DESIGN | by DEBRA PRINZING

THE IMAGE OF A CIRCLE pleases the eye. In the garden, shapes that are rounded, organic, and sensual resonate as “good design.” They are visually satisfying, emotionally seductive and artistically whole.

Circles also appear tidy, if that sort of thing matters to you. They can be formal, but circular shapes are also very contemporary-looking.

© DEBRA PRINZING

For a fresh statement in the landscape, think about how you can apply or incorporate a rounded feature. With all the squarish blocks of architecture that occupy one’s life, the circle is a nice, soft antidote.

Anyone who enjoys touring gardens, going to design lectures and amassing volumes about the subject of landscape design may, like me, have an instinct about the reason curves, rounded forms, orbs and spherical shapes are successful in the garden. Here’s what the authors of my college design textbook write:

“Among the many and varied forms we see in the world around us, the circle stands out as being unique. Due to its simplicity and completeness, the circle has often been described as the most pure or perfect form.”

“. . . lines and edges which form a 90-degree relationship to a circle’s circumference are more stable looking than compositions that lack this relationship.”

“. . . any line or form that directs the eye to a circle’s center will create a visually harmonious relationship with the circle.”

(From “Residential Landscape Architecture”, by Norman K. Booth and James E. Hiss,

the textbook used by the late Bud Merrill, my design professor.)

I guess the most powerful argument for using a circle is its wholeness. When we see round shapes, curved lines, concentric circles, spirals, spheres, orbs and balls, the scene feels balanced and complete. Whether miniscule in size or with planetary proportions, there’s a lot of power in the perfect circle.

BACK TO BASICS | by JANNA LUFKIN

WHEN YOU CREATE WHITE SPACE AND ELBOW ROOM In your home, you also create it in your mind. You have space to think and space to move and you don’t spend precious time searching for things you need.

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White Space, when successfully executed, draws the eye to the message. In the case of a home, White Space frames and sets off the things that are important to you.

Elbow Room refers to that personal space you need to function in a room.

Here are four tips to help you achieve these concepts:

• Start with the garage. If you organize here first, you are less likely to store unwanted items from your house.
• Organize room by room. Tackle one room at a time. Keep what you need and what you enjoy. Toss what can’t be reused. Take the rest directly to your car to be recycled or donated. If you’re unsure about some items, pack them neatly away ― you may soon discover that you don’t miss them at all.
• Tackle paperwork. The key is to not let it pile up. Carve out a nice space to sort your mail, pay your bills and file important papers. Keep your system simple and you’ll be more likely to keep up on it.
• Clean. After you’ve gone through each room, give your house a top-to-bottom cleaning. Take your time and enjoy your newly organized spaces.

You’re done! And you’ve probably discovered your mind is clearer because your home works as it should. Now, do something you’ve always wanted to do ― you have the time.

Remember, your home is your sanctuary. It’s your spot to unwind and rejuvenate. When it functions well, so do you.

WELLNESS | by POSY GERING

IT’S JULY 4TH WEEKEND — don’t be mindless about it. This is an opportunity to look at what you are enslaved to and declare independence. What are your “vampire energy suckers,” the things you do because you believe others expect them of you, yet they don’t feed you? What are the assumptions you make about why you must continue doing them?

Declare your intention for independence to your family. Ask them what their assumptions are about “vampire energy suckers” and share yours. Chances are that everyone will be surprised. Once you expose the assumptions, you can collectively design different strategies or stop doing it altogether. We often blame others when we feel trapped, but what we’re really trapped by are our assumptions about it.

SUSTAINABLE LIVING | by CELESTE TELL

GRILLING SEASON IS HERE. We love to grill: meat, fish, veggies, you name it. Through September we grill. A lot. With charcoal.

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I, of course, worry about the carbon footprint of it all. On the surface, it seems pretty straightforward: Charcoal grills emit two to three times as much carbon as gas grills. OK. Go buy a gas grill. Case closed.

Or not.

The Oak Ridge National Laboratory reports that charcoal is a renewable resource, while natural gas is not. Charcoal, which is made from wood, is part of a natural carbon cycle, thus having a net-zero carbon footprint.

Most charcoal is made of waste wood or, if new wood is used, it comes from FSC-certified sources. In fact, Kingsford — the gold standard of charcoal — had its humble beginnings as a way for Henry Ford to use his sawdust and waste wood almost 100 years ago.

But wait.

There are two basic types of charcoal, briquettes and lump. Lump charcoal is just that — wood that is charred until it becomes coal-like lumps. Briquettes, on the other hand, contain ground up lump charcoal combined with other ingredients. Those additives put particulate matter into the air and leave behind a residue; lump charcoal burns clean and leaves almost no perceptible ash.

This residue and particulate matter is the heart of the controversy over the environmental impact of charcoal grilling.

In response, small producers, Original Charcoal (sold under private label by Trader Joe’s) and, yes, even Kingsford now sell a range of “100% natural” briquette products.

Bottom line?

Stay away from lighter fluid and instant-light briquettes, which do put VOCs into the atmosphere. Beyond that? Since barbecue emissions represent 0.0003 of the total U.S. annual carbon footprint, go ahead and grill however you like. Just maybe think about taking the bus to your next picnic.

CELEBRATIONS | by DEBRA PRINZING

THE ECO-WEDDING IS BOTH OLD AND NEW. After all, the Boomers who wed in the 1960s and ’70s loved the notion of unconventional settings (such as a meadow or forest) and nontraditional vows: Barefoot brides and grooms eschewed phrases like “to obey” and instead read poetry or sang to one another.

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Fast-forward to the 21st century, where the green wedding is big business. A New York Times environmental reporter last year published “Green Weddings: Planning your eco-friendly celebration”, advising sustainably-minded brides on topics such as the venue, gifts, the gown, invitations, decor, reception, honeymoon and how to calculate the carbon footprint of one’s guests.

Thinking that sustainable weddings were oh-so-contemporary, I was delighted recently to find a 1996 paperback book on the shelf of my local library entitled “Green Weddings That Don’t Cost the Earth”, by Carol Reed-Jones. Reed-Jones wrote this tiny volume out of frustration with not being able to find ideas and information for her own eco-themed nuptials. She shares detailed instructions for making many items by hand, such as bouquets, favors and natural wedding cakes, and offers suggestions for recycling and reusing leftovers.

Reed-Jones wrote, for example: “Use organically grown, local flowers in season or grow your own. Locally-grown flowers don’t need much transportation to get to you. Out of season flowers will have to be transported long distances, contributing to pollution (and costing a small fortune).”

To every locavore bride and groom who take public transportation to their reception (like my friends Britt and Bryon did when they rode Portland’s MAX light rail from church to banquet hall) and celebrates the regional harvest of food, wine and flowers, I say:

Congratulations. You’re making a green statement that brings friends and family members along for the experience, while not being pushy or preachy.

BACK TO BASICS | by JEAN GALTON

IF YOU ASK ME, MOST ICE-CREAM SANDWICHES aren’t very exciting. They’re usually two tasteless chocolate cookies filled with bland vanilla ice cream. Summer calls for much more rewarding treats. Here’s one to make: fab ginger cookies filled with soft peach ice cream.

Ginger-Cookie Ice-Cream Sandwiches
Makes about 12 sandwiches

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, melted
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons molasses
1 large egg
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
Demerara or turbinado sugar
1 pint peach ice cream

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl stir together the butter, brown sugar and molasses. Stir in the egg.
2. In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger and cloves. Stir into the butter mixture.
3. Place the Demerara or turbinado sugar in a bowl. Scoop out a heaping tablespoon of dough and roll into a ball with your hands. Coat the ball with the Demerara sugar by rolling it in the sugar and place it on a parchment or Teflon-pad-lined cookie sheet. Repeat this process, spacing the balls approximately one inch apart on the sheet.
4. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until the bottoms of the cookies are lightly browned. Transfer them to cooling racks and let cool completely. Sandwich peach ice cream between cookies and serve.

PASSIONS | by SHERRY STRIPLING

LAST YEAR’S GARDEN WAS PROLIFIC, but the corn came on while we were away, the excess acorn squash ended up in a compost pile and we toyed with renaming our place Zucchini Acres.

So we are planting strategically this year, popping in only the ingredients we need for our favorite summer dish: Gado Gado.

Described as an “Indonesia extravaganza,” our Gado Gado includes yellow rice (the glow comes from turmeric) on a bed of spinach, covered with vegetables, tofu and hard-boiled eggs from our own chickens. It’s all topped by a spicy peanut sauce.

We can’t grow the rice or the peanuts in our northern climes, but we can grow spinach, cabbage, green beans, carrots and onions (Gado Gado with Walla Walla onions has a nice ring).

No broccoli or celery, both suggested ingredients in our dog-eared 1977 Moosewood Cookbook original recipe, but we will grow our own favorite additions, potatoes and cucumbers. Not a zucchini in the bunch!

You can find other Gado Gado recipes online or get the lighter, improved version with The New Moosewood Cookbook. For a sampling of other vegetarian recipes, visit the Moosewood Restaurant or Molly Katzen’s archives.

Peanut Sauce
From “The New Moosewood Cookbook”
Makes 2 cups
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 heaping tablespoon grated ginger
1 heaping tablespoon minced garlic
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/2 cups hot water
4 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoon soy sauce
Crushed red pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients, spoon over Gado Gado (or anything else), and enjoy.

BACK TO BASICS | by KAT SPELLMAN

I BOUGHT ONE OF THOSE GREAT limonatta bottles (with the attached plastic cork and metal cage/hinge) at Trader Joe’s a while back — so classic Euro-looking and fun. Once the bubbly beverage was gone, I washed the bottle and set it aside.

Fast-forward to some neighbor kids swinging by to play in the yard on a hot afternoon. No lemonade or Izze to be had in the house — nothing “fun”.  So, quick, I pop some chilled water into that cute bottle (pouring it through a frosting tip as I can’t find a funnel), pop the stopper back on top, put out some tiny juice-jar-like glasses (the ones us adults use for wine so our kids’ footballs or the Labrador’s tail doesn’t knock ‘em over) and set them on a tray with paper cocktail napkins and pretty slices of apples.

Me?  Walk outside with it, all nonchalant-like, and pop it on the porch.

The kids? Four boys and girls, ages 3 to 10, in an hour (bladders busting, no doubt) drink four bottles of that plain chilled water. They play, come back, sit in the shade of our dogwood tree, and pour more for themselves and one another. The ritual and style clearly make it special and they’re all giddy with excitement.

And me? I just pretend not to notice, as I keep popping back into the kitchen to fill up that same recycled bottle with plain old chilled water from our Britta pitcher. Shhhh.

DESIGN | by JANNA LUFKIN

THE FARMHOUSE: I KNOW IT WELL. I grew up with it, I live in it, I get it. It’s second nature to me, ingrained in my soul. My grandparents lived on the family farm. A good deal of my childhood was spent there. Truly some of my happiest days were with my grandmother. I’m sure I became a stylist and a designer because of her and that farm. To this day, Benham Lane remains my favorite place.

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But you don’t have to grow up with a farmhouse to create one of your own. These five elements can help yours stand the test of time:

• White paint. Above all, the quintessential farmhouse is white. Use it liberally. It’s fresh and clean and it will never go out of style.
• Tongue-and-groove paneling. Add it as wainscoting, or panel an entire room with it. It’s great on ceilings and as backing for bookcases, cupboards and cabinets.
• Wood floors. Left natural or painted, with or without rugs, wood floors in a farmhouse tell a story. The worn look of well-used stairs and thresholds add character and charm.
• Simple, utilitarian fabrics. Think blue-and-white mattress ticking, burlap, hemp, canvas, worn linen grain sacks and unbleached muslin. Keep it simple.
• Anything galvanized. From buckets to washtubs, watering cans to planters, you can’t go wrong when you bring in these hard-working basics. Put them to use in creative and unexpected ways.

When I remodeled my own home, the family farm oozed out of me. I’m sure I was guided by my grandmother’s hand. When a client says to me, “I want that Farmhouse Feel,” I close my eyes and just imagine myself down home.

PASSIONS | by SHERRY STRIPLING

I HATE TO SAY I’M A USER BUT WHEN WE TOOK OUR SON, then a toddler, on his first overnight hike, I was already looking ahead to the day I’d need him to help tote the heaviest stuff up the hill. Fortunately, a love of hiking took, so I can look back now and say confidently that what we did worked.

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The safest time for a first overnight is in prime hiking season, often mid-July to mid-September. We picked a postcard-perfect setting with a lake that was more drive up than walk in, just a mile from where we parked the car.

Where we went wrong:

• At age 3, a mile uphill might have been too long for his little legs, but he made it.
• A good pair of sneakers would have helped. Rubber boots were a challenge.

Where we went right:

• We took lots of snacks and stopped often to eat, which I still claim was for his sake.
• We took his fishing pole, dog, good books for lantern storytelling and comfy sleeping gear.
• We picked good weather but prepared for whatever mountain weather can bring, understanding that toddlers lose body heat quickly when they’re not moving.
• He carried his own light pack with snacks.
• We devoted our attention to him entirely, knowing that the lake, getting lost and the campfire were all hazards.
• We kept a change of dry clothes in the car.

Most people think of hiking with small children as a way of keeping their own passions going despite having kids. As I load up my son with the stove, fuel and extra food now that I’m over the hill, I see it as a rare investment that paid off big.