USING FLOWERS AMONG FOOD CROPS

There is a certain satisfaction in seeing crisp, clean rows of tomatoes or tightly packed lines of lettuce. But in my gardening experience, I have found that my plants are happier and healthier when they are given a bit more freedom—not unlike people.

In nature, plants don’t tend to segregate themselves into exclusive groupings, but rather they grow together, mixing and mingling. In doing so, they achieve a symbiosis; they benefit from and protect one another.

Polyculture is an agricultural practice that seeks to mimic this natural diversity by growing a variety of plants together so they can help one another grow. Planting flowers in and among vegetable crops is a wonderful way to naturally promote garden health and, as an added benefit, enhance the beauty of your garden spaces. I personally love gardens that take on a wild, lost-cottage appearance—but flowers don’t have to look messy and haphazard. Considering size and height, complementary colors, and spacing will help to give your garden an elegant, graceful appearance.

However, the main reason to plant flowers alongside your veggies is that they can attract—and repel—insects. As gardeners, there are bugs we like, and bugs we would rather be without. Pollinators such as butterflies, moths, and, of course, bees, are critical to the survival of vegetable gardens. Then, there are the bad bugs: aphids, beetles, leafminers, squash bugs… the list goes on and on. Planting flowers can deter pests by their scent, make it more difficult for pests to travel and spread through your garden, and even attract other insects that eat those pests. >>

Pollinators, Please!

So much of the food we eat relies on pollinators to grow and produce fruit. Planting the right flowers can draw them in and give your garden the boost it needs to be productive.

Bees, well known for their productive pollination in gardens, can’t see the color red. They are especially attracted to blue and violet flowers that smell sweet and provide easy access to nectar. But bees are not the only pollinators we want in our garden! Butterflies and hummingbirds are excellent pollinators too, and they have different mouth-shapes and color preferences. Hummingbirds, for example, love red, cone-shaped flowers and can access nectar that is stored deeper within the bloom. So when in doubt, plant a variety!

Cosmos: Full disclosure, I listed these first because they are my favorite. I love how leggy and wild cosmos grow, especially when planted among sunflowers (which are also great for bees). But these beauties are professional pollinator magnets, with many varieties and colors to choose from. Bees love the purple and pink varieties, while the white sensation variety is especially good for attracting lacewings, who in larvae form have quite an appetite for aphids. Tip: They look stunning among anything that vines or climbs up a trellis.

Purple Coneflower (Echinacea): Bees love this stuff. Their purple, cone-shaped blossoms are the perfect color and shape for our busy, buzzing garden friends. As an added bonus, echinacea is well-known for its immune-boosting, cold-fighting qualities when used in tea.

Zinnias: An excellent choice for the vegetable garden, zinnias attract lots of beneficial insects. In particular, butterflies love them. They are bright and colorful, and provide late-season nectar for pollinators. They also invite beneficial insects, especially Monarch butterflies, to lay eggs in their foliage. They attract hummingbirds, hover flies and wasps, all of which eat up destructive pests. Plant them around your tomatoes to deter worms. If you need more convincing, they make gorgeous cut flowers. You can’t lose with a thick zinnia patch in your garden.

Columbine: Columbine is another personal favorite and has a very interesting history of adaptation to benefit the pollinators that drink their nectar. Biologists have found that the unique nectar spurs, or long tubes that lead to the flowers’ nectar, grow in length based on the tongues of their preferred pollinators. These are a favorite snack of hummingbirds.

Lavender: This divine smelling, purple beauty is a favorite of bees and gardeners alike. You probably already have some in your garden. Consider placing it nearer to your veggies. Choose long-blooming varieties—be sure to leave some uncut—and bees will come from miles around to enjoy the bounty of pollen and nectar that they provide.

Pest Prevention

There are all sorts of things we don’t want in our gardens. Flowers can be used to disguise food crops, confuse and trap harmful pests, and even attract insects that love to feast on all the bugs we don’t like. Better yet, strategically placed flowers are so much better for the garden than chemical pesticides, which can damage soil and stunt growth over time.

Calendula (Pot Marigolds): Who doesn’t love these flowers? Simple, compact, colorful, and late-blooming, pot marigolds are so cheerful and deter all sorts of unwanted insects, such as squash bugs, mosquitos, and lice. Considered a great “trap crop,” calendula attracts pests like aphids and whiteflies and produces a sticky substance that traps these garden pests before they reach your crops. Note: Calendula, an edible, herbal flower, is different from the common marigold, which is toxic when ingested.

Chrysanthemums: Did you know that some brands of bug repellent and pesticides use a chemical extracted from mums (pyrethrin) to deter pests? Not only do these flowers repel pests such as beetles and harlequin bugs, which destroy gardens, they also keep away lice, ticks, bed bugs, roaches, and other universally disliked crawling critters. I like to plant them among squash and potatoes.

Queen Anne’s Lace: A tall, elegant choice for the garden, Queen Anne’s Lace attracts lacewings, ladybugs, hoverflies, and a number of other pest-gobbling insects to the vegetable patch. They are also known to give tomato plants a little boost when planted close by! Like many on this list, they will keep coming back year after year and can spread prolifically.

Yarrow: Yarrow is becoming the permaculturists secret weapon. It attracts beneficial insects such as bees and lacewings, provides excellent nesting grounds for these helpful critters, and has a scent that repels garden pests. In fact, it would make an excellent addition to your cucumber patch. To top it all off, yarrow is a beloved medicinal herb, used to control bleeding, pain, and inflammation. It’s also known to fortify garden soil and activate compost. This is a powerhouse of a plant you should always make room for.

Nasturtium: These attractive edibles are another powerful multi-use companion, and they come with a cornucopia of benefits.
The flowers and leaves are edible (and quite tasty) and provide an extensive list of medicinal benefits. They also emit a powerful odor that masks the scent of crops that are often vulnerable to a pest attack. Plant them everywhere, but especially near your brassicas.

Consider experimenting with interplantings of beneficial flowers this spring. You’ll have a great time trying different height and color combinations. When you find yourself spending less time fighting off pest infestations and more time enjoying the beauty and bounty of your garden, you’ll become an instant polyculturalist for life.

General Tips:

Avoid chemical fertilizers and pesticides.
These products can be helpful to the gardener, but often their consequences outweigh their benefits. Pollinators don’t like them, and they can strip soil of its organic qualities. Use natural, cultural solutions when possible, and if chemicals are a must, check to make sure they aren’t harmful to beneficial insects.

Plant in small groups. A single flower is better than no flower at all, but planting in clumps is a good way to attract pollinators. It shortens the distance that they have to travel for food and encourages them to stick around. As pest repellents, groups of flowers perform better.

Shoot for year-round blooms. If you provide a constant food source for beneficial insects, they will return to your yard all year long—and likely make their homes close by. Try to keep something in bloom throughout the year.

Provide other resources. Bees, butterflies, and all of those garden-friendly bugs need more than food to survive. Consider providing housing (bee hotels are really cool, and make for a fun project) and shallow water to encourage long-term residence in your garden.

A Bedford County custom build full of color and contrast

Photos by Laura Beth Davidson

Before Jill Rufus can answer a knock on the front door, the family’s Golden Retriever, Hershey, has long beaten her to it. Almost on cue, the gentle giant lays down on the foyer rug, rolls over onto his back, and stops—hoping for a belly rub from this new stranger-turned-best friend.

It’s a very fitting welcome to the Rufus household. While the impressive craftsman-style home is impeccably styled down to the very last detail, there is a down-to-earth vibe here. From her husband Jim’s obvious aversion to wearing a tucked-in button down and khakis to Jill’s easy and approachable conversation, this is a place where it’s okay to kick off your shoes and be yourself.

Jill and Jim—owners of real estate and rental investment company The Rufus Group—stumbled across the “Tranquility” house plan by Garrell Associates while attending a party at a friend’s house in 2012. With four sons—now ages 16, 17, 18 and 20—they were outgrowing their current space, a traditional historic home.
“What sold us on [the new house] was the open spaces, and I liked the different levels of the ceilings,” Jill said, adding that only three homes of this style have been built in the Lynchburg area. “It’s not cookie cutter.”

Neither are Jill’s décor choices—she’s not afraid to mix colors, patterns and textures. “I’ve just always been attracted to color,”
Jill said. Turquoise is one of her most-used hues.

The living room is especially vibrant with its floor-to-ceiling wall featuring patterned hardwood tiles from Mirth Studio, based in Charleston. “I call this my Charleston room,” Jill said. The couch, zebra-inspired ottoman, and large floral oil painting over the fireplace are all Charleston finds.

While Jill has always been a do-it-yourself kind of person, (she also is part owner of Ideal Cabinets of Lynchburg and oversees kitchen designs and other renovation projects regularly), she recalls a gentle nudge to get some design help as they built. “We were about 25 percent in when the kitchen designer said, ‘do you not have an interior designer?’” Jill recalled. “It had never dawned on me at all.”

The friend with the same house plan they saw at that party, Kate Avello, agreed to take on the job. Because she had lived in the same house, and had a similar modern style to Jill’s, it was an easy fit. “We had a really good time together,” Jill said.

Instead of always focusing on perfection, Jill loves to talk about all of the things that went wrong throughout the building process—but ended up being “happy accidents.”

In the keeping room right off the kitchen, dark wood, mirrored inserts frame the fireplace and instantly catch the eye. They were designed by a jeweler-turned-home builder, who also does other custom projects. He laser cut the design, but the final pieces were too small. “Jimmy did the measurements one day, and I took a pic of those and sent them to the builder,” she explained. “Well, apparently Jimmy’s 7 looked like a 1.”

This led to a months-long back and forth between the designer, decorative painter, installation crew and mirror company to come up with a plan to salvage the original design: “But it was all worth it in the end,” she said.

There are other “happy accidents” in the kitchen—featuring antique white cabinets and a leathered granite in Antarctica white.

The Rufuses chose to not only increase the size of the island but also double stack the granite—which caused the slab to sag. Jill had meticulously measured the space and bought chairs. At first, she was frustrated they wouldn’t fit with the added support posts. “Our builder said, ‘Jill… put two of the chairs on each side. You’re going to have better conversation that way.’ Now, I love that.”

The kitchen is truly the heart of the Rufus home. “We usually eat right here [at the island],” she said. “The computers go up and everyone just hangs out.”

It’s also a place that Jimmy shows off one of his hidden talents. “His degree is in hotel/restaurant management. He does everything involving cooking,” she said. “I don’t cook at all!”

The Rufuses enjoy hosting dinner parties in their formal dining room a few times a year. But even when they aren’t expecting company, the table is always set. “Every time people come over they are like, ‘Are you about to have a party?’ For my eye, I like to see that it looks put together and not empty.”

A herringbone dresser in the dining room ties into the other black and white accents found in the home. It’s the only piece of furniture that came from their old house, a $300 auction win. “Other things I’ve shed,” she explained, “but that will always stay with me.”

In the master bedroom, the brighter colors found in the rest of the home are taken down a notch—including the classic drapes, a $50 find from Estates and Consignments. Chandelier-style lamps give the room another touch of elegance.

On the tray ceiling, a decorative painter, who also did work in other parts of the home, created a unique bronze design. Again, Jill wasn’t worried about perfection. “Kate called me and said, ‘Jill, it’s not even.’ I said, ‘No, I kind of like it like that.’ Because the painter freehanded it. And it’s another part of the story of this house.”

Jill and Jim reminisced about another “happy accident” many years ago. With two young sons already, they were finalizing plans to adopt a newborn baby boy, when Jill found out she was pregnant. “My life at that time was a blur,” she said. “Is he a happy accident? He is. I would have definitely been done after our third.”

Opening their home to a child in need came second nature to the Rufuses. Jill’s previous career was running an infant adoption agency. It was also in this season where she developed a passion for interior design. “I would go on these home visits all over the state and was just wowed by some of the interiors I saw,” she said.

The main level powder room is the room for the daughter Jill never had, she joked. It’s the smallest, but loudest, room in the house—inspired by the beachy prints of
Lilly Pulitzer. “The boys will bring the girls they are dating in here and show it off,” she laughed.

The Rufuses four sons all live at home and have plenty of space to themselves. Right off the foyer is a set of open stairs leading to the basement, where there are three of the boys’ bedrooms, a kitchen, billiards room and home movie theater.

It’s a major upgrade from their last home, where all of the boys shared one bathroom. While Jill certainly has moments where she misses their younger years, she’s also the type of mom who thrives in the present. “Years ago, my first house was very matchy matchy. It looked like kids lived there and I wanted it to look that way,” said Jill. “But I knew once my kids were older, I could really invest in stuff that would stay nice. Once that time came, I knew and did exactly what I had always wanted to do.”

Over the past few years, shiplap, barn doors, and whitewash saturated rooms on cable makeover shows as well as houses in our very own zip codes. Much like the hunter greens and oversized couches of the 1990s and the shabby chic craze of the early aughts, the modern farmhouse look took hold of the better half of the past decade.

Well, the times are always changing—and that means interior design trends come and go.
However, the latest look for the new decade isn’t really anything “new” at all. Even though some refer to it as New Traditional, the most recent term is grandmillennial.

Grandmillenials grew up with AOL and early cell phones, and they don’t shy away from modern perks—they just happen to be drooling over the period costumes and gorgeous set design when streaming “The Crown” or “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.” This group of millennials adores traditional decor, and they’re updating the classics in a way that’s all their own.

Artistic Classics in Bedford
Reagan Flaherty Sampson lives in a charming country home that she bought and restored two years ago. You might expect to see a farmhouse- or cottage-style at the end of the gravel lane, but once you make your way through the front porch and into the home, you’ll feel like you were transported to a high-end tea room or gallery. “It’s very cozy, but I still have some grand tastes!” she laughs.

Reagan’s mixing of patterns and use of watery hues lends a contemporary effect to an otherwise traditional living space. A wall of gold framed mirrors catches and bounces natural light around the room—a smart design choice that helps balance the visual weight of a wooden armoire.
Reagan purchased many of these at consignment shops over the years, but friends and loved ones also bring them to her when they unearth them during renovation projects or when cleaning out their attics.

The living room is also home to an eye-catching piece of artistic glasswork positioned in the corner. Reagan found the piece at the Bedford Farmer’s Market for $20, but it looks like a million bucks. “It’s actually an old window! I love the way the light passes through it,” she says. She displays the glass on an easel that belonged to her stepfather’s father in the 1940s.

Reagan has a love for older homes—both her current home and previous home are well over 100 years old. “I love bringing things back to their original state while making them functional,” she says.

It’s no surprise that she also has an affinity for furnishings and accessories that come with their own stories. Her favorite piece in this “new” house is a giant armoire in the dining room. “It’s a King Louis XV, and there’s still a sticker on it from when it was shipped over by a boat from Paris!” she explains.

Continuing Traditions in Lynchburg
Another local grandmillennial not only embraces traditional style, but also puts her cherished treasures on full display. Kate Blickenstaff Poats is a local realtor who sets foot in professionally designed interiors daily; however, she chose to style her 1950s ranch home herself. “I like to build my style around things I cherish and things that make me happy,” she explains, such as the framed Gucci scarf hanging on the wall. Kate’s mother owned the scarf and proudly showcased it in Kate’s childhood home. Kate had always admired its beauty and colors.
The scarf is just one symbol of what inspires Kate’s touching sentimentality.

“I want my space to feel warm and inviting, like the way I feel about the home I grew up in,” she explains.

She achieves her design goals in a variety of ways, from shopping local estate sales to surrounding herself with furnishings and accessories that carry special meaning. For example, a framed gold leaf oil painting depicting a Mediterranean afternoon reminds Kate of her time studying abroad in Spain and Italy, and her love for collecting ginger jars led her to buy a set of six paintings of jars by local artist Claudia Stubstad.

A love for traditional style indicates that someone also has an appreciation for the past. “I’m definitely an old soul,” Kate admits.

“I think that’s why I love traditional style—it makes me think of my grandmother and my parents.”

She also prefers rooms that looks collected and curated, so she incorporates heirloom pieces with newer furnishings to create a space with a healthy dose of personality and plenty
of visual interest. A classic Persian rug in the dining room was a local estate sale find.

“I love that it is being passed down from one Lynchburg family to another,” she explains.
Other antique treasures include chairs upholstered with chinoiserie fabric, a collection of blue and white porcelain, floral side chairs—all are at home in Kate’s living space.

Grandmillennial Style for Everybody
If you’re drawn to classic design and furnishings or accessories with history and meaning, then you, too, can develop your own spin on traditional style that looks elegant, refined, and refreshed—even with Grandma’s hutch and china collection on display. Mady Greer of Curtains, Blinds & Bath in Forest works with many younger clients who embrace traditional style.

She believes this style appeals to a new generation because it offers a high-end look and usually incorporates some heirloom pieces.

“Mix in pieces that are timeless,” suggest Greer.

“Use real wooden pieces as opposed to metal furnishings, and start with your living room and
dining room, which tend to have larger, more traditional pieces to begin with.”

It can feel overwhelming to transition out of your current style. Greer recommends sticking to classic shapes for tables, sideboards, and couches—think rolled arms, tufted, or Chesterfield sofas. “All of our customers add their eclectic, niche pieces in their accessories and artwork,” she says.

In a time where the world is moving forward faster than you can download a new app, there’s something inviting and comforting about traditional design, and millennials have caught hold of it and made it their own.

Photo by Paul Wheaton, richsoil.com

For me, winter is a struggle. I can’t grow much more than lettuce, and I crave the dirt and the smell of tomato vines. It’s during the cold season that I do all of my planning. My husband gets anxious when he sees the graph paper strewn about our dining table—he knows that I’m designing my latest garden expansion idea, and he’s going to be out there digging in just a few months.

In an effort to minimize the hard work of garden tilling, he began building me raised beds several seasons ago.

I thought I would hate them, but I love them. Fewer weeds, no tilling—there are tons of benefits. So now, I’m always on the hunt for the next thing in raised bed gardening and permaculture—which brought me to hugelkultur.

First off, the word is ridiculous. Of German origin, it’s pronounced, “hoogle-culture,” and it means “hill culture.” It’s actually a practice that has been around for thousands of years—by various, probably less silly-sounding, names.

Essentially, hugelkultur is one of many methods of building raised, self-composting garden beds from layered, organic material. This one results in mound-shaped beds built from piling wood, mulch, and compost, and then covering the pile with soil, where plants will grow.

The great thing about hugelkultur is that it is self-watering, self-tilling, and self-fertilizing. Though building a hugel bed takes some effort, you’ll love how easy it is to maintain. The ingredients for a perfect hugel bed are probably already in your yard, and winter is the perfect time to take on a hugelkultur project, because the beds benefit from having a bit of time to get established before your spring veggie plantings.

Steps to building your own
Step One: Dig a trench. It doesn’t have to be very deep, but it should be about the size of the bed you want to create. Then, you will fill the trench with dead logs. Ideally, the logs will be in various states of decomposition. As these logs decompose, they will provide long-term, vital nutrients to the soil. Use hardwoods, because they break down more slowly, and you’ll want to stay away from wood varieties that contain toxins or will adversely affect the pH levels in the soil, such as black walnut and locust. Some ideal options are apple, maple, oak, and poplar, all of which can be found in abundance in our region.

Step Two: On top of the logs, you’ll pile smaller woody materials, such as branches and brush. This is likely where you will get the hill or mound shape of the bed itself. I wanted to build a fairly tall mound (three feet in height) but didn’t want large gaps or air pockets in the structure, inviting future collapse, so I layered with mulch between branch pilings. Pro-tip: The mulch I used is just chippings from a local tree business, and usually, they deliver at no cost. Again, just make sure that the wood type is appropriate for gardening purposes. Dead leaves and grass clippings are also terrific options and break down quickly, giving your garden a boost.

The size of the bed is entirely up to you. The important thing is that the organic materials below your growing medium are layered in such a way as to encourage long-term nutrient enrichment and sustained growth. Keep in mind also that if your bed is particularly tall, you’ll have one side receiving less sunlight, and you’ll want to consider that aspect when planting.

Step Three: After you’ve piled on your branches and the bed is still a manageable size (you’ll need to be able to reach the top), it’s time for the top mulch layer. Again, leaves and grass clippings are terrific, and I decided to reuse some of the turf I pulled up to dig the trench (grass-side down). This adds a little support and stability.

Step Four: After the top layer of mulch, you’ll need a compost layer. You won’t need a whole lot of compost, just enough to give your bed a jump start, so that the first year plantings will have nutrients while the woody materials slowly decompose.

Step Five: The final layer of your hugelkultur bed will be top soil. Start by reusing all the dirt you dug out of the trench, then add more if needed. Obviously, you want a good depth for planting, so take that into consideration as you cover the mound. In order to retain the structure of the bed, you’ll want to have something growing and setting down roots quickly. If building in winter, it’s a good idea to plant a cover crop such as rye or winter wheat, which will prevent erosion and help to keep the soil aerated.

The Benefits
There are many other techniques to try for raised bed gardening, but I like hugelkultur for a few reasons—one is that these beds can be massive, and my eyes are always bigger than my appetite when it comes to gardening. One of the most interesting qualities of hugelkultur, in my opinion, is that the structure of the bed actually results in a unique microclimate that keeps plants warm, because the process of decomposition generates heat. It also stays hydrated, as the decaying material retains moisture. These factors really encourage plant growth and can even extend the growing season. The mound shape offers more planting surface without requiring more precious garden real estate.

In the spring, you’ll have a healthy and unique garden bed ready for your veggies!

You can really plant anything in a hugelkultur bed.

Squash, melons and leafy veggies do especially well.

I’m a big fan of polyculture, or planting a variety of species in the same bed. Just be aware of companion plants that help each other grow! Your new hugelkultur bed, when properly constructed and planted, should last for years, and is sure to intrigue your garden-loving friends.

By Ashleigh Meyer

A Personal and Cozy Christmas at the Summerville Cottage

Local art teacher Laura Watts loves home decor and finding ways to incorporate her favorite things into the home she shares with her husband of 8 years, Woody, owner and Creative Director of Watts Creative Studios. Together, in 2014, they purchased what they’ve dubbed the “Summerville Cottage.”

Since then, they’ve completed several major projects to transform it into a mix of a French-inspired cottage and a Southern farmhouse. The combo works well, resulting in a cozy and pleasing aesthetic where tastefully designed vignettes await discovery and the softly muted color palette lends a peaceful atmosphere.

“I wanted it to have a French-feel, like a Parisian cottage, more so than a rustic cottage,” Laura says. “And cozy is the perfect word—I’ve always wanted a house that feels comfy but not overly done or too formal, lived-in, but still anyone can come in and have a glass of tea or a cup of coffee.”

After traveling to France, Laura says she came home with a renewed interest in creating spaces that reflected their life as a family without too much that overwhelmed.

“They lived simply,” she says of the French homes she visited, “But every little item is appreciated, so when I came back, you should have seen the yard sale—I wanted to scale it back but still have it feel like we stepped into a French country cottage.”

Though modest in size, the character of this home from 1930 emits the warm atmosphere that Laura wanted to create. Together, she and Woody added several elements to increase the charm even more such as the wood-paneled ceiling, the converted storage space turned coffee bar just off the kitchen, and interior café-style shutters for their windows. They also updated the kitchen with a tiled backsplash, replaced the counters, and refinished the hardwood floors.

“You want your house to reflect your heart,” she says. “So, for us that means welcome and invitation.”

“All is Calm, All is Bright”
In terms of Christmas decorating, Laura says her main goal is to reflect the joy of the season. “I want to reflect calm but Christmas spirit, too,” she says.

One primary way to accomplish that sense of calm is with a set color theme, because it gives the space a cohesive feel and doesn’t overwhelm the eye upon entering a room.

Woody says he starts to notice Laura’s preferred color of the season right around early fall based on items she will pick out over time; “I saw blush [showing up] in September,” he says with a smile.

Laura’s use of blush and ivory for this season’s palette may have created a muted result, but she includes plenty of visual interest with texture, layers and a variety of items like her mix of a wooden reindeer figurine set next to a tabletop tree made of paper rosettes. While both are cream-colored, the combination of materials is engaging.

Adding Christmas to functional spaces such as the kitchen can be as simple as adding a small element, like Laura’s addition of a ceramic, vintage Christmas tree on the counter, the use of a wreath, or even placing a Christmas cookbook out on display. Choosing personal items with family history, like the Christmas tree she received from her grandfather, makes the decor fun and meaningful.

So, when does she actually start laying items out? “The day after Thanksgiving,” she says, “Because I decorate for Halloween too.” It’s a three-day process. “I’ll put on ‘The Grinch’ and just get going,” she says.

“The decor is her,” Woody says. “I carry the totes and if she tells me to hang it, I do, but the decor is all her.”

Laura’s advice is: “Don’t decorate for anyone else except yourself and your family; so many people may not put out their Disney stuff because ‘it may not look good’—but I think that’s sad,” she says emphatically. “Surround yourself with what makes you happy. You can do it in a way that ties it in with other decor, so it’s not the centerpiece” but those special touches are still there. Sprinkled throughout her home are various nativity pieces and vintage ceramic churches that were originally owned by her grandparents.

For families with children, incorporating elements that pay homage to shared experiences can be fun for them to discover. You can also display them in fun or “secretive” ways.

“We hide our favorite things on the tree,” she says, laughing. “I love sharks—so there’s a random blue shark.” And for Woody there’s a “Star Trek: Next Generation” ornament. “They’re hidden just for us,” she says. She’s also added a vintage Santa figurine and a birdhouse among other items.

Laura loves the hunt for unique items at a budget price.

She frequents yard sales, estate sales and mixes things in from regular retailers as well for a one-of-a-kind result.

“It’s all about the hunt and finding those things that remind you of family members,” Laura says. “I think of mice and think of my mom, so if I find a cute little item, I’ll randomly add it to the tree.”

And Laura doesn’t shop specifically for the season; instead, she may pick up a few new items but mostly she repurposes items she has all year. For example, she may paint something to work with her chosen colors.

Woody finds this telling of her skill and good eye.

“Even when she signs a check, it’s beautiful,” Woody interjects. “She doesn’t even try, and it’s just amazing; she’s just so talented.”

“No, I have fun, and I want things to be pretty,” Laura responds, laughing. “It’s not like I have some kind of a magic touch.”

“Oh, she does!” he says.

Surrounded by evidence of that magic touch, we’ll have to agree with Woody on this one.

Follow Laura’s decor adventures on her Instagram: @SummervilleCottage; she also teaches a variety of classes at the Academy Center of the Arts like hand lettering and soap making.

By Jennifer Redmond | Photos by Ashlee Glen

We all secretly want our present to be the receiver’s favorite—something they weren’t expecting and something that also gets used again and again and again.

If you are shopping for a loved one with a green thumb this holiday season, I have you covered. Below are nine of my favorite lawn and garden items that I hope will bring someone you love joy all year long!

Corona RazorTOOTH Folding Pruning Saw—This tool is always in my tool bag. It is big enough to get jobs done that loppers can’t. They are especially helpful when pruning roses and other ornamental shrubs that need shaping.
Find at Ace Overstreet Hardware, locations in Lynchburg and Forest: www.acehardware.com.

Womanswork All Leather Gauntlet Gloves—Winter chores call for tough gloves. These are particularly designed to wear when cleaning up “thorny” things like roses. They protect you all the way up to your elbows.
Find at womanswork.com.

LL Bean Everyday Lightweight Tote—This lightweight tote holds everything I need except loppers. You can pack your thermos, water bottle, gloves, tools, zip ties… everything. It opens wide so it’s easy to find what you are looking for—and it washes like a champ! This tote is also durable too. I’ve used it every day for a solid year with no rips or tears. There is even a monograming option for the ultimate personalized gift.
Find at LL Bean, www.llbean.com.

Joyce Chen 51-0621 Unlimited Scissor—I keep this in my kitchen drawer. It’s perfect for cleaning up vegetables from the garden or for meal prep. They are also helpful for trimming flowers while arranging them at your sink. If you only have one scissor in your kitchen drawer, this should be it.
(Oh, and it will do a number on chicken and fish as well!) Find on Amazon.

Gardener’s Workshop Trapezoidal Hoe—I’ve had this same hoe for about six years now. This tool lets you stand up to tackle a wide variety of weeding jobs. It can be used on the angle for tight work around plants and shrubs. Or, use the whole blade for larger weeds or wide-open spaces.
Find at www.thegardenersworkshop.com.

John Scheepers Amaryllis Bulbs—When the winter hangs on, we starve for the bright colors of our spring and summer gardens. Unusual amaryllis are sure to brighten up every corner of your home. No harder than paper whites to grow and much more stunning, there are lots of varieties to choose from. John Scheepers has a beautiful collection.
Find at www.johnscheepers.com.

Wheeler Munroe Leather Company Tool Belt—Made in North Carolina, these tool belts are a dream. Mine is always on my side so I can have my clippers, phone or paper with me. I have the Floral Belt model. I’ve had it at least five years and it still looks great. I’m waiting on something to break so I can get the model with more pockets. (Maybe they’ll see this magazine story and mail me one.
I have a Christmas wish list too!)
Find at www.wheelermunroe.com.

Gardener’s Workshop Soil Blocking Kit—After you’ve gardened for a while, you get bored with having access to only a few plant options. You crave more variety! This gift opens up the world of seed starting in a way that has changed our world at Irvington Spring Farm. We used to spend so much more on plugs. (Plant plugs that were shipped in these tiny cell trays by the box full.) Not anymore thanks to this cool method we saw on Lisa Zeigler’s site. These soil blocks are the most successful and forgiving system possible. You can have all the flowers and/or vegetables you can dream of because you start them yourself and aren’t dependent on what our nurseries alone can provide.
Find at www.thegardenersworkshop.com.

Element Sprinkler Hose—This hose did a great job keeping my gardens watered. I put a three-way hose valve onto my spigot and hooked up three at a time to cover a wide bed. It’s lightweight and doesn’t tangle up as easily as some other hoses do. Find at Home Depot.

Free Grants And Low-Cost Loans For College Might Be As Close As Your Laptop

High school seniors sweat two questions every fall: Will I get into college, and how will I pay for it?

Chances are, they and their families started agonizing over these challenges years ago, and that’s good: Their forward thinking is beneficial, especially when it comes to paying the high price of higher education, which ranges annually from $25,290 to $50,900 (see box). Planning hopefully means they’ve saved money—but, understandably, they still might not have enough stashed away. Most often, that is the case. The National Center for Education Statistics reports that in 2016, 85 percent of bachelor’s degree-seeking students received financial aid. According to Big Future, an online student planning tool offered by College Board, the SAT-creator, about 57 percent of financial aid is in the form of grants, and 34 percent in federal loans.

Tina Russell, director of financial aid at Christopher Newport University, describes these two types of aid as gift aid and self-aid, which can also include work-study jobs.

“Gift aid—grants or scholarships—is the best type of aid,” she notes, “as it does not have to be repaid.”

Exploring how much aid a student may qualify for is a multi-step process. Those who have specific colleges in mind can visit each school’s website and find a net price calculator. A student can enter his and his family’s financial information, such as income and bank accounts, to receive an estimate of his bill at the school, regardless of the listed price.

To qualify for aid, students must fill out the FAFSA—the free application for federal student aid. It opens online each year on Oct. 1. Again, the student will enter his and his parents’ financial information and answer other questions. At the end of the report, he can see a guide as to what he might expect for aid—either as grants he doesn’t need to repay or loans that can be paid back shortly after college graduation. Some federal loans do not accrue interest during college, while others do. Most students qualify for the loans, and the loan amount increases from $5,500 freshman year to $7,500 senior year.

Students forward the completed FAFSA® to each school they’re applying to. Some colleges ask for more detailed financial information as well. The schools then use the data to make a financial aid offer, which could also include funding from the state, the school and private sources.

“The best solution for seeking the best terms for aid is to research and apply for all aid sources, including scholarships, early,” Tina advises. “Contact each institution to ensure you have completed all required steps. Not all institutions are in a position to negotiate. Private colleges typically have an advantage when it comes to negotiating the terms of an aid package.”

Average Annual Cost of College in 2018

In-state public colleges: $25,290
Out-of-state public colleges: $40,940
Private colleges: $50,900
Source: ValuePenguin

The Common-wealth Is A World-Class Higher Education Destination For Local And Out-Of-State Students Alike

For Virginia residents and out-of-state students alike, the commonwealth’s higher education institutions offer exceptional value and a wide range of programs to meet the needs of all types of students. Whether you are a student athlete looking to play at the collegiate level, a nontraditional student seeking to advance your career, an aspiring doctor, or something in between, Virginia has a higher education program where you will thrive.

During the 2018–2019 academic year, there were 521,471 students enrolled in Virginia’s higher education institutions, according to the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia. And it isn’t just enrollment that’s impressive. The commonwealth also boasts the second-highest public four-year graduation rate in the country. And in 2017, Virginia was named the No. 1 state for higher education by SmartAsset, a finance website. SmartAsset also noted that Virginia always ranks in the top 10 states for higher education.

According to SmartAsset, “Virginia’s public colleges and universities effectively educate their students. Virginia has one of the highest average graduation rates in our study at 70 percent. And, the average 20-year return on investment for graduates is $442,660, which is the fourth-highest ROI in our study. Additionally, the student-faculty ratio in Virginia rates seventh lowest in the nation.”

Virginia is home to 15 four-year public universities, 13 of which offer graduate programs. Students seeking associate degrees can choose from one of 23 two-year schools in the Virginia Community College System, or the Richard Bland College of William & Mary. There are also 28 private college options in Virginia, a great choice for students seeking small classes with an average student-faculty ratio of 11:1, more personalized attention and a focus on opportunities for campus and community involvement.

While Virginia colleges boast programs that encompass all areas of study, one major area of growth that sets the state apart is technology. When Amazon was considering Virginia as a site for its new headquarters, Virginia Tech promised to build a 1 million-square-foot Innovation Campus, and George Mason University vowed to open a new School of Computing and an institute for digital innovation. Amazon selected Northern Virginia as the site of their new $2.5 billion headquarters, so these schools are now working to hold up their ends of the bargain. Additionally, Northern Virginia currently has 33,000 unfilled jobs in cybersecurity, and universities are prioritizing technology programs to meet increased demand in the region.

Students pursuing careers in the medical field are also drawn to Virginia’s higher education institutions. Virginia’s four medical schools—Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) School of Medicine, University of Virginia (UVA) School of Medicine, Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS) and Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine—are all highly ranked institutions. And while the cost of earning a medical degree is always substantial, Virginia doctors see a high return on their investment. Graduates who decide to practice medicine in the state can expect to earn 436 percent above the national median income for all occupations.

Many aspiring lawyers also set their sights on Virginia universities. Of the nine law schools in Virginia, UVA, William & Mary and Washington and Lee University rank the highest. UVA Law is the second-oldest continuously operating law school in the country and is perennially ranked among the nation’s top 10 law schools. William & Mary was the first university to offer a professional law education back in 1779. Additionally, William & Mary was ranked No. 1 on the list of Top 10 2019–2020 Military Friendly Graduate Schools and No. 5 for best law schools for government jobs, according to PreLaw Magazine. This year Liberty University School of Law placed 7th out of 203 schools for passing the bar exam, based on the American Bar Association’s pass rate data.

Virginia universities also draw top-notch athletes with their exceptional athletic programs. This year, the UVA Cavaliers took home the NCAA men’s basketball championship—one of the most recognized college athletics championships. The Cavaliers also won the 2019 NCAA men’s lacrosse championship this past year for the sixth time in their history. Virginia Tech, James Madison University and Old Dominion University all boast excellent athletic programs as well, providing student athletes with many options for playing their sport while receiving an exceptional education.

No matter what type of higher education program you are looking for, there are myriad factors that come into play when deciding which institution to attend. But if you’re seeking a world-class education, an excellent student-to-faculty ratio and a high return on your investment, looking no further than the commonwealth certainly has its benefits.

Two Professors Develop Life-Saving Technology

The energy buzzing through a college campus is generated by more than curious students: Faculty members—and their vision for the future as they double as professors opening minds and researchers improving the world—ignite their communities with possibilities. That’s especially the case with two professors who recently received honors and grants to continue developing new technology:

A computer program to treat cancer more precisely
For more than 15 years, Khan Iftekharuddin, Ph.D., has been researching brain tumors and now does so at Old Dominion University, where he is an engineering professor, associate dean for research and graduate programs and director of Vision Lab. He has secured funding from the Whitaker Foundation and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), including a grant in 2016 with teams from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, University of California San Diego and University of Iowa.

Dr. Iftekharuddin’s goal is to provide doctors with a tool to pinpoint where cancerous tissue ends and healthy tissue begins. This can be difficult: Gliomas, the most common adult brain tumor, often intertwine with healthy tissue instead of forming a single mass. He and his researchers are training their as-of-yet-unnamed computer program to find elements in brain cancer patients’ MRI scans that relate to specific outcomes. They do so by first exposing the program to a large quantity of scans and then introducing new scans, on which the program uses computational methods to see patterns and identify a tumor’s shape.

Knowing the shape guides doctors delivering radiotherapy and follow-up treatments to patients. Patients may also have a better chance of being accepted into clinical trials with the results.

The program’s promise is strong—judges ranked it number one in a recent international competition sponsored by the National Institutes of Health and the Medical Imaging Consulting and Computer-Assisted Intervention Society—and so is its further development.

“We’ve obtained another NIH grant to study the process to bring this type of technology to patients’ bedsides,” says Iftekharuddin. “This research has also moved beyond just detection of brain tumor. We have been working on automated glioma grading and patient survival prediction using clinical, radiology, molecular and other patient data.”

Technology to protect wildlife and businesses
The Miracle on the Hudson, the nickname given to the safe water landing provided in 2009 by a US Airways pilot, is well known thanks to a movie, as is the fact that geese being sucked into the plane’s engine caused the crash. Lesser known is that 70,000 birds at the nearby airport were intentionally slaughtered in the eight years immediately after in an attempt to prevent bird-plane collisions. Yet, according to an Associated Press report in 2017, planes continued to collide with birds and did so at a rate higher than before the 2009 crash.

Bird collision is a topic John Swaddle, Ph.D., the newly appointed chair of the biology department at William & Mary, knows well. Nearly 10 year ago, he began studying birds and noise pollution. He noted birds’ sensitivity to noise and their resulting avoidance of places, in particular those areas with noise that has a frequency—or pitch—similar to their own sounds. Such environments make it difficult for birds to hear each other and lead to them to being too frightened to frequent the area. Dr. Swaddle developed sonic nets—spatially controlled

Two Mistakes Students Make
1. Ignoring mail: Not responding to information requests on time can cause a student to miss out on aid. They should monitor emails, mail and student portals regularly and respond to requests as soon as possible.

2. Forgetting the requirements: Many grants and scholarships have requirements, such as maintaining a certain grade point average and meeting annual application deadlines. Students must understand and meet the criteria for continued aid.

—Tina Russell, Director of financial aid at Christopher Newport University

Create a timeless mantel that can change as easily as the weather

It’s not just a place to hang stockings in December. Whether it’s large or small, modern or traditional—a home’s mantel is typically the focal point of the living room, making it the perfect place to show off your unique style.

But for many of us, time and money are limited. The goal is to create a budget-friendly mantel display that we can keep in place 365 days a year—with just a few changes each season to keep it current.

To show us how to transition to this fall mantel, we went to the home of Peg Breiholz. The owner of The White Brick House in Forest has a passion for neutrals and a love of thrifting.

Step 1:
Gather together what you want to use.
You can find unique décor items without draining your bank account—your parents’ or grandparents’ unwanted things, flea markets and thrift shops are good places to start. Consider choosing a few pieces that can hold fillers (flowers, grasses, etc.). “That’s why I use watering cans year-round,” Peg says.

Also, keep in mind a balance of different materials: wood, glass, metal, and organic things like branches or florals, etc. This will give your mantel display texture and make it more visually interesting. Peg prefers to use more wood, for warmth, in fall or holiday displays. In spring and summer, she may include more glass or metal for a cooler tone.

Step 2:
Select a backdrop item.
Every room and mantel is different, so you need to assess your space to determine whether you need a large piece (such as Peg’s “Orchards” sign) or something smaller to anchor the space. “In my living room, because the ceiling is so high, you really need this large sign to pull your eye down and bring your focus in toward the mantel,” she explains.

Step 3:
Add your large items…
Two large metal watering cans, a wooden organizer with drawers and an antique lantern are a few items Peg keeps on her mantel year-round. When assembling mantel décor, she uses wooden boxes or stacks of books to raise up items that are in located in the back. She also prefers to create asymmetry—and this starts with those larger pieces. “Personally, I don’t really like having two candlesticks, for example, on each side of the mantel,” she says. “It’s almost like with a painting. You want to lead the person’s eye through the display, sort of on a journey.”

Step 4:
then get smaller…
Peg uses an antique glass kerosene jar, a scale and a rusty star as a few of her medium-sized pieces. She also says this is the point where some people can get a little overwhelmed about what should go where. “You should aim to balance the visual weight on your mantel so one side doesn’t feel heavier than the other, even though the objects are different on each side,” Peg explains. “You need to keep in mind, there is a lot of trial and error. You will have to play around with the mantel a lot and even come back to it after a day or two if you think something doesn’t look quite right.”

Step 5:
…and smaller.
For a subtle fall display, Peg uses cattails as a filler in her water cans. You’ll also find antlers in an aqua egg basket, and pine cones and squirrels are used as small additions that have a fall-feel… but also aren’t orange pumpkins. Your small- or medium-sized items can also be a great place to add in an accent color. (Peg prefers little pops of aqua and green.)

Bonus:
This can easily be your spring/summer mantel too!

The big pieces stay put. All you have to do is switch out some smaller items to transition your mantel to a different season.

Instead of antlers, squirrels, and pine cones…you’ll find a bee skep, honey jar, bird house and bird’s nest in this summer mantel display. Daisies and grasses are used as the filler instead of cattails. A green watering can adds a bit of color without being too overpowering.

All of it combined together says “summer” without changing the tone of the rest of your home. “I’m not looking at the literal time of year—such as pumpkins for fall. I go more with how it feels,” Peg says.