Take advantage of a slope to add extra eye appeal to your landscaping.

A terraced yard adds interest and prevents erosion

Tired of watching your property wash away—and you’re nowhere near the coast?

A slope can be a landscaping asset with lots of eye appeal, said horticulturist Mark Viette.

“There are so many options available to make it an attractive part of the garden.”

Dividing the slope into terraces and using retaining walls breaks up the area down which rainwater can roll, taking your soil with it.

If your walls are stone, angle them backward, Viette recommended, “so in the winter, during the freezing and thawing, you won’t see the stones heaving forward.”

Sufficiently weighted gravel and the roots of plants also help keep soil in place.

Viette recommended repeating types of plants and duplicating colors throughout the overall design. When planting perennials, space them to allow for growth.

"There are so many options available to make [a slope] an attractive part of the garden." (Click to Tweet)

How to fit more fruits and veggies into your diet

They taste great, can reduce disease risk and are readily available in your local grocery store. These are three great reasons why we should eat more fruits and vegetables. But how do we incorporate them into our daily diet?

Here are some suggestions.

  • Add berries or bananas to your cereal, waffles or pancakes.
  • Add bell peppers, broccoli, spinach, mushrooms or tomatoes to an omelet.
  • Top toasted whole-grain bread with peanut butter and sliced bananas.
  • Stir low-fat or fat-free granola into a bowl of yogurt.
  • Eat fruit as a mid-morning snack.
  • Add grated or chopped vegetables such as carrots, broccoli and cauliflower (including the stalks), spinach or cabbage to soups, side dishes and entrees.
  • Canned, dried and frozen fruits and vegetables work as well as fresh, but make sure they are without added sugar, syrup, salt or butter.

Beet and Corn Salad

Looking for a recipe that puts more veggies on your plate? Try this vitamin-packed beet and corn salad.

See Recipe

Keep your credit, debit card numbers safe

More and more people are using credit and debit cards when making purchases, because it’s quick and easy. It’s also just as quick and easy for those card numbers to end up in the wrong hands.

Credit and debit card number thefts continue to increase as thieves become more clever. So consumers must be more protective of their cards and treat them as if they were cash.

Thieves are using devices called skimmers to read the magnetic strips on credit and debit cards. The devices are secretly placed over the card scanners at gas stations and ATMs. They return later to collect the captured information.

When handing your [credit] card to someone else to swipe, make sure you hand it to them with the card number facing down, and never leave it on a counter with the numbers facing up. (Click to Tweet)

It’s important to look around and check your surroundings before using your card. It doesn’t take long for someone to copy your card number and use it.

When handing your card to someone else to swipe, make sure you hand it to them with the card number facing down, and never leave it on a counter with the numbers facing up.