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Plant of the Week

20 Scents Squirrels and Chipmunks Can’t Stand — Plant These Where They Keep Raiding

If squirrels and chipmunks keep digging up your bulbs, snacking on your tomatoes, or raiding the bird feeder, you are not alone. The good news...

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 15, 2026

Field Notes

Where Texas Gardeners Actually Find the Rare Native Plants Big Box Stores Never Stock

If Your Hydrangea Leaves Are Browning at the Edges, It May Not Be Thirst – It May Be Your Water

If Your Cucumber Leaves Turn Yellow in Midsummer Heat, One Feeding Fix Greens Them Back Up

How Texas Gardeners Attract Great Horned Owls So the Rats and Mice Move Out

From the Garden

If Your Zucchini Sets Tiny Fruit That Rots at the Tip, One Pollination Fix Turns It Around

The Underrated Texas Natives That Make Ticks Give Your Backyard a Wide Berth

If Your Hydrangeas Wilt Every Hot Afternoon, One Watering Fix Beats Panic-Soaking Them

If Your Petunias Turn Leggy and Stop Blooming Midsummer, One Pinch Habit Brings Them Back

Why a Passionflower Vine Can Turn a Plain Florida Fence Into the Liveliest Corner of the Yard

In Bloom

8 Garden Pests a Texas Roadrunner Hunts Down for You Every Single Day

Your Hydrangeas May Not Be Done Blooming – They May Be Reacting to One Summer Watering Habit

Feed Your Clematis This Way and a Modest Vine Turns Into a Wall of Color

Gardener's Selection

Cut Your Peonies Back at the Right Moment and Set the Stage for a Healthier Spring

Prune Your Clematis Wrong and It Barely Flowers – Here’s the Cut for Each Type

Plant These 31 Companions Next to Your Cucumbers for a Stronger, Healthier Crop

8 Ways Epsom Salt Actually Helps Your Tomatoes and 7 That Quietly Do Damage

20 Scents Squirrels and Chipmunks Can’t Stand — Plant These Where They Keep Raiding

The Potting Shed

These Are the Only Roses Tough Enough to Actually Thrive Through a Texas Summer

Your Cucumber Plants Are Covered in Flowers but Set No Fruit — Here Are the 6 Reasons Why

7 Native Florida Ground Covers Quietly Taking Over Where St. Augustine Grass Keeps Dying

Texas Yard Habits That May Quietly Bring Lightning Bugs Back on Summer Nights

How to Trade Your Water-Hungry Florida Lawn for Plants That Actually Earn Their Keep

17 Single-Ingredient Kitchen Scraps That Feed Your Tomatoes Into a Bigger Harvest

The Florida Native Flowering Vines That Cover a Fence and Pull In Painted Buntings

The Native Lawn Plant Florida HOAs Keep Fighting – Even Though State Law May Be on Your Side

This Native Florida Sage May Turn Your Yard Into a Hummingbird Drive-Through All Summer

17 Tomato Feeding Tricks for July That Restart Slow, Stalled Plants

The Underrated Porch Plant That Makes Rats and Roaches Skip Your Texas Home

Squirrels Keep Digging Up Your Fall Bulbs? Cayenne May Help Deter Them, But Secured Mesh Protects Better

Oak Wilt, Not an Invasive Insect, Is the Real Threat to Texas Oak Trees

The Florida Nurseries Stocking Native Edible Plants Your Local Garden Center Never Will

Plant These Texas Natives and Dragonflies Will Handle Your Mosquitoes Better Than Any Spray

The Garden Almanac

Field Notes

Do Texas Spiny Lizards on Your Fence Actually Mean Fewer Ticks in Your Yard?

The Purple Flower That Makes Your Patio Smell Like Cherry Pie (And Why the Scent Varies)

The One Native Texas Plant That Makes Scorpions Decide Your Yard Isn’t Worth It

16 Warning Signs There Are Snakes Hiding in Your Yard Right Now

Can You Cut Wet Grass After Rain, or Are You Quietly Wrecking Your Lawn?

More Roadrunners Around Your Texas Yard Means Fewer Scorpions — Here’s How to Bring Them In