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Plant of the Week

If your zucchini leaves turn silvery and powdery white in this heat, one watering habit is usually behind it

Spotting a white, flour-like coating on your zucchini leaves mid-summer can feel alarming, especially when the plants looked fine just days before. Most of the...

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 29, 2026

Field Notes

If your tomatoes keep rotting on the bottom in this heat, the trouble starts in the soil before the fruit forms

Skip the Boxwood Hedge and Plant This North Carolina Native That Turns Fiery in Fall While Walling Ticks Off the Yard’s Edge

The Texas Fall Vegetables You Need to Start Right Now to Beat the First November Frost

Lush Tomato Vines Stalling in August Heat? Excess Nitrogen May Be One Reason, But Heat Deserves Equal Attention

From the Garden

If your pepper plants keep pushing out leaves but never flower in this heat, one feeding habit is usually behind it

What It Really Means When Toads Move Into Your North Carolina Garden and Why You Want Them Eating After Dark

What it means when a hummingbird builds its walnut-sized nest in your California yard, and why you shouldn’t touch it

The One Plant Texans Are Putting by the Patio That Keeps Mosquitoes Off All Summer

If your summer squash vines suddenly wilt and collapse in this heat while the soil stays moist, one hidden stem pest is usually behind it

In Bloom

How to support the North Carolina mockingbird that quietly clears the beetles and grubs out of your yard

What It Really Means When Wasps Suddenly Start Nesting Around Your Texas Porch in Midsummer

If your peppers stay stubbornly green in this heat while the plants look lush, one feeding habit is usually behind it

Gardener's Selection

If your tomato leaves are curling up and down the plant in this heat, your feeding routine may be the culprit

The Most Underrated North Carolina Native Tree That Feeds Birds All Fall While Quietly Discouraging Ticks at the Yard’s Edge

7 Florida Native Ground Covers You Plant Instead of Bark Mulch That Never Wash Away in a Storm

The Patio Container Plant That Still Looks Full and Fresh When the Texas Sun Turns Brutal

If your zucchini leaves turn silvery and powdery white in this heat, one watering habit is usually behind it

The Potting Shed

If your potted peppers keep dropping blossoms while the plants look lush, one container feeding habit is usually behind it

What it means when a praying mantis shows up in your California yard, and why you should let it stay

If Your Tomato Leaves Keep Rolling Up Tight in the Heat but the Plants Look Otherwise Fine, Heat and Moisture Stress May Be Behind It

The California native milkweed you plant instead of tropical milkweed that keeps monarchs healthy through winter

If your cucumber plants keep flowering but never fruit in this heat, one pollination habit is usually behind it

If your cucumber vines keep wilting by midday while the soil stays wet, one root problem is usually behind it

Why Your August Cucumbers Taste Bitter: Heat, Water, Genetics, and Fertilizer All Play a Role

If your cucumbers keep growing bitter and hollow in this heat, one watering habit is usually behind it

American Beautyberry: A Native NC Shrub With Late-Summer Berries and Tick-Aware Landscaping Tips

The Underrated Native Texas Plant That Keeps Ticks Out of the Yard Where Your Kids Play

If your cucumber leaves keep turning yellow from the bottom up in this heat, one feeding habit is usually behind it

Mountain Mint: North Carolina’s Most Underrated Native Border Plant (And What to Do About Fire Ants)

8 Florida Native Plants That Recruit the Night Hunters Quietly Clearing Rats, Roaches, and Mosquitoes From Your Yard

The Fragrant Texas Herb Gardeners Tuck by the Front Door to Keep Mosquitoes Off the Porch All Summer

Your Vinyl Fence Warps and Yellows in the Florida Heat, but This Native Vine Hides It and Feeds the Birds

The Garden Almanac

Field Notes

If Your Zucchini Plants Keep Flowering Heavily But Never Set a Single Fruit in This Heat, a Morning Check May Be the Rescue Step You Are Missing

7 Florida Native Ground Covers That Choke Out Weeds and Cut Your Watering to Almost Nothing

How to support the California scrub-jay that quietly clears the caterpillars and grubs out of your garden

7 Florida Native Plants That Bring In Rat-Hunting Owls and Clear the Rodents Out of Your Yard

The Harmless-Looking Florida Shrub That Hurts You Worse Than a Cottonmouth Strike

How to support the California quail that quietly clears the snails and weed seeds out of your yard