Catching Rainwater Luckily, Suzanne Jones of Bollinger Canyon got the idea several years ago, before the drought hit hard: Buy a tank that could hold extra water, in case the spring on her property went dry. She went to Napa Valley and bought a 10,000-gallon stainless steel tank ...By Chris Lavin
| ![](../archive/issue1003/images/low/1003-04801.jpg) |
|
|
Digging Deep How to Cultivate a Wildflower Meadow "May all your weeds be wildflowers."
When I was a child weeds and wildflowers were synonymous. I would meander through the hills and creeks with my handy Golden Nature Guide called ...By Cynthia Brian
| ![](../archive/issue1002/images/low/1002-05001.jpg) |
|
|
Feng ShuiBring Balance to Your Home Office With home offices common in many homes these days, what are the secrets to making a functional, well-designed, and highly creative space for your business? And what are common feng shui mistakes that many Bay Area entrepreneurs make when setting up an office at home? ...By Michele Duffy
| ![](../archive/issue1002/images/low/1002-04901.jpg) |
|
|
A Neighborhood Grows in the Grove With few opportunities to build near downtown, the quick sellout of Pulte Homes' Orinda Grove collection of expensive homes is a testament to the level of housing demand in the area.
It ...By Cathy Tyson
| ![](../archive/issue1002/images/low/1002-04701.jpg) |
|
|
Gardening Guide After visiting the Yucatan Peninsula for a week at the end of February where I snorkeled and swam in underground cenotes (rivers) as well as the aqua waters of the Caribbean, I returned to a garden exploding in blooms. Bearded iris, tulips, anemones, freesia, cyclamen, ...By Cynthia Brian
| ![](../archive/issue1001/images/low/1001-04401.jpg) |
|
|
Stylish Solutions This month I wanted to share some inside information on one of the most beloved rooms in the suburban home: the mudroom. As spring rounds the corner, many of us are looking at tidying areas of our garages, starting the beloved spring clean or just rethinking how we ...By Ann McDonald
| ![](../archive/issue1001/images/low/1001-04301.jpg) |
|
|
Home Occupancy Without the Mortgage Lamorinda is a wonderful place to live. The schools are good, the East Bay weather is warm and mild, eateries and services are available in abundance, and the quality of life is high. But so is the cost of real estate. Rather than signing on the dotted line for that ...By Cathy Dausman
| ![](../archive/issue1001/images/low/1001-04101.jpg) |
|
|
Digging Deep with Cynthia Brian "Good fences make good neighbors." - Robert Frost
Growing up on a ranch we had all kinds of enclosures. Fences to keep the cattle in, fences to keep the deer out, coops for the chickens, ...By Cynthia Brian
| ![](../archive/issue0926/images/low/0926-04701.jpg) |
|
|
Stylish Solutions Welcome to "the season," as we say in the design business. We are in the middle of a time of year when trade shows abound, and comfortable shoes start traveling with us discreetly in purses, whipped out for the walk between booths and parties. From the Kitchen and Bath ...By Ann McDonald
| ![](../archive/issue0926/images/low/0926-04601.jpg) |
|
|
Into the Wilder-ness It may be a bit of an exaggeration to say that the residents of Wilder are pioneers, but being the first homeowners in a whole new community is a phenomenon Orinda has not witnessed since the middle of the last century. Surrounded by open space and accessible only ...By Victor Ryerson
| ![](../archive/issue0926/images/low/0926-04401.jpg) |
|
|
Understanding the Balance of Feng Shui Our environment influences our health, outlook, personal energy, and all of these influence our ability to be healthy, happy and prosperous. Feng Shui is the arrangement of your physical space with deeply symbolic objects so that they are in alignment with healthy Qi ...By Michele Duffy
| ![](../archive/issue0925/images/low/0925-04701.jpg) |
|
|
Taylor Morrison Returns to Walnut Creek with Collection of Townhomes Continuing the momentum from the success of its 3rd & Main community, Taylor Morrison has returned to Walnut Creek with Silver Trail, a unique community of just 13 two-story finished townhomes located right in the heart of downtown. With sales starting in mid-January, ...Submitted by Sarah Andrews
| ![](../archive/issue0925/images/low/0925-04601.jpg) |
|
|
Cynthia Brian's Gardening Guide for February "It is Nature that causes all movement. " - Veda Vyasa, The Bhagavadgita The creeks are rushing, hillsides are saturated, lawns are green, and rain is in the forecast for the month. Our H2O dances and prayers resulted in an El Nino winter, much to our delight. People ...By Cynthia Brian
| ![](../archive/issue0925/images/low/0925-04401.jpg) |
|
|
Digging Deep-Gardening with Cynthia Brian "I don't know whether nice people tend to grow roses or growing roses makes people nice." - Roland A. Browne
Roses are the most popular bloomers in the world with a long and colorful ...By Cynthia Brian
| ![](../archive/issue0924/images/low/0924-04901.jpg) |
|
|
The Real Estate Year in Review It was another extremely strong year for ...By Conrad Bassett
| |
|
|