Wire Home & Garden

The price that first-time homeowner Justin Bieber paid for his new digs in Calabasas has wended its way into the public record: $6.5 million.

While a full-size swimming pool is lovely if you have the space and the money, there are plenty of other water features that will help you soak tired muscles, cool off and stay in shape.

This time of the year the garden comes alive with shasta daisies. It seems to bring a renewal to the spirit like few other flowers. I was recently in Columbus, Ga., and had the opportunity to tour the Columbus Botanical Garden. There they had several large informal drifts that literally took my breath away.

WHAT'S NEW: DEVICE SIMPLIFIES LAWN REPAIR

Q: I have a home, built about 1950, that has tin siding. Can or should this siding be repainted (and how?), or is it best to remove it and install new siding, such as vinyl?

The Orange County district attorney's office announced Monday it will seek the death penalty against a former Marine in the stabbing death of a mother and her son in Yorba Linda, Calif., and the killings of four homeless men.

It seems that wallpaper has been around forever, or at least for 2,000 years, dating back to when the Chinese started to hang decorated rice paper on their walls. Since then, wallpaper has been popular, reflecting designs and patterns that change to suit the fashion of the times.

Cyberspace was a-twitter this week with the news that Ryan Seacrest is buying Ellen DeGeneres's Beverly Hills compound for $37 million, and that she and spouse Portia de Rossi are moving no farther than a Hal Levitt-designed midcentury - also in Beverly Hills.

Dan Heims makes no apologies: "I'm a plant nerd and proud of it," he says.

Considering that it took an hour to regain feeling in many of my fingertips, it might not have been the brightest thing I've done recently.

The job of a homemaker is 20 percent more physically demanding than that of a clerical worker, according to a survey by the National Institute of Health and Nutrition and J.F. Oberlin University in Tokyo.

WHAT'S NEW: ROOM FAN FRESHENS AIR

The lemon beebalm or purple horsemint has simply been incredible this spring and is continuing to show despite some record heat for our region. Here at the National Butterfly Center this native plant was used extensively as part of the Geoffrey McAllen Memorial Native Grassland and Wildflower Refugium which is planted around the Visitor Pavilion.

When the tomatoes are finally planted, any old daffodil foliage is cut back and the beds are weeded and mulched, it's time to add the final touch of perfection -- tropicals that give your porches and patios a little island mystique.

During the third weekend of June, 30 of the most private gardens in Amsterdam are open to the public as part of Open Garden Days. Some of them are opening for the first time ever, according to a press release from the Netherlands Board of Tourism and Conventions.

Now that we're well into spring, we know warmer weather is coming.

Chalkboards may be old-school, but they're the newest accent in home decor.

The mother of a mentally ill homeless man who died after he was beaten by Fullerton police has reached a settlement with the city that will pay her $1 million, officials announced Tuesday evening.

With so many home mortgages underwater, perhaps it's little wonder that interior designers have found inspiration in the murky depths of the sea. Let's call it turning a negative into a positive.