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Plant of the Week

California Gray Rush Near Water Can Support Dragonfly Habitat and Help You Manage Mosquitoes More Effectively

Somewhere between hope and gardening reality lives the idea that one plant near a backyard pond can call in dragonflies and send mosquitoes packing. California...

By John Miller CA · Jul 25, 2026

Field Notes

How a Light Summer Trim Can Help Lantana Keep Blooming in North Carolina

The Best California Native Plants for Pulling Quail Into Your Yard and Keeping Them Safe

More Purple Martins Nesting Over Your Texas Yard Means Fewer Mosquitoes All Summer – Here’s What Draws Them In

Your Hydrangeas Aren’t Failing You – These 15 Small Habits Are Quietly Cutting Their Blooms

From the Garden

Your Tomatoes Are Rotting at the Bottom – Here’s What’s Going Wrong in the Soil and How to Stop It

The Dwarf Fruit Trees California Gardeners Are Quietly Growing in Pots on Tiny Patios

If Your Cucumber Vines Sprawl Everywhere but the Fruit Stalls, One Pruning Cut Redirects Them

The Best Southern California Native Plant Nurseries Serious Gardeners Quietly Drive Hours to Reach

The Most Underrated North Carolina Perennial That Keeps Blooming Through the Hottest Full-Sun Days

In Bloom

More Barn Owls Around Your Texas Yard Means Fewer Rats – Here’s Exactly What Brings Them In

The Fire-Resistant California Shrubs That Give You the Look of Ornamental Grasses Without the Burn Risk Near the House

Serviceberry for Wildlife, Beautyberry for Lab-Tested Tick Repellency: What North Carolina Homeowners Should Know

Gardener's Selection

The Florida Native Plants That Pull Hummingbirds and Luna Moths Into the Very Same Yard

How to Help the Backyard Birds Counting on Your Texas Yard Survive a Triple-Digit Heat Wave

Why California Mourning Doves Return to the Exact Same Branch Every Year, and What It Says About Your Yard

The Tiny California Garden Spider That Hunts the Pests Wrecking Your Plants, and the Homeowners Who Sweep It Away by Mistake

California Gray Rush Near Water Can Support Dragonfly Habitat and Help You Manage Mosquitoes More Effectively

The Potting Shed

How to Set Up Your California Yard to Help Backyard Birds Cope With the Next Brutal Heat Wave

There’s a California Lizard Eating the Pests No Pesticide Can Touch, and Most Homeowners Toss It Out by Instinct

The Fragrant California Plants You Can Line Your Patio With to Keep Ticks Off the Paths Where Your Family Walks

When Tree Frogs Turn Up in Your California Garden, They’re Confirming Something Specific About Your Yard

7 Native North Carolina Trees That Beat Crape Myrtle for Color and Pollinators

Why Texas Homeowners Are Seeing More Scorpions in 2026 Than They Have in Years

The California Barn Owls Hunting Rats Better Than Any Trap, and the One Change That Keeps Them Nesting

The Most Underrated North Carolina Native That Keeps Ticks Out of Your Backyard Vegetable Garden

You Won’t Believe This Tree Hiding in South Florida Yards Is More Toxic Than a Rattlesnake Bite

This Native Texas Flowering Shrub Can Add Nectar Resources and May Attract Hummingbirds to Your Yard

10 Florida Ground Covers That Fill Bare Spots and Choke Out Weeds on Almost No Water

Local Plant Rules in California Are More Specific Than Most Homeowners Realize

More Great Horned Owls On Your Florida Property Means Fewer Rats – Here’s What Brings Them In

The Native Florida Firefly Plant Almost Nobody Grows That Carries Them Through Their Whole Life Cycle

The Edible Florida Plants UF/IFAS Says Turn a Bare Back Fence Into Food You Can Pick

The Garden Almanac

Field Notes

This Common California Lizard Quietly Cuts the Lyme-Disease Risk in Your Yard, But Homeowners Keep Driving It Off

The Yard Habits Quietly Making Your North Carolina Tick Problem Worse This Summer

The One Late-Summer Move That Pushes Texas Lantana Into Non-Stop Blooms Again

When Mourning Doves Pick Your California Yard to Nest, It’s Telling You Something About the Garden You Made

The California Native Groundcovers That Blanket a Slope Like Ivy but Won’t Feed the Next Wildfire

The California Native Shrubs That Do Everything Rosemary Does but Feed Wildlife and Never Go Woody