Garden
![The Desperate Sous-chef](https://hobblecreek.us/assets/images/Desparate-Sous-Cheftn.jpg)
The Desperate Sous-chef
What happens when a helpful guy with no interest in cooking marries an adventuresome but accident-prone California foodie?
![Christmas Gnome Infestation](https://hobblecreek.us/assets/images/Gnomes-35tn.jpg)
Christmas Gnome Infestation
Christmas gnomes are on the march this year in stores, DIY projects and on social media. We look at the strong opinions the mischievous little creatures invoke.
![Comeback of the Courtyard House](https://hobblecreek.us/assets/images/IMG_3381tn.jpg)
Comeback of the Courtyard House
The pandemic, soaring cost of housing and environmental concerns are renewing interest in courtyard houses, albeit on a miniature scale.
![Versailles’ Checkered Legacy](https://hobblecreek.us/assets/images/rou20190131-0531tn.jpg)
Versailles’ Checkered Legacy
Versailles has an image of lavish opulence under the Sun King, Louis XIV, but the palace also has a history of revolution and American ties.
![Japan’s Golden Pavilion](https://hobblecreek.us/assets/images/rou20180402-294tn.jpg)
Japan’s Golden Pavilion
The Golden Pavilion in Kyoto, Japan, is evidence of Japan's aesthetic balance of restrained simplicity and bursts of opulent grandeur.
![Mini Orchards](https://hobblecreek.us/assets/images/rou20170329-029tn_1.jpg)
Mini Orchards
Mini orchards are part of a global movement to make urban environments greener and improve air quality as well as helping stabilize food supplies.
![A Classical Chinese Garden](https://hobblecreek.us/assets/images/rou20180918-278tn.jpg)
A Classical Chinese Garden
Lan Su Chinese Garden in Portland, Ore., was built by artisans from the garden city of Suzhou, China, to demonstrate the basic elements of Chinese gardens.
![Duke’s Beautiful Campus, Academic Excellence and Mixed Legacy](https://hobblecreek.us/assets/images/rou100618187tn.jpg)
Duke’s Beautiful Campus, Academic Excellence and Mixed Legacy
Duke University's Gothic architecture and academic excellence alongside its mixed historical legacy makes it a microcosm of the American South's historical dilemmas.
![Japan’s Poignant Cherry Blossom Season](https://hobblecreek.us/assets/images/rou20170406-118tn.jpg)
Japan’s Poignant Cherry Blossom Season
Japan's annual cherry blossom season conveys a timely message of renewal, transience and death in a year of global tragedy.
![Apple Options](https://hobblecreek.us/assets/images/IMG_2144tn.jpg)
Apple Options
This time of year, supermarket counters are overflowing with apples. Here are some old-fashioned recipes that call for them.
![Nature Trails](https://hobblecreek.us/assets/images/rou20100816-368tn.jpg)
Nature Trails
Urban nature trails are more important than ever as other exercise and recreation venues have been closed.
![Renovating a Western Landmark](https://hobblecreek.us/assets/images/rou20200810-360tn.jpg)
Renovating a Western Landmark
The Salt Lake Temple and Temple Square, among America's most popular tourist destinations, are undergoing a major renovation.
![Inventory App and Sticker Dots](https://hobblecreek.us/assets/images/rou20200715-003tn.jpg)
Inventory App and Sticker Dots
Use sticker dots and an easy inventory app, Enough Stuff, to keep track of your food supplies, toiletries and other stuff of all kinds.
![Private Paradises Amid Adversity](https://hobblecreek.us/assets/images/japanese-roomtn.jpg)
Private Paradises Amid Adversity
Sheltering at home has been accompanied by an outpouring of creativity that can help us cope with adversity and shape our future.
![Green Thumbometer](https://hobblecreek.us/assets/images/rou_100617_0720tn.jpg)
Green Thumbometer
Gardening can be a good way to relieve stress and get fresh air during the coronavirus shutdown. Here are a new tool and tips.
![Meditation and Japan’s Rock Garden](https://hobblecreek.us/assets/images/rou20180402-043tn.jpg)
Meditation and Japan’s Rock Garden
Meditation is the theme of the Ryoanji dry rock garden. Find out why the garden inspires meditation and how to meditate.
![Eating Food in Season](https://hobblecreek.us/assets/images/rou20190928-076tn.jpg)
Eating Food in Season
Eating locally grown food in season is a great strategy for weight loss, good health, saving money and protecting the environment.
![Japanese Design Past and Present](https://hobblecreek.us/assets/images/Kengo-Kuma-garden-tn.jpg)
Japanese Design Past and Present
Architect Kengo Kuma's village at the Portland Japanese Garden blends modern architecture with traditional Japanese design.
![Katsura Villa’s Enigmatic Design](https://hobblecreek.us/assets/images/rou20180404-270tn.jpg)
Katsura Villa’s Enigmatic Design
Modernist architects admired Katsura Villa as the pinnacle of Japanese architecture and design. It is more complex than they thought.
![Green thumb challenged? Grow rocks](https://hobblecreek.us/assets/images/rou20180408-389tn.jpg)
Green thumb challenged? Grow rocks
Okay, so you don’t have green thumbs. We don't either. Not to worry. Rock gardens are the next best option.
![Making a Japanese Gate](https://hobblecreek.us/assets/images/rou20180914-013tn.jpg)
Making a Japanese Gate
We were charmed by the beautiful gates that are the entrance to homes in Kyoto and Nara, Japan, so we decided to make our own.
![Retreat by Design](https://hobblecreek.us/assets/images/rou20180401-151-copy.jpg)
Retreat by Design
What makes a retreat restful and soul restoring? A former imperial retreat in Kyoto, Japan, gets retreat design just right.
![Garden in the Desert](https://hobblecreek.us/assets/images/rou20170527-416.jpg)
Garden in the Desert
One of the Intermountain West’s most beautiful gardens is at the Point of the Mountain between Salt Lake City and Provo, Utah.
![Elements of a Japanese Garden](https://hobblecreek.us/assets/images/rou20170803-085tn.jpg)
Elements of a Japanese Garden
Imagine you're sitting in Los Angeles traffic on a hot day. Take a break and head for a cool green oasis - Suihoen Japanese Garden
Enhance your life and dig deeper with apps and books
![Enough Stuff](https://hobblecreek.us/assets/images/rou20180104-042.jpg)
Enough Stuff
The Enough Stuff inventory app for iOS helps you keep track of how much you have of items so you don't buy more of them than you need.
![Green Thumbometer](https://hobblecreek.us/assets/images/Green-Thumbometer-app-tn.jpg)
Green Thumbometer
The all-in-one iOS app that's a gardening calendar, gardening journal, gardening to-do list and source of gardening information.
![Home Gnome](https://hobblecreek.us/assets/images/Home-Gnome-app-tn3.jpg)
Home Gnome
The iOS app that helps you keep track of what tasks you need to do and when to do them to maintain your home well all year long.