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Plant of the Week

A Freestanding Hardware-Cloth Guard Can Help Protect Young Fruit Trees From Rabbit Damage

A young fruit tree can look healthy in the fall and then show missing bark at the base a few weeks later. Rabbits are often...

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 21, 2026

Field Notes

Those Old Leaf “Boots” Clinging to Your Florida Palm Trunk Are Doing More Than You Think

The Flowering Shrubs That Give Small California Yards Real Privacy Without Swallowing Your Patio

Hear Tiny Chirping at Your Florida Pond? Hatchling Calls Are One Possibility, and a Mother May Be Nearby

Why Your California HOA Plant List Is About to Change, and What to Plant in the First Five Feet Now

From the Garden

Taking rosemary and sage cuttings before the first frost gives you free plants for next spring, here’s how

Why Hawks Sometimes Nest in North Carolina Neighborhoods and What Your Yard Can Add

Hard green tomatoes still hanging on your vines will ripen indoors if you pick them before the first frost

Oversized Onion Sets May Raise Spring Bolting Risk for Dry-Bulb Onions

The Yard Mistakes That Quietly Turn a North Carolina Backyard Into a Tick Hotspot

In Bloom

Where California Gardeners Track Down Rare Native Plants That Big Box Stores Never Stock

Soggy Pots Can Put Your Amaryllis Bulb at Risk, So Let the Mix Guide Your Watering

What a Box Turtle in Your Garden Can and Can’t Tell You About Soil

Gardener's Selection

Why some stink bugs enter homes in fall, and how to keep them out

Crowded Beets Often Stay Small: How to Thin a Late Bed and Plan Your Next Sowing

Squash Vine Borers in North Carolina: What to Scout, Treat, and Plan

7 Florida Snakes That Move Into Garden Beds and Mulch Piles as Nights Cool

A Freestanding Hardware-Cloth Guard Can Help Protect Young Fruit Trees From Rabbit Damage

The Potting Shed

Spotty, Ragged Swiss Chard in Fall? How to Tell Leaf Spot from Pest Damage and Harvest Wisely

Why Your California Clay Soil Still Stays Soggy After Rain, Even With All That Compost

Your Pepper Plants Still Loaded With Green Fruit Will Ripen Faster Once You Pinch Off Every New Flower Now

Why Tropical Hibiscus Drops Buds When California Nights Turn Cool, and How Winter Care Can Support Future Flowering

Sweet potatoes left in the ground after the first cold snap rot fast, so dig them up this week

Rosemary left outside through a hard freeze turns brown and brittle, so here’s how to bring it through winter alive

Hard green figs picked from the tree generally won’t ripen indoors, but fruit still attached may if warm weather remains

Ragged Hostas in Fall: What Cleanup Can and Cannot Do About Slugs

Bat Houses in North Carolina: A Habitat Option With Uncertain Mosquito Benefits

If Your Fall Garlic Sends Up Green Shoots Before Winter, Here’s Why That’s Not Automatically a Problem

American Witchhazel: A North Carolina Native That Can Extend Flowers Into Late Fall

This Stinky Florida Vine Blooms Every Fall, and Spotting It Now Saves Your Trees Next Year

7 Florida Plants That Draw Gopher Tortoises In, and Why Their Burrows Help Your Whole Yard

That Free Pile of Pine Needles Under Your Tree Makes One of the Best Mulches for Your Garden Beds

7 Florida Natives That Replace Your Liriope Borders and Look Better on Less Water

The Garden Almanac

Field Notes

Why Your California Pomegranate Tree Keeps Dropping Fruit: How to Investigate the Cause and Plan Next Season

Hurricane Season Leaves Bare Spots in Florida Beds, and These 8 Natives Fill Them Before Winter

A Wood Stork in Your Florida Yard Is Likely Hunting Nearby Shallow Water

Why Some Orb-Weaver Webs Become More Noticeable in California in Fall, and What They May Catch

Long Dark Nights Can Help a Leafy Christmas Cactus Finally Form Buds

Skip Bradford Pear in Your North Carolina Yard and Plant These Natives That Actually Feed the Birds