Complete Gardening -

Plant of the Week

What It Really Means When Wolf Spiders Start Showing Up Around Your North Carolina Yard This Late Summer

Spotting a large, fast-moving spider bolting across your patio or disappearing under the mulch can stop you cold, especially when it looks big enough to...

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 14, 2026

Field Notes

If Your Eggplants Bloom All Summer but the Flowers Keep Dropping in Late Heat, Here Is Why

How To Support California Hummingbirds With California Fuchsia Instead of a Feeder

How To Support the California Tree Frogs That Quietly Silence the Mosquitoes Around Your Yard

If Your Pepper Plants Stop Setting Fruit in Late-Summer Heat, One Overnight Problem Is Usually Behind It

From the Garden

What It Really Means When Katydids Start Taking Over Your North Carolina Yard This Late Summer

Prickly Pear Cactus as Texas Roadrunner Habitat – And What Actually Keeps Scorpions Out

If Your Squash Plants Suddenly Wilt and Collapse in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

If Your Tomato Plants Wilt Every Afternoon in Late-Summer Heat but Perk Up by Morning, Here Is Why

How To Support the Tiny California Garden Spiders That Quietly Hunt the Aphids Wrecking Your Roses

In Bloom

If Your Zucchini Plants Turn Out All Flowers and No Fruit in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

What It Really Means When Carpenter Bees Are Hovering Around Your North Carolina Porch This Summer

What It Really Means When California Quail Bring a Whole Covey to Nest in Your Yard This Summer

Gardener's Selection

The Native Texas Plant That Draws Geckos To Your Porch And Keeps Roaches Moving On

How To Support the California Barn Owls That Quietly Clear Rats and Gophers From Your Yard Without Poison

If Your Cucumber Leaves Turn Yellow From the Bottom Up in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

If Your Pepper Plants Suddenly Drop Their Leaves in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

What It Really Means When Wolf Spiders Start Showing Up Around Your North Carolina Yard This Late Summer

The Potting Shed

How To Support the California Praying Mantises That Quietly Clear Aphids and Caterpillars From Your Garden Beds

The Native Texas Wildflowers That Draw Dragonflies In And Send Mosquitoes Looking Elsewhere

If Your Tomato Plants Grow Tall and Leafy but Set Almost No Fruit in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

If Your Cucumber Plants Stop Producing New Fruit in Late-Summer Heat, One Pollination Problem Is Usually Behind It

The Most Underrated North Carolina Native Vine That Crowds Out Weeds Along Fences Better Than English Ivy

The Native Texas Plant That Makes Your Porch Far Less Welcoming To Roaches

If Your Hydrangeas Grow Big Leaves but No Flowers Right Now, One Pruning Mistake Is Usually Behind It

What It Really Means When A Fox Keeps Showing Up In Your North Carolina Yard This Summer

The Native Texas Plant That May Help Geckos Feel at Home and Support Natural Roach Patrol on Your Porch

If Your Cucumber Vines Suddenly Wilt Overnight in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

What It Really Means When Stink Bugs Start Showing Up Inside Your North Carolina Home This Summer

The Native Texas Plant That Makes Ticks Less Willing To Cross Your Backyard

If Your Cucumber Leaves Curl Upward and Feel Leathery in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

If Your Zucchini Fruit Rots at the Blossom End in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

If Your Pepper Flowers Drop Off Before Setting Fruit in Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

The Garden Almanac

Field Notes

If Your Tomato Skins Crack in Rings Around the Top During Late-Summer Heat, Here Is Why

How To Support the California Kingsnakes That Quietly Hunt Rattlesnakes and Rodents Around Your Yard

What It Really Means When Gopher Snakes Show Up in Your California Yard, and Why Removing Them Backfires

If Your Tomato Fruit Splits Open After a Late-Summer Watering Swing, Here Is Why

The Most Underrated North Carolina Native Shrub Behind the Mosquito-Repellent Story on a Woodland Edge

How To Support the California Towhees That Quietly Scratch Through Leaf Litter and Soil for Seeds and Insects in Your Beds