a different citrus to make limeade, orangeade, grapefruitade—any ade you want! Handling Lemons Lemonade starts with fresh lemons, naturally. Look for firm, plump lemons that are heavy for their size and have no tinge of green on the skin (this is a sign of under-ripeness).Store lemons that are in good condition in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks....

Far from a compromise in terms of flavor and its silky, scrumptious results, stove-top homemade mac and cheese can be on your table just 35 minutes from now. Read on to discover how to make stove-top mac and cheese without baking. Then we’ll share topping ideas to amp up the flavor even more or to mimic the craveable texture of a baked pasta casserole. How to Make Stove-Top Mac and Cheese Wondering how to make mac and cheese at home without oven space?...

Step 1: Mix the Dough Corn tortillas start with masa harina, which is corn tortilla flour made from sun-dried corn kernels. You can find it at a Mexican grocer or in the Mexican ingredients aisle of your grocery store. Flour tortillas usually start with all-purpose flour. For corn tortillas, place 2 cups of masa harina in a medium mixing bowl. Using your hands, mix the masa harina with enough water to make a firm but moist dough that is a nice rolling consistency—kind of like children’s modeling clay....

“Be sure to take the time to prep,” says Brittany Griffith, assistant product manager of concrete coatings for Valspar. “Most coating failure comes from lack of proper prep.” Indeed, preparation is the bulk of the work, and the more thorough you can be, the better. However, the steps below are not entirely prescriptive—the condition of your porch will determine how much cleaning and repair need to be done before painting....