Even though we’ve had a cool and wet spring, I’ve managed to get out in the garden and get going. I’m having fun pulling treasures out of my greenhouse and finding summer homes for them. I need a few new containers to accommodate my plants’ new sizes, which brings me to my topic this issue: container gardening. I’m a junkie for container gardening and as there’s a courtyard outside my kitchen, I have the perfect spot. But you don’t need a courtyard to have a fabulous collection... more

Lawns provide many benefits — both aesthetic and practical — but they also require a lot of water. In fact, lawns use two to three times more water than do other plants in the landscape. Improper lawn watering can waste up to 50% of the water coming out of your sprinkler through evaporation, runoff, over-spraying, and over-watering. How can you make sure you’re watering your lawn the right amount and not wasting a valuable resource? Use a couple of watering gauges and the “weekly watering... more

While traveling around town it is easy to notice creative uses for recycled articles that have had a previous life with another purpose. Portland is especially great for this because we recycle everything. Almost all things can have a second life and that a good thing. Old house parts left over after a remodel or deconstruction can be recycled into another home. They can also have a second life reused as something functional, rustic, or whimsical. Old doors, for instance, can be made weather resistant... more

A Place for Inspiration + Education Located on the corner of SE 6th and Main, just a few blocks from local retailers Rejuvenation and Ecohaus, sits the showroom, shop, and warehouse of Endurawood. Serving the Portland area for 10 years, Endurawood continues to offer an assortment of sustainable wood products to both local homeowners, builders, and designers. History Founded in 1994 to create an Oregon resource for sustainable wood, the retail business began by selling Forest Stewardship Council’s... more

Hippo Hardware & Trading Company Hippo has long been a resource for historic and hard-to-find hardware, plumbing, doors and windows, light fixtures, moldings — just about anything that can be salvaged and/or restored. So, whether you’re undertaking a major renovation and hoping to maintain the original architectural integrity of your project, want to replace that vintage door handle or glass globe, or just spend some time peeking into the past — make Hippo one of your destinations. 1040... more

Today’s musings from across the architect’s drawing board ponder a city’s support for sustainable ideas and the hurdles one must sometimes cross when proposing cutting-edge green ideas. Once a policy is defined, rules are adopted to put the policy in motion. A project may comply completely with the policy’s intent, but run into rough water when measured against the policy’s written rules. A cute little mother-in-law project I designed illustrates this perfectly. Accessory Dwelling Units... more

I have been recycling, re-using, and repurposing furniture and fabrics for as long as I have had my business, and even before then in my personal life, but it is really exciting to see the array of sustainable furniture that has been introduced into the home marketplace in the last few years. Using sustainable products and furniture used to be almost exclusive to commercial interiors. It used to be that the only green thing people did in their homes was recycle. Bringing sustainable materials into... more

Just because everyone knows that paint adheres longest to clean surfaces doesn’t mean that everyone should use a pressure or power washer to prep a surface for primer and paint. Yes, exterior surfaces are covered with dirt, environmental pollution, mildew, moss and chalking, peeling, and flaking paint. However, pressure washers are dangerous tools that should not be operated by a weekend do-it-yourselfer. A pressure washer utilizes an electric or gas engine with a pump to increase the water pressure... more