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There’s really so much to love about citrus trees. They grow everywhere that’s warm and sunny, look lush and handsome year round and, to top it all off, reward growers with tangy, juicy fruit that can be eaten, drunk or preserved. Once it was the lemon that graced every backyard. While it remains number one in the citrus stakes, limes are now trending. The rise in popularity of the seed-free Tahitian lime (above) is not just because people want to have a slice on hand for a gin and tonic; cooks love lime juice for its fresh, exotic flavour, which works well squeezed over meals or in desserts. Backyards are bursting with orange, blood orange, mandarin, grapefruit, cumquat and native finger lime (right), with its colourful fruit and juicy, caviar-like beads of…

looking good Dahlias With their bright colours lighting up the late-summer garden, dahlias are deservedly back in fashion. Buy potted dahlias now in full bloom, or look for packaged tubers in the shops during late winter and spring. Dahlias with single flowers are wonderful for attracting bees to their pollen-filled centres and, because the simple flowers aren’t too weighty, most won’t need staking. Pick blooms for indoors and the plants will go on producing flowers well into autumn. It’s time to... • Trim summer-blooming shrubs after their flowers have faded • Dig out and break up congested clumps of daffodils and jonquils before their bulbs start making new growth, then re-plant • Fertilise rose bushes with an organic-based rose food to promote a great autumn display • Pick up and bin diseased leaves from fungus-infected plants • Clip…

While some trees may not be considered natural ‘leaders’ or feature trees, they possess a certain je ne sais quoi that makes them desirable in any garden. The native frangipani (Hymenosporum flavum) slots into this category. Its large and glossy mid-green leaves are a definite selling point because, let’s face it, there aren’t many medium-sized native trees that are adaptable to different climates and soils, are easily available, and evoke desirable tropical vibes. Its star-like cream flowers that age to a deep yellow, occasionally with striking red throats, are another highly appealing attribute. The masses of terminal flower clusters that appear from early spring to early summer are eye-catching. Their heady fragrance is like that of their unrelated namesake (the non-native frangipani, Plumeria) and will have you crossing the street to bury…

WARDROBE SAVIOURS Is it vanilla? Is it custard? Who knows what to call the colour of this perfectly slouchy cardigan; but I do know it cheers me up every time I throw it on. £225, ME+EM The item I’ve worn more than anything over the last year? These cashmere trousers. They are beyond comfortable for wearing around the house and chic enough to wear when I pop out for an essential shop/ park walk, too. £170, Ven Store Just one of the reasons I love Kamala Harris: she’s made pearls modern again. Unusual combos have been my Zoom staple. CATWALK M O M E N T Even watching virtually, I was gripped by Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons’ sharp first show together. If you take nothing else from it, the coat clutch is a neat styling…

When my husband, Jerry, died of a brain tumour, I became angry. Life wasn’t fair. I hated being alone. By my third year of widowhood, my face had become a stiff mask. One day, driving down a busy road in my town, I noticed a new fence being built round a home I’d always admired. The house, well over a hundred years old, faded white with a large front verandah, had once sat back from a quiet street. Then the road was widened, traffic lights went up, and the town began to look like a city. Now the house had hardly any front garden at all. Still, that dirt garden was always swept clean and flowers burst forth from the hard ground. I began to notice a small, aproned woman raking, sweeping, tending…

It’s eight o’clock on Christmas morning, and Uncle Tom says he wants to listen to the news. My 11-year-old self is wondering why on Earth grown-ups would be interested in the news when there are important things to be done, such as handing out presents. And then, while I am only half-listening to the radio broadcast, something weird happens: the boring newsreader begins talking about a Christmas message from the Vatican. Hadn’t we heard that report earlier? My older brother, Colin, figures out what’s happening. “Pete, Pete, it’s a tape recorder! We’ve got our tape recorder!” It finally dawns on me: Uncle Tom and my dad recorded the news and are playing it back now. I think it’s quite rare to experience real excitement over a present. Children are as good as adults…

It was nearly midnight by the time 19-year-old Amy Waldroop returned to her cramped Los Angeles apartment, and she was exhausted. After a full day’s work at a florist shop, she had put in another six hours waiting tables before heading home. Pushing the key into the lock, she quietly opened the door so as not to wake her younger siblings. She stepped into the front room, and froze. The apartment was a shambles: plates of half-eaten food were scattered in front of the TV; toys littered the floor; clothes, shoes and homework were strewn everywhere. Amy’s eyes welled with tears. This is just way too much for me, she thought. Her worst fears began to race through her mind. Soon she was sobbing. Would the court tell her she couldn’t care for…

MAN OF THE HOUR Musician Jon Batiste, who was the night’s most-nominated artist (11 nods), walked away from the Las Vegas show on April 3 with five wins, including Album of the Year for We Are. “I don’t really do it for the awards, [but] I really am so grateful,” he said backstage. Batiste also revealed on Grammy day that he secretly married author Suleika Jaouad, his longtime girlfriend, in February, shortly after she was diagnosed with leukemia for a second time. “Life has ups and downs. And sometimes the ups and downs occur at the same time,” said Batiste. “It puts it in perspective.” MORE STARS WIN BIG! STARS SHINE BRIGHT TREND ALERT: PINK! From blush to fuchsia, pink was the hottest hue of the night STARS ON-SET SUITE LIFE New York, March 28 Spouses Sarah Jessica Parker…

If I were to draw up a list of my favourite smells, violets would definitely be on there, along with basil, rose, lavender, freshly brewed coffee and newly mown grass. Very close to the top of the list would be the aroma of wood smoke. Nothing says autumn for me more than the first whiff on a still, crisp day. Years ago, I pasted a magazine cutting of a handy little verse by poet Lady Celia Congreve into my gardening notebook. I have since found several versions of the words, but the basic premise is to record which woods burn best. You may know it. In case you don’t, here are a few lines to give you the gist: Beech-wood fires burn bright and clear,if the logs are kept a year:Store…

Almost 30 years ago, his portrayal of Oskar Schindler in Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List made Liam Neeson a Hollywood star. Since then, the Northern Ireland native has repeatedly taken on artistically demanding roles as well as action films. The now 70 year old will soon be appearing in a new film, Marlowe, where he plays the main character – a rough-hewn sleuth who is hired by a beautiful woman to find her missing lover. As the legendary detective Marlowe, in one action scene you say: “I’m too old for this c**p…” That was improvised. That line wasn’t in the script. Does that mean you feel too old to do strenuous shoots? No, not at all. My perception is that I’m still in my mid-30s. I also like to let off steam, that’s why I love…

Bob’s recent book, Earth-Shattering (Little, Brown and Company, 2019), explores the greatest cataclysms that have shaken the universe. To astro-beginners, the night sky can seem like a funhouse of random dots. For those starting out in the astronomy hobby — maybe you bought a cool telescope and suddenly want to know the sky — there can seem little rhyme or reason beyond the easy-peasy patterns like the Big Dipper and Orion’s Belt. Once you learn just a little more, you may start to realize that the sky can be cataloged. But while it can be simple to learn, say, the stars and constellations, it’s harder to get rock solid when it comes to things like locating the celestial equator or knowing the B-V star color system. It sure would be nice if…

How do I grow beautiful hydrangeas year after year? —Michelle Cannon, Red Hook, N.Y. Adored for their fluffy pom-pom flowers, these plants are nature’s cheerleaders, typically thriving throughout Zones 4 to 9. But the various types require unique care for lasting impact. To ensure that yours explode with beauty every summer, heed the advice of Ryan McEnaney, communications manager at Bailey’s Nursery, in St. Paul, Minnesota, and a spokesperson for ‘Endless Summer’ hydrangeas, on snipping, soaking, and feeding them. 1. Know Your Variety Most hydrangeas fall into one of three categories: panicle (cone-shaped, like those shown), smooth (large and snowball-like), or bigleaf (bigger leaves—you guessed it—in tighter globes or more open, lacy petals). The first two bloom on new growth; the last erupts on both new and old (i.e., the prior year’s branches). 2. Prune…

Gwyn, my youngest daughter, helped Tiger as we drove down the country road to the vet’s on what was to be his last Friday morning. Privately, both of us nursed a forlorn hope. We joked and laughed, trying to ignore the spectre that hovered over the cat sitting quietly in her arms. At 16, Tiger was old for a cat. In quiet dignity, he let Gwyn pet him, perhaps understanding that this was a special trip. I glanced at the two as I drove, and thought back to the day when Tiger first entered our lives. He had been a Christmas present to my second son. Brian, at six, wanted something that was his alone, something not handed down – as were his clothes and toys – from his older brother. Sadly,…

Author Dodie Smith sat down nervously in the London cinema. It was Christmas 1960, and this was a special preview of Walt Disney’s animated film, 101 Dalmatians. What would Disney’s artists have made of her distinctively English story, The Hundred and One Dalmatians, written for English children, about dogs in England? From her time screenwriting in Hollywood, she knew how stories were adjusted in translation to the big screen. Dodie’s nervousness increased when she saw that instead of her young couple, Mr and Mrs Dearly, setting up home with their dogs Pongo and Missis Pongo, Disney had created a pipe-smoking, song-writing bachelor looking for a wife. But at least he lived in Regent’s Park, the very specific setting for the book and Dodie’s favourite place in London. And his dog was…

Before launching today’s journey, the word antipode forces us to stroll along the old pronunciation footpath. That’s a familiar trail, reached whenever a friend says things like “your-AIN-us.” Granted, some celestial names are tough to decipher; you’d have to stop and grab a dictionary if you really want to pronounce Orion’s left shoulder star correctly (it’s bel-AY-trix, not bel-AH-trix). Anyway, our subject is antipode and its plural, antipodes — words that indicate opposites and are challengingly pronounced AN-ti-pode and an-TIP-uh-deez. The British liked the concept enough that they often refer to the Australia and New Zealand region as the Antipodes because they’re opposite England on the globe. Despite the unfortunate popularity of the Flat Earth movement, celestial objects are mostly spheres and, obviously, every location on each of those balls has a…

Electric vehicles are largely seen as an environmental good and a tool for slowing climate change. But are electric vehicles (EVs) really as green as we think they are? All-electric vehicles and hybrids produce low or no exhaust emissions. That means virtually zero greenhouse gas emissions produced by the vehicles themselves—definitely a good thing for the environment. But other factors come into play when determining how much pollution your electric vehicle generates. These include where your local power grid gets its electricity, what time of day you charge, the climate where you live, the battery manufacturing process, and your driving patterns. The above five factors all affect an EV’s performance—and how much, if any, of a negative environmental impact it has. Let’s look at each in turn. 1. SOURCES OF ELECTRICITY Electric cars generate…

WINTER GREENS Here’s an idea you’ll tip a party hat to: Plant these conical conifers on your holiday table, sideboard, or mantel. Drizzle their tops with clear gel glue, let it drip down the sides, and dust with white glitter. Then arrange them on a blanket of faux snow. MINTY FRESH Turn plain packages into conversation pieces with flashy store-bought bows and decorative items like garlands, stickers, and candles. GLITZY BUSINESS Gold confetti puts the “fest” in the Festival of Lights. To set this jubilant Hanukkah scene, spray-paint a simple menorah with matte white paint, let it dry, and adhere the confetti with craft glue. Glue metallic flakes (cut from sheets of easy-to-melt edible gold) onto candles. Then let gold-fringed paper cups, Mylar-tied straws, and gleaming gelt complete the theme. BLUSHING BEAUTY This modern wooden dowel tree…

SHORTCUTS ON HER LATEST TATTOO: EPPUR SI MUOVE And yet it moves.’ Galileo’s reported words at the end of his trial, when he was forced to deny that the Earth moves around the Sun. Certain truths are undeniable ON FAMILY BARBECUES Some of us are vegetarian, some pescatarian, some eat all meat. For those of us who no longer eat meat, Korean barbecue is the most missed meal“Even though I wanted to have many children and be a mom, I always imagined it kind of like Jane Goodall, travelling in the middle of the jungle somewhere” As the sun came up on Los Angeles on the first Tuesday of November last year, it brought with it the promise of an auspicious day. At 7am, the polls in California opened for a generationdefining American election, as…

The old white bucket sitting just outside my window is filled with sand and three ‘new’ rose bushes. They arrived as three twigs, pruned from a friend’s rose bush, an old rambling variety that covers sheds and gives masses of small purple blooms with no care whatsoever – my kind of rose. One of them is going to clamber over our front fence. The other two will be gifts. Most garden plants grow easily from cuttings, partly because those that are simple to propagate have become popular. A single bush can be the best investment ever, giving you hundreds of new plants to give away for decades, with only about 10 minutes of work and patience. My cuttings are grown from the ‘snap and bung it in’ method. If you get hooked…

When people ask what my favourite indoor plants are, philodendrons are at the top of my list. There are nearly 500 known species and countless hybrids, and the variety of sizes, leaf forms and growth habits is mind-blowing! Leaves can be small, large, heart-shaped, toothed, sword-like or deeply lobed, with a smooth or velvety texture in various shades and patterns of green, pink, red and orange. Philodendrons, or ‘philos’ to their friends, are mostly climbers or vines, but a few of them are self-headers, meaning they have clumps of leaves that emerge from a thickened arborescent stem. Some species creep along the ground, too. Despite their many unusual forms, they are fairly low-maintenance plants and will happily grow indoors without much fuss. Of course, there are a few exceptions, with some needing…

Climbing plants are such a versatile group, perfect for festooning pergolas, creating green walls or adding to rooftop gardens. Depending on the species, they offer shade, screening, covering, cooling, colour, harvests, habitat, scent, flowers, design appeal and more. Some climbers even adapt to growing as groundcovers on embankments, providing habitat, helping with erosion control and acting as a living mulch. Others happily trail out of hanging baskets and grow up trellises from pots. Which climber you use will depend on your climate zone, space and design requirements. Here are 10 great options. 1 STEPHANOTIS OR MADAGASCAR JASMINE (Stephanotis floribunda) With deep green leathery leaves, this fast-growing evergreen climber makes a stunning specimen plant when trained up and over a pergola or onto a trellis, wall or fence. Its masses of long-lasting, beautifully scented,…

Little evodia (Melicope rubra) really is the whole package! I love it so much that I have three growing in various spots around my Brisbane garden. It’s fast growing, has a neat, rounded and dense habit, and glossy green trifoliate leaves, which provide shade and a safe nesting environment for small birds. Its common name references one of the tree’s former botanical names, Evodiella muelleri. One of the interesting features of the tree is that its vibrant lolly-pink flowers are directly attached to the trunk and stems. This unusual trait, called cauliflory, is seen on some rainforest species. Each cluster is about 3cm across, but as there are so many hugging the branches when in full flower, it looks as if its colour is lit from within the shrub. A variety…

BEACH READY Costa Rica, March 18 While enjoying a vacation with friends, Zac Efron showed off his physique as he went on a shirtless run by the sea. QUEEN OF COUNTRY Austin, March 18 Dolly Parton regaled a Texas crowd with hits including “9 to 5” at the annual South by Southwest festival. MOM-TO-BE Los Angeles, March 15 Pregnant and as stylish as ever, Rihanna took a stroll through Target. “I like it. I’m enjoying it,” she told People last month of dressing up while expecting. STYLE SETTER London, March 17 Actor Oscar Isaac sported a Thom Browne kilt for the premiere of Marvel’s Moon Knight at the British Museum. FAMILY BOND Los Angeles, March 19 Tennis legends Serena and Venus Williams joined Will Smith, who played their dad, Richard Williams, in King Richard, at the Producers Guild Awards. CUTE COUPLES PRETTY POP-UP Los Angeles, March 18 Yara…

Q CHRISTA ASKS… My husband and I are proud to have started a successful small business that’s been open for six years. The issue: A lot of people give us unsolicited business advice, which often includes ideas we’ve already implemented or thought of. Is there a nice way to shut down these “business experts” without coming across as someone who thinks she knows it all? I definitely don’t! Excuse me. Congratulations to you and your husband for starting a successful small business. In this economy? That’s amazing. And the fact that you two can work together—honey, you guys are winning. When family members want to give me advice about my career, I ask them, “Are you a Hollywood agent? Are you a manager? OK, then let’s talk about something else.” If my family…

“IF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE MADE ANY SENSE, LACKADAISICAL WOULD HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH A SHORTAGE OF FLOWERS.”— DOUG LARSON, JOURNALIST As anyone who’s sat through an English exam can tell you, as a language English is baffling. And yet, somehow, the average native-speaker has managed to learn 42,000 words. Granted, many are of the a, the and but variety. Still, few of us know how the words we utter were derived or what they really mean. What follows is a hodgepodge (there’s a good word) of fun facts about the language that gave us Shakespeare, Hemingway, Dickens and those idiots on Twitter. THE STORY BEHIND THE WORD Did you know that the word muscle comes from the Latin musculus, which means ‘little mouse’? Apparently, the ancient Romans thought that the movement of…

Seven people had just plunged to their deaths and 13 others huddled fearfully in crippled cable-cars suspended high above Singapore’s harbour. Any moment they could be torn loose from their frail hold on survival. As the afternoon drew towards a close on the resort island of Sentosa, hundreds of visitors began making their way to the cable-car station for the 1.75-kilometre trip back to Singapore. It was Saturday, January 29, 1983, and grey clouds were rolling in. Everyone hoped to beat the rain. At 5.50pm, seven members of a family from India boarded a brightred gondola and were lifted up over the South China Sea. From 54 metres above the jade-coloured waters of Singapore harbour, the view from the bubble-shaped car was breathtaking. Inside, Manmohan Kaur, 25, her mother-in-law, Pritam Kaur, 60, a…

GROWING UP IN NUTLEY, NEW JERSEY, we enjoyed very traditional holiday menus year after year. As an adult, living in Westport, Connecticut, my family loved our Christmas Eve dinner of baby rack of lamb, scalloped potatoes, butter-lettuce salad, and croquembouche. Nowadays, diets have become much more varied. My daughter and her children are pescatarians, some of my friends are vegans, and others still crave a perfectly cooked standing rib roast. I want to share some of the dishes I prepare most frequently for our family holiday dinners now. Salads are always popular, especially when made with pretty leafy greens, or bitter chicories like endives, radicchio, and arugula, and dressed with a mustardy vinaigrette. A black-truffle angel-hair pasta takes only a few minutes to put together and, I promise, will garner exclamations…

THERE IS NO SHORTAGE of dramatic revelations to emerge from Framing Britney Spears. That the 39-year-old has been held under her father’s ‘conservatorship’ – a legal arrangement that gives 68-year-old Jamie Spears complete control over her career, home, finances and personal life – for 13 years, following her public breakdown in 2008; that the star has been held in psychiatric hospitals against her will, for months at a time; and that so desperate is she to break free from her father’s legal handcuffs that she has refused to perform live for more than two years in protest. Almost as shocking, however, is the realisation that the documentary, produced by The New York Times , represents the first time that Britney – the best-selling teenage artist of all time and now a…

ROMANESCO IS AMONG THE MOST ARCHITECTURALLY STRIKING VEGETABLES. THIS LIME-GREEN BROCCOLI IS A WORK OF ART WITH ITS GEOMETRIC SPIRALS. The first and most important tip for growing broccoli is careful timing. From its head of tasty florets and tender leaves to its crunchy stalks, broccoli is a generous vegie providing high rewards. A gentle giant in the winter vegie patch, broccoli plods along, until one day you notice the green florets peeking beneath its emerald leaves. It is one of my favourite vegetables – not only because of its taste and versatility in the kitchen, but because it packs a nutritional punch. The best news is there are far more varieties than what you’ll find in the supermarket. I am captivated by the geometric Fibonacci spirals of ‘Romanesco’ broccoli, the bright violet…

ON THE SURFACE, IT IS the mother of all transformations. An It girl of the 1990s and 2000s, Sophia Burrell grew up with her two older brothers on her parents’ West Sussex estate, surrounded by polo ponies and privilege. Her father, Mark Burrell, is a cousin of Viscount Cowdray and was a director at the family firm, Pearson. The family landholding includes Knepp Castle and her parents’ own idyllic house, Bakers. The Knepp Estate is being rewilded by her cousin Charlie and featured in a recent David Attenborough series. Educated at Heathfield, where she was naughty and horse-mad, Sophie (as she is known) – who is a cousin and close friend of mine – followed a well-trodden path to the Royal Agricultural College at Cirencester and a glamorous lifestyle of, in…

ROOTED IN TRUTH Often referred to as root crops, the edible swollen ‘root’ on this group of vegies is actually a rounded, swollen stem. They normally develop just beneath the surface of the soil and become more exposed as the plant matures, appearing to sit on top of the soil when they’re ready to be harvested. With summer crops finishing, there’s plenty of space to fill in the patch right now and plenty of options to try, but brassicas are at the top of the vegie growing list. They are the real heroes of the autumn season – they’re nutritious, delicious, and teeming with antioxidants – but it’s mostly the better-known brassicas you see, like broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and kale. Yesteryear favourites, the bulbous brassicas (including turnip, swede and kohlrabi) have been largely…

SACHIN OZA always seemed to catch whatever cold and flu germs were flying around. Despite being only in his mid-30s, he felt out of shape and out of sorts. He realised that if he didn’t make some changes, his immune function would continue to worsen with age. “I have a family background of diabetes, high cholesterol and heart disease,” says Oza. “I had to take action.” But Oza’s lifestyle stood in the way. He clocked long days working in finance, with little opportunity to be active or focus on his wellbeing. His commute from his home to the office was stressful and time-consuming, and he was spending far too many hours stuck behind his desk. Oza’s increasingly sedentary life-style had repercussions. In addition to catching bugs easily, he didn’t sleep well, his…

When Hollywood actress Katharine Hepburn arrived in New York for the rehearsals of the musical, Coco, she took a keen interest in every part of the production: choreography, casting, scenery, costumes, lighting and, of course, the theatre itself. Experienced professionals know that plays have failed because they were in the wrong theatre, one that was too large or too small, or simply not right. Kate has played virtually every size and shape of theatre, but was anxious to become acquainted with the one that had been booked for Coco. Producer Alan Jay Lerner and co-producer Freddie Brisson took Kate to see it a few days after she arrived in New York. After walking on the stage to study the auditorium and walking about the auditorium to study the stage, Kate announced, “It’s…

It’s that time of year again, when we prepare ourselves for the epic stories of Christmas – and by that I don’t mean the Virgin Birth. I’m referring to the unforeseen events that can so easily hijack our best-laid plans. You know how it goes: you’ve posted the cards, ordered the food and wrapped the presents. You’re feeling rather smug (if exhausted), priding yourself on your amazing organisation, when – bah humbug! – something comes along to throw a spanner in the works. It can happen at any time and is hardly surprising given the pressure we pile on ourselves to get everything just right for the big day. My Christmas calamities often seem to involve trees. I’m not a fan of the ubiquitous, non-needle-dropping blue spruce. I understand the convenience…

When you work on a memoir – or even when you write in a diary – you are taming diffcult memories by sealing them between pages and then putting them literally on the shelf. As I began my postdivorce story Busy Being Free, I was simultaneously unpacking the wardrobe I’d shipped over from my 20 years in America, having moved back to my home town of London, the city that first “shamed” me. We leave where we grew up for a reason. California, with its wide expanse of sky, had set me free. And yet, needing to be near my family, here I was. Many of the items I pulled from the cardboard boxes were quotidian. But there were a few that – as I held their fabric in fingers…

A Constant Companion The COVID-19 pandemic affected everyone and engulfed the world in despair and sorrow. Fortunately in those testing periods, there was a ray of light that shone on us readers. Reader’s Digest accompanied me through lonely times and helped me escape the walls behind which I had been confined. So while I thank you for all the amazing information and entertainment, I especially thank you for being a friend when I needed one most. MONEEBB YASIN CHAUDHARY Flying In The ’50s I was quite amazed reading Keith Knott’s story of his experience flying to London from Salisbury, Rhodesia, in 1956 (My Story, October), I might have been on the same plane! My parents both worked for Central African Airways and that year I flew to London to train as a nurse. It…

Like a knight in shining armour: that’s how I felt closing the Louis Vuitton cruise show in San Diego this past May. As the sun set behind the beautiful, brutalist Salk Institute, casting long shadows on the concrete runway, I walked out wearing a floorsweeping silver coat – my legs as golden as the early evening light, shimmering beneath metallic shorts – leading the way for the army of models behind me. Everything about the show was incredible: the clothes, the setting, that I had been asked to lead the finale, that I was there at all. It has been almost 10 years since I was rushed into hospital, just hours from death, with toxic shock syndrome (TSS) – a condition caused by an excess of staphylococcus aureus bacteria in the…

AT FIRST GLANCE, Advanced Human Performance in Suwanee, Georgia, looks like a standard high-performance gym: all free weights and squat racks and turf. But then you look around. In one corner, Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Austin Meadows bends forward while balancing on his right foot, moving in slow motion to stabilize a barbell held near his chest. At the other end of the 10,000-square-foot facility, Minnesota Vikings running back Ameer Abdullah holds a bar with three Olympic plates bobbing from elastic bands at his shoulders, squats down slightly, then stands quickly. None of this (or anything else going on in the gym, really) looks like how you’re taught to train. But the gym’s cofounder Joel Seedman, Ph.D., C.S.C.S., wants you rethinking your training anyway. Since 2006, he’s promoted a unique fitness approach…

Facebook is trying to shuck off its reputation for manipulating elections and destroying societies by becoming “Meta,” the metaverse company. In short, a metaverse is a persistent, open virtual- or augmented-reality platform. Metaverses have existed for decades; Second Life is a metaverse and once had a million users. Meta, of course, wants to take that from the millions to the billions. Everyone involved in 5G is betting on metaverses, too. Qualcomm calls its approach XR, or extended reality. Microsoft calls it MR, mixed reality. T-Mobile’s President of Technology Neville Ray told me that “eyewear wearables” could be the killer consumer app for true 5G. And that’s how you get into the metaverse. There’s a big difference between Facebook’s metaverse and the one the 5G players want. It’s important, and it goes to why…

looking good Mandevillas These tropical climbers ( right ) flower abundantly throughout the warmer months, with trumpet-shaped blooms in white and shades of pink and cerise. These days, there are many named varieties that grow in most parts of Australia. Even in very cold areas, they can be moved into a hothouse for the winter or planted out as summer annuals and replaced each spring. Mandevillas also make excellent pot plants and grow happily in a morning sun position. Water mandevillas regularly during their growing period, always making sure the water can drain away. Their fleshy roots will rot if they stay wet for too long. Reduce watering during cold periods and prune them hard at the end of winter. After pruning, fertilise with slow-release pellets. Watch out for aphids on the growing…

CRACKING THE CODE In a world first, scientists at the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria have sequenced the genome, or the DNA ‘fingerprint’, of the golden wattle ( Acacia pycnantha ) – Australia’s floral emblem. This painstaking process took just over three years for scientists from the CSIRO and the Queensland Department of Environment and Science, among others, to complete. This is one of only a handful of other Australian plants whose genomes have been sequenced, including the macadamia, waratah and blue gum, and there are plans afoot to sequence the genomes of other native Australian plants, too. FEBRUARY 11 FEBRUARY 11 MARKS THE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF WOMEN AND GIRLS IN SCIENCE. IT’S A DAY TO CELEBRATE WOMEN’S ACHIEVEMENTS SO FAR, AND HONOUR THOSE WHO ARE AGENTS OF CHANGE. WHO KNOWS, PERHAPS A BUDDING…

HELLO YELLOW There’s nothing sunnier than a massed display of sunflowers. On Sunday January 29, Spring Bay Mill in Triabunna (trayapana) on the east coast of Tasmania (lutruwita) is holding its annual Sunflower Celebration, a festival embracing sustainable living, gardening, Indigenous history and cultural practices, and… sunflowers. For thousands of years, this site was a traditional gathering place for the palawa people, before its latter incarnation in the 1970s as the world’s largest wood-chipping mill. Over the past decade or so, this industrial site has been reinvigorated as an events venue, designed, built and run on sustainable, regenerative principles, and is once again a place for people to gather, learn and be inspired. It also won gold in the Positive Impact Tourism category of last year’s Tasmanian Tourism Awards. For more…

Herbs are one of the most useful and economical things you can grow. They punch above their weight, transforming a boring meal into a delightfully interesting one with just a small handful of leaves or seeds. To ensure I never have to buy them, I grow an over-the-top amount of mint, rosemary, thyme, parsley, sage, dill, coriander and oregano. I harvest large bunches of leaves (sometimes just the seed for dill and coriander) when they are in their prime, then dry and store them for year-round use in the kitchen. I even do this with plants such as rosemary, which pumps out fresh leaves in all seasons and is probably the hardiest plant in the world (in my humble opinion). When I’m cooking dinner and it’s cold, dark and raining, I’d much…

Q Can you please advise me on my sick Queensland bottle tree (Brachychiton rupestris) and whether I'll be able to save it? I planted it 25 years ago, at 2m tall, into a raised bed, using beautiful friable soil. It was growing well and the girth of the trunk doubled in size. Then, about three years ago, one side of the tree seemed to die but occasionally grew leaves. This year, the whole tree started leaning, and when I examined the trunk, I noticed the rot. We dug it up and, although the soil in the hole wasn’t wet, the tree had hardly any roots. Loretta Childs, Christmas Hills, Vic ANGUS STEWART SAYS The excessive moisture that the Australian east coast has been receiving over the past few years has meant…

Growing a crop of cauliflowers can fill a backyard gardener with pride. Driven by the dream of a perfectly formed, pure white curd, we lovingly nurture the plants and protect them from marauding pests. And when harvest day finally arrives, we march that big plump beauty to the kitchen with our chests puffed out. Of course, things can go dreadfully wrong. Plants may end up stunted, or covered in caterpillars, with loose heads as small as tennis balls and not as white as we’d hoped. It’s true that caulis can be tricky when you’re new to gardening, but once you have the basics sorted, you’ll be growing big, beautiful curds every time. getting started Like most plants in the cabbage family (Brassicaceae), cauliflowers prefer cool conditions. Now is a good time to sow…

Third grader Marise Chiverella had set off on the 10-minute walk to St. Joseph’s Parochial School in Hazleton, Pa., around 8 a.m. on March 18, 1964, without her siblings, because she wanted to get there early to deliver cans of pears and beets to Sister Josephine for her Feast Day. Despite Marise’s early start, the 9-year-old never arrived. And about 1 p.m. the unimaginable reason why began unfolding. Two men driving near a garbage-filled old strip mine noticed what they thought was a large doll on top of the trash. It was Marise. Her hands were tied with one of her shoelaces, and her ankles with the other. The canned goods were still in her bag. Police later learned that she had been sexually assaulted and strangled to death, leaving her horrified…

Donna Ream glanced at the clock on the wall of the convenience store where she worked in Eugene, Oregon. It was 10.30pm on Sunday, April 10, 1994. Only half an hour more and I can close, she thought. As she wiped down the counter, Ream overheard her workmate, Fran Wall, talking to her husband on the public phone in an alcove. The two women, both 28 years old, were friends and neighbours in a nearby housing estate. “I’ll be home soon,” Wall told her husband. “I love you.” She hung up and went around the corner to the rear of the alcove, where the toilet, stockroom and walk-in cool room were located. Just then, Ream saw a young man outside the entrance. He was dressed in black, his long blond hair pulled back…

Jim, your protagonist, sounds most intriguing. What can you tell us about him? Jim was a Yorkshire terrier owned by Sir Henry Cole, the V&A’s founding director, who created the first Christmas card in 1843. The V&A suggested I write about Sir Henry and sent me a copy of the card and some of his sketches as inspiration. One was of his dog, a creature that looked a little like a chimney brush. The story of Jim’s Spectacular Christmas – about this unlikely animal living in a magnificent museum – began to unfold in my mind. If you were to live in a museum, which would it be? I adore the V&A, but it would have to be the Sir John Soane’s Museum [next to Lincoln’s Inn Fields in London]. It’s an incredible…

The walls of the Martello tower were made of granite and seven feet thick. It was a fort containing three circular rooms, two bathrooms, and a kitchen built into the walls. The living room was like an igloo with a proud hollow for a fireplace. At another opening, a solid stone, winding staircase led to what can only be described as the “lookout” we slept in: a glass room from which we could watch over the promenade of the seaside town of Bray. I’m not sure you would call the tower a house, but it was the first dwelling Ali and I owned and lived in, and it felt wildly romantic after having been holed up in the band’s rehearsal room on the beach in Sutton. In their day, Martello towers…

KATIE ASKS… My 40th birthday is coming up, and I told my husband that my dream would be a tropical vacation with my sister, brother-in-law, and 3-year-old niece. He invited them and even offered to book a big house at no cost to them. They promptly declined without an explanation. I’m trying not to feel rejected and sad, but the truth is, it hurts. Should I bring it up to her or sweep it under the rug? Lawdy, lawdy, look who’s 40! Congratulations on your birthday and having enough money in the bank to make a trip happen! I’m going to be honest here: I have 4-year-old twins, and traveling with them is like all the seasons of The Amazing Race but with no prize at the end. I’m sure your family…

The day my son Laurie started kindergarten he renounced corduroy overalls with bibs and began wearing blue jeans with a belt; I watched him go off the first morning with the older girl next door, seeing clearly that an era of my life was ended, my sweet-voiced nursery-school tot replaced by a long-trousered, swaggering character who forgot to stop at the corner and wave goodbye to me. He came home the same way, the front door slamming open, his cap on the floor, and the voice suddenly becoming raucous shouting, “Isn’t anybody here?” At lunch he spoke insolently to his father, spilled his baby sister’s milk, and remarked that his teacher said we were not to take the name of the Lord in vain. “How was school today?” I asked, elaborately casual. “Alright,” he…

Paris-based interior designer Marianne Evennou has made a name for herself as an expert in reconfiguring small spaces, the tiniest of which was an 11-square-metre studio flat. In comparison, this pied-à-terre in the heart of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, which belongs to a couple whose main residence is in Barcelona, is quite capacious, covering 25 square metres. Here, Marianne shares some of her decorating secrets for making the most of a diminutive apartment. FLOORPLAN (total floor space 25m2) PAINTBOX OF TRICKS ‘Paint is my best friend because, for very little money, you can make a strong impact,’ says Marianne. ‘A lot of people believe using just one colour creates a sense of space, but I always think a room ends up looking like a box when you do that.’ Instead, she prefers to mix different hues,…

ART & CRAFT SMALL WONDERS LIFE’S LITTLE LUXURIES HOME COMFORTS NATURAL SELECTION STOCKING FILLERS FOR STOCKISTS see Where to Buy COMPILED BY CARA LASKARIS. PRICES AND AVAILABILITY CORRECT AT TIME OF GOING TO PRESS…

PUBLISHED IN READER’S DIGEST IN NOVEMBER 1945 AS ‘PRINCESS ELIZ ABETH’. CONDENSED FROM THE PAGES OF LIFE On September 8, 2022, Queen Elizabeth II died peacefully at her Scottish castle in Balmoral. The days and weeks that followed her passing witnessed much regalia, tradition and tears. This year also marked her Platinum Jubilee: 70 years since she ascended the throne in 1952 at the age of 25 after the death of her father, George VI. It was the start of the longest reign of any British monarch in history. Hers was an extraordinary life and one that even she could never have envisaged. This article was written in 1945, at the end of World War II, two years before Elizabeth married Prince Philip. PRINCESS ELIZABETH ALEXANDRA MARY WINDSOR will someday claim the…

“Dark denim worn with bold gold jewellery is such a striking statement – and ideal for dressing across the seasons”DONNA WALLACE, FASHION & ACCESSORIES EDITOR“Crisp and clean, Ami’s skirt suit presents a modern rendition of ’90s minimalism”OLIVIA SINGER, FASHION NEWS DIRECTOR Short & SHARP Thanks to chic tailoring, thigh-skimming minis are no longer reserved for after dark Knit ONE When it comes to comfort, there’s nothing better – or cooler – than knitwear “How to wear fulllook knitwear? Proenza Schouler’s crochet halter dress”LAURA INGHAM, FASHION MARKET DIRECTOR“Whether you’re going grunge or elegant, the elongated sleeve adds a modern touch to your look”LAURA INGHAM, FASHION MARKET DIRECTOR All day LONG Take your comfort clothing from the sofa to the streets with the snuggly super-sleeve Fom Acne’s dreamlike duvet dressing to Raf Simons’s grunge-tinted enveloping knits, an array of designers…

IT SEEMS ONLY fitting that my journey to Hollywood, to interior design, and ultimately to Elizabeth Taylor’s bedroom began with antique jewelry, which entered my life at the age of 12. It was the late 1970s in London, and my father let me rent a stall in the Greenwich Village Market, a vintage market, for a bit of a hobby. I would arrive very early in the morning before sunrise and run around looking at what other people had on their stalls for the day. I’d use my limited allowance to buy items I thought were pretty, then I’d make them look even better in my stall. I’d wait for daylight and with it, the tourists. And I’d sell my wares. Soon I was actually making money. A few years in, I…