design tips from a pro, inspired by nature's layers; plus the wonder of feathers    

Don't even ask. (But yes, it did. Again. Snow -- and freeze hard, as it will for two more nights. Like I said: maybe best if we just don't talk about it.)

We've got brighter topics, like the wonder of feathers, with help from Cornell's new website, and another expert Q&A on garden design:

natives, or not? design ideas, inspired by nature's layers

Landscape architect Thomas Rainer doesn't ask a plant for its passport before making space for it, but he does take inspiration from the layered structures of native and naturalistic plant communities to make gardens that work visually and functionally. He helps us learn to do that in our home landscapes (those are two parts of his in the photos above) -- and also makes sense of the "native-or-not" debate. All here. 

all about feathers: a new interactive resource

As the only living animal to have them, birds corner the market on feathers. Now one of my favorite places to go birding, Cornell Lab of Ornithology's All About Birds website, is offering us humans a closer look at those protein-packed marvels of design, function, and evolution, in All About Feathers. Spoiler alert: The word "feathers" will never sound quite the same once you tour the rich, multimedia tutorial. Amazing!