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Plant of the Week

What It Really Means When Crows Keep Gathering in Your North Carolina Trees at Dusk

Every evening, across neighborhoods from the Piedmont to the coastal plain, North Carolina homeowners are watching the same thing unfold: a growing crowd of crows...

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 21, 2026

Field Notes

The Florida Native Plants Your HOA Keeps Trying to Ban but Legally Cannot Touch

7 Florida Native Ground Covers Homeowners Swap for Patchy Grass When Water Restrictions Hit

What It Really Means When Western Bluebirds Suddenly Return to Your California Yard, and the One Thing That Draws Them

If Your Peppers Grow Lush but Set No Fruit in Late-Summer Heat, Here’s the Feeding Reset That Turns It Around

From the Garden

Skip Japanese Honeysuckle On Your North Carolina Fence And Plant This Native Vine That Feeds Pollinators Instead

The Native Texas Perennial That Fills a Bare Border and Comes Back On Its Own Every Season

Your Clematis Grows Plenty of Vines but Skips the Flowers – Here’s the Conditional Reset That May Turn It Around

Epsom Salt and Tomatoes: A Popular Claim That Needs a Closer Look

The Popular Patio Plant That Fans Claim Repels Ticks and Mosquitoes All Summer – Here’s What California Research Actually Found

In Bloom

The Bedroom Herb That Helps You Sleep Better – and It’s Not Lavender

The Native North Carolina Plants That Fill Deep Shade Better Than Hostas and Shrug Off Summer Humidity

The California Groundcovers That Blanket a Yard So Thick Weeds Never Get a Foothold

Gardener's Selection

The Heat-Proof Texas Herb That Keeps Mosquitoes Off Your Patio All Summer Long

The Plants California Fire Officials Keep Flagging Within 5 Feet of the House That Homeowners Never Question

If Aphids Keep Riddling Your Cucumber Vines in the Late-Summer Heat, Here’s the One Thing That Finally Stops Them

Your Tomatoes Stall Out in the Late-Summer Heat – Here’s the One Care Reset That Restarts Growth

What It Really Means When Crows Keep Gathering in Your North Carolina Trees at Dusk

The Potting Shed

7 Florida Native Plants That Bring Zebra Longwing Butterflies Back to Yards They’ve Vanished From

Woolly Blue Curls Can Extend Hummingbird Nectar After California Fuchsia: What California Gardeners Need to Know

The One Texas Ground Cover That Smothers Weeds So Thoroughly You Stop Reaching for the Sprayer

Your Lavender Turns Woody and Bare at the Base – Here’s the One Cut That Brings It Back Full

Your Cucumber Vines Are Setting Fewer Fruit as the Heat Drags On – Here’s the One Care Fix That Turns It Around

The One Thing North Carolina Gardeners Must Do When Japanese Beetles Start Skeletonizing Plants Or They Multiply

The Native Texas Shrub That Keeps Flowering Through the Hottest Part of Summer

Your Cucumber Vines Turn Pale and Washed Out in the Late-Summer Heat — Here’s the Care Reset Behind It

Native North Carolina Perennials That Choke Out Weeds Better Than Landscape Fabric in a Full-Sun Border

The Fall Tomato Varieties Texans Set Out Right Now for a Harvest Before the First Freeze

Your Coneflowers Stay Weak and Floppy – The Planting Spot Is the First Place to Look

Low-Maintenance North Carolina Border Plants That Hold Their Shape All Summer Without a Single Fuss

Spearmint on Your Texas Porch: What It Can and Cannot Do About Wasps This Summer

Your Hydrangeas Stopped Blooming and They’ve Been Telling You Why All Along – Here’s the Signal to Read

Your Peace Lily Leaves Turn Brown at the Tips – Here’s the One Watering Slip Usually Behind It

The Garden Almanac

Field Notes

When Epsom Salt May Help Pale Cucumber Vines – and When It Cannot

7 Florida Native Plants That Draw Black Racers and Other Snakes In to Clear the Rodents From Your Yard

The Florida Native Plants That Bring Gopher Tortoises In and the Legal Protection That Comes With Them

If Your Tomatoes Struggle No Matter What, One of These 14 Bad Neighbor Plants Is Usually Behind It

The Low-Maintenance Florida Native Plants Taking Over Front Yards This Fall With Almost No Fuss

The California Groundcovers That Take Daily Foot Traffic and Turn a Bare Path Into Something Lush