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Tomato woes and fixes

Most of the troubles stem from water and fertilizing issues. But beware the hornworm.
Awash in art

Charlie didn't know that, by doing his laundry, he'd arranged a still life.
The geography of home

For those who have lived abroad, the sense of belonging to one place is elusive.
Sound and nonsense

To a nonnative speaker, what a difference a misheard word makes.
Starlets of the garden

Showy oriental poppies are brief, but tolerant and easy to grow.
Color me confused

I needed paint; what I got was a lesson in how things have changed.
One quilt, three blessings

Could I sew a baby quilt to donate to a good cause, my son texted – in two weeks?
Waving at ants

Graduates in a stadium and friends who are departing get the same hail and farewell.
I have shoes for any occasion

Riot gear for Africa? Rhinestone cowboy wear? Yep, and more.
Don't overlook the ordinary

The humble petunia is extraordinary for its variety and ease of cultivation.
Why I travel, rather than tour

To view a picture of a cake is hardly to experience a cake.
When obfuscation is a good thing

Working on a technical book reminds the Monitor's language columnist how language is about connotation as well as denotation.
My mandate to be bold

A Monitor photographer gets over shyness to be the eyes of a readership.
Of bovines and waterlines

As we dig a trench, our cows' instincts hinder, then help.
Color schemes – imported from the Caucasus?

The 'all of the above' identities of the Boston bombing suspects illustrate the conflation of 'color' and religion.
Picture this...

In a digital age, you'd think school photos would be a snap.
A fig orchard on your patio

Dwarf fig for container gardening grows outside in summer, comes inside in winter.
Pie transports me

When the package arrived in Saudi Arabia, it sent me home.
Kandinsky spoke 'language of color'

Russian-born artist Wassily Kandinsky changed the course of modern art forever.
Babushka's gift

She was happy to be useful, with little time for unkind thoughts.