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Plant of the Week

How North Carolina Gardeners Rescue Potted Porch Plants Before the Next Heat Wave Cooks Them in Their Pots

Summer heat in North Carolina hits fast, and a porch pot full of flowers or herbs can go from thriving to wilting in a single...

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 14, 2026

Field Notes

Feeding Your Fall Peppers the Wrong Thing Now Gives You Big Leaves and Almost No Fruit

The One California Fruit Tree Rats Raid First in Fall, and the Simple Way to Keep Them Off It

Your ZZ Plant Grows Tall and Leggy Instead of Full and Bushy — Here’s the One Change That Fixes It

The California Native Shrubs That Screen Your Yard Better Than Arborvitae in the Spots Where It Always Fails

From the Garden

Your Fall Cabbage Heads Split Wide Open Right Before You Cut Them — Here’s the Watering Swing Behind It

Store Your Fall Sweet Potato Harvest Wrong and It Rots in Weeks — Here’s the Curing Step Everyone Skips

What North Carolina Gardeners Do to Get Native Perennials That Come Back Stronger After a Drought Year

7 Florida Native Shrubs That Bloom Bright When Gardenias Sulk After a Brutal Summer

Who Actually Pays in California When Your Neighbor’s Dying Tree Finally Falls Into Your Yard

In Bloom

The Native Texas Vine That Drapes a Fence in Fragrant Blooms Without Wilting in the Summer Heat

Gravel Weeds Keep Pushing Through Your Path No Matter How Often You Pull Them — Here’s How to Stop Them at the Root

Your Christmas Cactus Quietly Stalls Through Summer Because of One Care Habit — Here’s the Fix Before the Holidays

Gardener's Selection

The Pine Straw Mistake North Carolina Gardeners Make That Leaves the Door Wide Open for Fall Weeds

What It Really Means When Fence Lizards Suddenly Vanish From Your California Yard, and the Pests They Quietly Kept in Check

Simple Habits That Bring Fireflies Blinking Back Across Your Central Texas Yard Every Summer

Your Clematis Grew Tall but Barely Bloomed – Here Is the Fall Diagnostic Move That Can Help Next Season

How North Carolina Gardeners Rescue Potted Porch Plants Before the Next Heat Wave Cooks Them in Their Pots

The Potting Shed

Your Fall Lettuce Turns Bitter and Shoots Up a Tall Stalk Before You Can Harvest – Here’s the Heat Slip Behind It

The Underrated Native Texas Wildflower That Quietly Pushes Rats Away From Your Backyard Beds

Take Late-Season Cuttings From Bedding Geraniums for More Plants Next Season

The One Thing North Carolina Squash Plants Need Before Vine Borers Hit or You Lose the Whole Crop

How To Keep a Potted Gardenia Alive Through a Central Texas Summer Without Scorching the Roots

Your Hydrangea Blooms Are Browning at the Edges This Fall – Here’s the Cause and How to Stop It

Your Hostas Turn Yellow and Fade as Fall Sets In — Here’s the One Cause Behind It and How to Reverse It

Where You Are Most Likely to Find Large Fire-Ant Mounds in North Carolina Yards and How to Spot Them Before You Step In

What It Means When a Kettle of Broad-Winged Hawks Circles Your Central Texas Yard Each Fall

These 8 Houseplants Quietly Cause Problems Indoors – Here’s Why to Keep Them Outside

7 Florida Native Plants That Turn Cicada Killer Wasps Into Free Pest Control for Your Yard

7 Florida Native Shrubs That Give You Beautyberry Color Without Taking Over the Whole Bed

Woody Lavender Doesn’t Mean the Plant Is Dead — Here’s the Cut That Brings It Back

7 Florida Yard Conditions That Keep Manatees Lingering Near Your Dock This Fall

7 Florida Native Trees and Shrubs That Fill With Chimney Swifts and Swallows at Dusk This September

The Garden Almanac

Field Notes

Roseate Spoonbills Land in Florida Yards With Standing Water – These Natives Bring Them Closer

The California Perennials That Quietly Fill Every Bare Gap in Your Beds but Know Exactly Where to Stop

That Woody, Sprawling Rosemary Bush Still Bounces Back if You Cut It This One Way

The California Fruit Trees That Actually Produce Big Harvests in Pots, Even on a Small Patio

Overwintering Rosemary Indoors Kills It Fast Unless You Move It Before the First Frost

Your Geraniums Are Quietly Telling You It’s Time to Deadhead — Here’s the Sign That Wakes Up More Fall Blooms