Wire Home & Garden

Janice Sachen of Chicago offers what she says is a sure cure for that cat-urine smell:

ON THE SHELF: BOOK TOUTS FAST-GROWING VEGETABLES

Building experts say homeowners are turning the old design mantra of bringing the outside in on its head. Instead, they're keeping the outside where it is but making more use of it

Marnie Oursler's passion started with a challenge.

Sometimes it's just hard to improve on the best. Such is the case with the Homestead Purple verbena.

I have weeds. You have weeds. Everyone has weeds this time of year.

The kitchen features a hutch with lovely antique blue-and-white plates. One bathroom has a walk-in shower. And lounge chairs surround a good-sized shaded pool in the back.

LOS ANGELES - Rita Rudner is applying her comedic talent to the sale of her Dana Point beach house, and the result is a spot-on parody of a home marketing video.

I don't know what I'd do without Joe Ponessa, the Rutgers professor emeritus who, time after time, for as long as I have been writing this column, has stepped in to bail me out of my ignorance.

Our rosemary has been yielding incredible spikes of icy blue flowers since early November, making it just another reason why it is climbing the charts of my must-have flowers. If you always thought of rosemary as a tasty herb for poultry or pork, you'd be correct -- but once you start growing it you really become aware of all it has to offer the landscape.

Mother Nature might still be in denial in some parts of the country, but spring is officially here - and that means it's time for homeowners to take stock of the outside of their property to ensure it's safe, well-cared-for and ready for the warmer summer months ahead.

Ten thousand saw I at a glance,

There is something so sexy about getting to go where others can't.

ON THE SHELF: BOOK HELPS BEEKEEPING BEGINNERS

A sliding door - say, a door of planks hanging from exposed hardware - transforms a room. It's so eye-catching, so unexpected, that it invites closer looks. It brings smiles.

Given how often they're on the floor, occasionally inside a public restroom, it should come as no surprise that a third of women's purses crawl with E. coli.

After 2012's summer-long binge of heat and dry weather, lawns and plants are likely to have a hangover this spring.

Leonard Sachs and Lainy LeBow-Sachs have turned their world outside-in.

As I write this, I'm anticipating my husband's return from a week away on business.