When it comes to apparel, Carol Marshall of Bloomfield Township almost never pays more than a few dollars for anything, including shoes, purses, dresses – you name it. “I don’t think I’ve paid more than $5 for anything for a really long time,” notes one of Metro Detroit’s sharpest — and savviest — dressers. “Even if something’s marked, like $5, I usually will have a coupon for 50 percent off.” Marshall, a regular volunteer at The Community House and the Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center, both in Birmingham, is a veritable professional thrift-store shopper. On a recent weekday morning, the …

They are gardeners’ gardeners – and these two seasoned plant enthusiasts, who’ve been tending their property and its abundance of plants for the past 53 years or so, aren’t bashful about telling you that, either. “We are true, real gardeners,” said a grinning Yvonne Iuppenlatz, who with her husband, John, have created a veritable paradise that hugs their contemporary home in Bloomfield Hills. Adorned with conifers, azalea, rhododendrons, dwarf beauties, decades-old trees, Japanese maples, hostas and more, the layout has grown into a green slice of heaven. “I remember once my doctor asked me…

Two tasks rolled into one often is a nice way to get things done. That’s what Kim Boudreau Smith was thinking when she knew it was time to clean out her closet, but also call on an image consultant who would help her turn over a new leaf, so to speak. Smith, of Birmingham, had met Patty Buccellato, a Rochester Hills-based image consultant who runs Refined Images, at a wine tasting fundraiser (for Women Offering Help & Hope— WOHH). Smith won a gift certificate for Buccellato’s services at the event.    Buccellato’s Refined Images business offers people of all ages tips on how to arrange …

At this time in May, those driving down Adams Road in Troy may be tempted to slow  down, thanks to a riot of lush lilac blooms that adorn the grounds of North Hills Christian Reformed Church. The head-turning, enticing grove isn't just any patch of lilacs. Located in the churchyard on the east side of Adams just north of Big Beaver Road, the remaining lilac patch, about 150 by 60 feet, once stretched across what is now Adams Road. When that road was built, much of the grove was torn down. Then came the church. “For some reason or another, every time we expanded the church, we had to cut down …

Are you an Easter egg fan? Do you color your hardboiled beauties using kits from the store or do you like to go a more natural route? Whatever your color strategy, the stunning results are well worth the effort, said area "Marthas." Angela Butorac and her crafty friend, Susan Keels, recently tried their hands at a natural egg-dying process that involves using everything from coffee and tea to saffron powder and wine.  Going “kit-free,” Butorac and Keels turned out a basketful of inspiring, inventive eggs, many of which feature an antiquated, rustic appeal. Others pop with colors as vivid as a…

One of the state’s best orchid shows is getting ready to sprout for its upcoming colorful extravaganza. The 50-plus-year-old Michigan Orchid Society Palm Sunday Show features free admission and runs 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the United Food & Commercial Workers Union Building, 876 Horace Brown Dr., Madison Heights (the first block east of I-75, south off 13 Mile  Road). “Last year the judges looked at over 600 orchids for judging,” explained Diane Burton, the society’s show chairwoman and a White Lake resident. “This doesn't include those that are not registered to be judged nor …

HGTV's Showhouse Showdown, a new show that pits designer against designer in a showhouse competition, will feature two local interior designers, including Corey Damen Jenkins of Design with Vision: DWV Interiors in Bloomfield Hills, and Michelle Mio of Rariden Schumacher Mio in Birmingham. The showhouses are based in Midland, where the episode was filmed. Watch the two designers battle it out for the winning spot March 24 at 2:30 p.m. An encore broadcast will run March 30 at 1:30 p.m. The designers take over two newly built and identical homes with the same budgets to create a winning …

You’ve likely heard or read all about the benefits of eating locally grown food and  supporting area farmers. Flower enthusiasts can also jump onto this regional wheelbarrow of sorts by cultivating local, as in native, blooms. "The benefits of growing native plants are many,” said Maureen Tobin, manager of the Garden Mill in Chelsea. “They are hardy and flourish with less fertilizer and watering, provide food and habitat to wildlife and contribute to biodiversity. Also, they're beautiful." Tobin’s favorites (Available at the Garden Mill in Chelsea): • Primroses• Bluebells• Cardinal flowers• …

With temperatures climbing into the 60s and 70s these past several days, we’ve enjoyed a downright heat wave — plenty warm to start sprucing up your lawn and gardens. “People are getting anxious,” said Deborah Lee, owner of Shades of Green in Rochester. “We have delivered a load of mulch already —  a bit too early for me.” Lee said lightly raking the lawn to remove debris and some dead grass is OK to do now.     Added Doug Conley, director of landscaping at the Edsel and Eleanor Ford House in Grosse Pointe Shores and resident of St. Clair Shores: “While nice days are here and ‘things’ are …

If you planted daffodil or tulip bulbs last fall (I planted 110 “Pink Charm” and “Tahiti” daffodil bulbs), it’s a pretty good bet that you’re already seeing a couple inches of plant poking out of the ground. Out my living room window, I see a sea of lime-green spears. Thanks to a mild winter with unseasonably high temperatures, sprouting bulbs is indeed a common sight, said Ryan Youngblood, owner of Artistic Landscape Associates in Rochester. “We’ve had a few clients call with concern, as they have noticed the new tender growth starting to appear,” added the landscaper, who planted a few …

When it comes to pruning, garden designer Deborah Friedman of Bloomfield Hills-based Deborah Friedman Designs looks at her client’s yards in much the same way as a doctor observes a patient. “Pruning is necessary for a plant’s overall health,” Friedman said. With good pruning techniques (as important as regular check-ups at the doctor), you’ll get a good quality of flowers, branches and leaves, she explained. “It also serves to keep a plant contained to its place in the garden or to a shape or look desired by the gardener.” Timing is everything when it comes to a good trim, Friedman noted. “…

Do you have a pile of black-and-white photos of Great Aunt Mary, that guy you’re related to who fought in the Civil War and classic, timeless photos of your parents on their wedding day? All nice, but where to put them? Beautiful to look at, but how to hang them? Consider a family photo wall. Interior designer Shirley Maddalena of Bloomfield Hills thoroughly enjoyed the recent task of creating a family photo wall for a Birmingham client.  “There was an enormous amount of photos,” Maddalena recalled. “It was, quite actually, a really fun and interesting assignment, as there were many sizes and…

When the weather turns crisp, Julie Fromm starts thinking about crisp apples. Fromm, a registered dietitian and professional chef at Sola Life & Fitness in Rochester Hills, is especially fond of a spicy Mulligatawny soup, brimming with chopped apples, as well as her homemade applesauce. “My family and I make our own applesauce every year,” said Fromm, a resident of Royal Oak who grew up in the Troy and Rochester areas. “We use Michigan apples — usually honey crisps or galas for the sauce.” The dietitian likes to use fresh apples in her dishes not only for their taste but also for their …

When Kathie Ninneman of The Community House in Birmingham told me about her favorite spot to purchase fresh Michigan vegetables, I felt I’d won the corn lotto. As a kid, my mom always sent me out to roadside stands in August and September to purchase just-off-the-stalk sweet corn. Lately, I was thinking of those days and wondering where during the week I could find sweet corn as good as those golden kernels of my youth.  Living in suburbia has its drawbacks. Not so, said Ninneman of Bloomfield Hills. She pointed me in the direction of Farm Boy Produce on Auburn Road in Auburn Hills. Run by …

In a few weeks, summer will be all but a memory. For gardeners, this is the perfect time to take stock and plan ahead. It was one hot summer and one rainy spring, which, area green-thumb enthusiasts say, affected not only their blooms but also their vegetables.  "My hydrangeas have never looked as good as they have in 2011, and, judging from other hydrangeas I've seen driving around town, I think everyone has enjoyed the same experience," said gardener Randy Engle of Troy.   "A late, wet and cool spring allowed these sensitive plants to come out of hibernation and start their growth spurt …

It’s no mistake that throngs of tomato lovers are pulling over at roadside stands and clamoring over new produce shipments in the grocery aisles. They know just what they’re after – those plump juicy orbs recently harvested from Michigan-grown plants. I’ve got one word for them: yum! Your Michigan tomato celebration need not last just a few weeks. Many area chefs and home cooks create tomato sauces and whatnot that they will again treasure in, say January, on a cold winter’s night. Tomatoes can star in gourmet recipes or can be enjoyed simply sliced with salt. Richard Hobson, market master at…

It’s no mistake that throngs of tomato lovers are pulling over at roadside stands and clamoring over new produce shipments in the grocery aisles. They know just what they’re after – those plump juicy orbs recently harvested from Michigan-grown plants. I’ve got one word for them: yum! Your Michigan tomato celebration need not last just a few weeks. Many area chefs and home cooks create tomato sauces and whatnot that they will again treasure in, say January, on a cold winter’s night. Read Megan Swoyer's full story on how to enjoy tomatoes. If you are lucky enough to have a bumper crop of …

Walk into any room for the first time and your subconscious may pick up on its ambiance — cool, warm, old, charming, inviting, sleek, rich, laid-back, relaxing … you get the point. If walls could talk, they’d likely utter those words. Walls, in fact, create a room’s personality. This is true not only with colors, but also texture and paint-application techniques. Area homeowners, painters and artists agree that one can obtain just about any type of mood one wants by paying attention to a wall’s textures and tones. Here, they weigh in with ideas on everything from glazing, rolling and …

"A dead hydrangea is as intricate and lovely as one in bloom." — Toni Morrison, from Tar Baby  In front of Rachel Schechter Zimmerman's home in Huntington Woods, several hydrangeas abloom in pale green shades grace the entryway. “I love how long the blooms last and that they take up a lot of space,” said Zimmerman, a busy mother of three. The art director especially notices their shapes and hues. Her favorite tone is that “yellow-y, whitish green,” she said. “And I like that they’re in mass.” Her artistic eye enjoys soaking up their color “against all that green foliage. It’s stunning … clean…

It’s late June and you can now see area gardeners are putting their own stamp on their beds and plots with their favorite reliable plants, new flower varieties and preferred colors. Beyond those preferences, green thumb enthusiasts also are getting creative with garden ornamentation, from custom-made iron gates to antique pots to splashy bird sanctuaries. "More and more consumers are creating individualized outdoor hangouts for connecting to nature and gathering with friends and family and are definitely accessorizing with ornamentation from statues to lighting to fountains," said Colleen …