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Plant of the Week

If Your Cucumber Leaves Turn Yellow From the Bottom Up in the Heat, the Cause Is Usually Below the Soil

Walking out to your garden in July and finding the lower leaves on your cucumber plants turning yellow can feel alarming, especially when the rest...

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 22, 2026

Field Notes

Here’s What It Means When Hawks Keep Circling Back to Your North Carolina Yard

The Texas Plants That Keep Roaches From Ever Reaching Your House and Look Good Doing It

If Your Cucumber Plants Look Lush but Never Fill Out Their Fruit, One Feeding Swing Is Usually to Blame

If Your Tomatoes Keep Splitting Their Skins After a Hot Spell, One Watering Habit Is Usually to Blame

From the Garden

Pawpaws and Persimmons Are North Carolina Natives Almost Nobody Grows but Every Yard Should Have

Why More Texans Are Planting Esperanza Right by the Front Door for Blooms Into October

If Your Tomatoes Rot on the Bottom Only After a Hot Spell, the Trouble Starts in How You Water

The Invasive North Carolina Tree That Quietly Spreads Spotted Lanternfly Through Backyards

These Texas Native Plant Nurseries Are Worth the Summer Drive With a Cooler in the Trunk

In Bloom

Cucumber Plants Full of Flowers but No Fruit in the Heat? Here Is What to Check Before You Feed

If Your Zucchini Grows Huge Leaves but Never Sets Fruit in the Heat, One Hidden Mistake Is Usually to Blame

The Most Underrated North Carolina Native Shrub That Turns Your Yard’s Edge Into a Tick Barrier

Gardener's Selection

The Right Way to Prune Your Florida Plumeria So Every Cut Supports Better Blooms

The Texas Flowers That Bring Hummingbird Hawk-Moths Hovering Over Your Garden at Dusk

If Your Tomatoes Are Growing Tall but Setting No Fruit in the Heat, One Feeding Habit Is Usually to Blame

If Your Cucumber Vines Wilt by Afternoon but Bounce Back by Morning, the Trouble Is Already in the Roots

If Your Cucumber Leaves Turn Yellow From the Bottom Up in the Heat, the Cause Is Usually Below the Soil

The Potting Shed

If Your Pepper Plants Keep Dropping Blossoms in the Heat, One Watering Swing Is Usually to Blame

If Your Zucchini Sets Fruit That Rots Before It Grows, the Trouble Starts Before the Bloom Opens

Why Your Pepper Plants Are Bushy but Dropping Every Flower: Midsummer Heat Is Often the First Place to Look

If Your Cucumbers Taste Bitter in the Heat, One Watering Habit Is Usually to Blame

The Meaning Behind Seeing a Cardinal Land in Your North Carolina Yard

The Fire-Resistant Texas Groundcovers That Belong Against Your House Instead of Bark Mulch

Your Christmas Cactus Leaves Go Limp – the Real Fix Usually Starts Below the Surface

10 Reasons North Carolina Gardeners Are Finally Planting Lemongrass This Summer

Where to Plant Bird of Paradise in Your Florida Yard So It Grows Into a Dramatic Tropical Focal Point

What It Really Means When a Gray Fox Starts Crossing Your Texas Yard at Dusk

8 Native Florida Plants That Replace Your Lawn and Look Better by Next Summer

Your Potted Geraniums Sulk When the Feeding Is Off – Here’s the Fertilizer Routine That Wakes Them Up

The Florida Native Edibles That Grow Real Food in Containers and Look Good on Any Porch

What To Do With Your Florida Plumeria In July So It Peaks Through the Rainy Season

July Nights Are Peak Firefly Season in Florida – Here’s What Actually Brings Them to Your Yard

The Garden Almanac

Field Notes

Your Hydrangeas Don’t Need More Water – They Need the Right Watering Rhythm in the Heat

The Night-Blooming Texas Plants That Pull In Bats and Thin Out the Mosquito Swarms After Dark

Your Hydrangeas Suddenly Quit Flowering – One Wrong Care Habit Is Usually Behind It

Your Cucumbers Are Growing Big Vines but Setting Almost No Fruit – One Feeding Change Flips It

Your Pepper Flowers Keep Dropping in the July Heat – Warm Nights May Be a Likely Culprit, But Inspect First

Plant These Blue Perennials in Your Texas Garden Once and They Come Back Every Single Year