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Plant of the Week

7 Florida Native Plants That Release Their Scent at Dusk and Push Mosquitoes Off Your Porch

Florida evenings should feel relaxing, not like a mosquito buffet. The right native plants can add scent near your porch while making the area less...

By Aria Moore F · Aug 5, 2026

Field Notes

What It Really Means When Praying Mantises Suddenly Appear All Over Your North Carolina Yard This Summer

Why Your Central Texas Fig Tree Drops Its Figs Before They Ripen In August Heat, And How To Save The Next Flush

What It Really Means When Copperheads Start Showing Up Along Your North Carolina Wooded Edge In Late Summer

Why Your Central Texas Okra Stops Podding In September Heat, And The One Cut That Restarts It

From the Garden

The Native North Carolina Shrub That Fills The Gap When Japanese Beetles Skeletonize Your Roses Every August

More Roadrunners Near Your Central Texas Home Means Fewer Scorpions (Here’s How To Draw Them In)

The Most Underrated North Carolina Native Vine That Screens A Chain-Link Fence While Feeding Songbirds All Fall

7 Florida Native Flowering Vines That Cover a Bare Fence and Bring Painted Buntings Back

American Beautyberry Leaf Compounds Showed Lab Tick Repellency – What That Means for Your Central Texas Garden

In Bloom

The One Thing North Carolina Gardeners Must Do To Blueberry Bushes In Late Summer Or Next Year’s Crop Shrinks

More Mediterranean Geckos On Your Central Texas Porch Means Fewer Roaches Getting Inside (Here’s How To Draw Them In)

What It Really Means When Hawks Keep Circling Back To Your North Carolina Yard This Summer

Gardener's Selection

7 Florida Native Plants That Bring Bats to Your Yard and Empty It of Mosquitoes by Dusk

More Green Lynx Spiders In Your Central Texas Garden Means Fewer Caterpillars Chewing Your Peppers

7 Florida Native Plants That Turn Your Fence Line Into a Living Screen No Storm Blows Down

7 Florida Native Ground Covers That Replace Bark Mulch and Stop Floating Away in Summer Storms

7 Florida Native Plants That Release Their Scent at Dusk and Push Mosquitoes Off Your Porch

The Potting Shed

7 Florida Native Plants That Deter Roaches and Save You From Reaching for the Spray

What It Really Means When Wolf Spiders Suddenly Show Up Along Your North Carolina Foundation This Fall

Texas Frogfruit May Support Lizard Habitat, But Sealing Your Home Keeps Roaches Out

What It Really Means When Katydids Suddenly Take Over Your North Carolina Yard In Late Summer

The California Bushtit Quietly Strips The Aphids And Scale Off Your Shrubs, But Homeowners Prune Away The Cover It Needs

If Your Central Texas Tomato Plants Stop Setting Fruit In August Heat, One Nighttime Temperature Usually Starts It

The One Thing North Carolina Gardeners Should Do When Fall Armyworms Appear: Inspect, Confirm, Then Act

The One Native Plant That Makes Your Central Texas Yard Far Less Inviting To Scorpions This August

What It Really Means When Carpenter Bees Start Drilling Into Your North Carolina Deck And Fence Rails

7 Florida Native Shrubs That Screen Your Fence Line Without the Areca Palm That Thins Out by Fall

If Your Central Texas Fig Tree Drops Unripe Figs In August Heat, One Watering Mistake Usually Starts It

The California Towhee Quietly Eats The Snails And Slugs Shredding Your Seedlings, But Homeowners Rake Away The Cover It Needs

The California Barn Owl Quietly Clears The Rats And Gophers No Trap Can Touch, But One Yard Habit Drives It Off

The Most Underrated North Carolina Native Shrub That Cuts Japanese Beetles Off From Your Roses And Beans

More Purple Martins Over Your Central Texas Yard Means Fewer Mosquitoes (Here’s How To Bring Them In)

The Garden Almanac

Field Notes

What It Really Means When Green Anoles Suddenly Fill Your North Carolina Yard This Late Summer

7 Florida Native Plants That Turn Your Yard Into a Firefly Nursery Kids Will Watch Light Up

If Your Central Texas Bell Peppers Drop Their Blossoms In August Heat, One Nighttime Temperature Usually Starts It

The Florida Native Vines That Bring Painted Buntings Back to Yards That Stopped Getting Them

7 Common Florida Yard Shrubs That Poison Kids and Pets, and the Safe Natives That Replace Them

The California Praying Mantis Isn’t It – This Tiny Garden Spider Quietly Kills The Aphids Wrecking Your Beds, But Homeowners Sweep It Away