Talks foster respect
By EDWARD M. EVELD Knight Ridder Newspapers
Families want to thrive, not just survive. They want to be happy. Asking too much?

PARENTING
By JOHN ROSEMOND
A few questions recently asked me by several people, including a journalist, and my answers. These have been edited and modified for clarity:

Gardening

FERTILE MIND
It’s swell to be a tart when you talk cherries
By JAN WIESE-FALES
Dark branches of one of the two tart cherry trees growing in our yard reach gracefully into the line of vision from my office window. In early April, the tree erupts into a cloud of white blossoms, creating a pleasant distraction from my computer screen.

Don’t walk on eggshells to get rid of slugs
By CANDACE RENALLS Knight Ridder Newspapers
While testing homespun garden remedies, Jeff Gillman admits he was most disappointed by discovering eggshells don’t deter slugs.

Your attention, please
By DEAN FOSDICK For AP Weekly Features
NEW MARKET, Va. - Remember the clumps of irises and daffodils you saw flowering along rural roadsides while on that cross-country trip last year? The brilliant poppies and butterfly weeds blooming in interstate medians?

Give these gifts that keep on giving
By MARIANA GREENE The Dallas Morning News
If you have a gardener in your life, take it from me: Garden tools are welcome gifts; kitchen tools are not.

GARDEN CALENDAR