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Plant of the Week

California Ice Plant and Local Restrictions: What Homeowners Need to Check Before Planting or Removing

A familiar groundcover sold at nurseries across California is showing up on local invasive-plant lists, and some homeowners are realizing too late that their city...

By John Miller CA · Sep 6, 2026

Field Notes

7 Easy Florida Fruit Trees That Reward Neglect Instead of Punishing It

If Weeds Keep Creeping Into Your Bare Spots, This Ground-Hugging Plant Quietly Covers Them for Good

The Florida Groundcover Homeowners Are Ripping Out St. Augustine For This Fall

8 Florida Native Walkway Plants That Stay Tidy All Summer Without Constant Trimming

From the Garden

7 Florida Native Shrubs That Keep Blooming When Crape Myrtle Burns Out by Late Summer

The One California Yard Habit That’s Quietly Drawing Rats Toward Your House Right Now, and the Simple Fix

These Popular Foods Are Actually Illegal to Grow in Your Backyard – Here Are the Ones to Pull Now

The Low-Mess California Trees That Give Small Yards Shade Without the Weekend of Raking and Hauling

Your Coneflowers Look Sickly No Matter How You Feed Them – Here’s the Wrong Spot They’re Quietly Planted In

In Bloom

Your Perennials Won’t Survive the First Hard Frost Unless You Mulch These 5 in September

Your Hydrangea Blooms Are Turning Brown but the Leaves Look Fine – Here’s What the Plant Is Really Telling You

The North Carolina Perennials That Fill In So Fast They Look Established the Day You Plant Them

Gardener's Selection

The California Native Groundcover That Spreads Fast in the Best Way and Quietly Buries Weeds for Good

Your Tomatoes Set Less Fruit When These Nearby Plants Quietly Compete – Here Are the Bad Neighbors to Move Now

The Native Texas Shrub That Fills a Corner With Dense Bird Cover Without Ever Taking Over Your Yard

Why North Carolina Gardeners Are Planting Elderberry Along Fence Lines This Fall to Feed Birds and Screen the Yard

California Ice Plant and Local Restrictions: What Homeowners Need to Check Before Planting or Removing

The Potting Shed

Start Your Fall Squash and Cucumber Seeds This Week in Central Texas for a Harvest Before First Frost

Your Backyard Beds Emptied Out After the Summer Heat — Here Are the Fall Crops That Should Fill Them Now

7 Florida Shade Trees That Cool Your Yard Without Cracking the Driveway or Lifting the Slab

The Shade Tree California Neighborhoods Are Quietly Planting to Cool Their Yards and Cut Summer Cooling Bills

Your Grass Seed Won’t Sprout on Top of the Soil — Here’s the One Basic Mistake Behind the Bare Spots

These Fast-Growing Perennials Fill an Empty Bed in a Single Season – Here Are the Ones to Plant Now

The North Carolina Native Gap Fillers That Spread Just Enough to Close Bare Patches but Know When to Stop

The One Thing California Hydrangeas Need in Early Fall to Rebloom Big Next Year, and Most Gardeners Skip It

The Native Texas Wildflower That Spreads Into Drifts of Color Without Ever Taking Over Your Beds

Your Tomato Plants Are Winding Down — Here Are the Fall Vegetables That Should Take Their Spot Right Now

The Backyard Mulch Mistake That Quietly Turns Your North Carolina Yard Into a Tick Magnet

The One Native Texas Fruit Tree Beginners Can Plant This Fall and Actually Harvest Next Summer

Your Lawn Has Bare Patches Heading Into Fall – Here’s the One Move That Fixes Them Before Winter

Why Moving a Mature Crape Myrtle in North Carolina Almost Always Ends in a Dead Tree

What It Really Means When a Hummingbird Keeps Visiting Your Central Texas Porch in September

The Garden Almanac

Field Notes

Your Potted Geraniums Stay Leggy and Sparse in a Small Space – Here’s the One Move That Fills the Pot With Blooms

Your Geraniums Grow Leafy but Barely Flower – Here’s the One Trick That Fills Them With Blooms

What North Carolina Gardeners Do To Get Zinnias That Keep Blooming Nonstop From Summer Into Fall

The Native Texas Vine That Covers a Bare Fence in Blooms and Feeds Butterflies All Season

Something Keeps Shredding Your Bird Feeder and Scattering Seed Overnight – A Likely Culprit and How to Stop It

7 Florida Native Trees That Replace Ligustrum Along Property Lines and Never Need Constant Shearing