Florida Gardening
7 Florida Yard Plants That Quietly Pull Rats Toward Your House – and the Natives to Plant Instead
A fruit tree can make a Florida yard feel like a little paradise, but fallen fruit can also…
By Aria Moore F
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Sep 30
Florida Gardening
A Low-Effort Fruit Tree for North and Central Florida Yards: Plant a Japanese Persimmon This Fall
Some fruit trees demand constant spraying, pruning, and worry. A Japanese persimmon asks for much less once it…
By Aria Moore F
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Sep 30
Florida Gardening
7 Florida Native Plants That Bring Lacewings In to Clean Up the Whiteflies on Your Shrubs
Whiteflies can turn a healthy Florida shrub into a sticky mess. Lacewing larvae eat whiteflies, and flowering native…
By Aria Moore F
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Sep 30
Florida Gardening
7 Florida Native Plants for Driveway Edges That Stay Neat Without Weekly Trimming
A driveway border can look tidy without becoming another weekly chore. The trick is to choose Florida natives…
By Aria Moore F
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Sep 29
Florida Gardening
Great blue herons keep visiting Florida yards that have these 7 features
A great blue heron can turn an ordinary Florida yard into a place worth watching. These tall birds…
By Aria Moore F
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Sep 29
Florida Gardening
Your Florida Orchids Look Worn Out After Summer: A Fall Checkup Guide
Summer in Florida can leave orchids looking rough, with droopy leaves, tired roots, and pots that never seem…
By Aria Moore F
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Sep 29
Florida Gardening
7 Florida Plants That Keep No-See-Ums Off Your Porch Better Than Bug Spray
No-see-ums can turn a Florida porch into a place nobody wants to sit. Fragrant plants make the space…
By Aria Moore F
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Sep 29
Florida Gardening
Pruning a Florida firebush in fall? What to know before cutting flowering tips
Firebush is the shrub with fiery orange-red flowers that hummingbirds love to visit. Late September is when many…
By Aria Moore F
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Sep 29
Florida Gardening
Those Swallowtail Kites Circling Low Over Your Florida Yard Are Hunting Dragonflies and Lizards Right Now
A big black-and-white bird gliding over your yard can stop you mid-step. If it was a Swallow-tailed Kite,…
By Aria Moore F
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Sep 29
Florida Gardening
This overlooked Florida perennial keeps blooming spring through fall, and hardly anyone plants it on purpose
Some of Florida’s most useful native plants grow so low that people step right past them. Axilflower is…
By Aria Moore F
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Sep 28
Florida Gardening
Florida yards that glow with fireflies again usually stopped doing these 7 fall chores
A few fireflies can make a Florida yard feel magical after sunset. But many fall cleanup habits remove…
By Aria Moore F
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Sep 28
Florida Gardening
Florida yards with fewer mosquitoes usually start with these 7 dragonfly-friendly plants
Mosquitoes can make a Florida yard feel unusable right when you want to be outside. Dragonflies help because…
By Aria Moore F
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Sep 28
Florida Gardening
Those giant yellow grasshoppers taking over Florida yards usually stop for these reasons
If you have spotted large, slow-moving yellow insects chewing through your garden beds or ornamental plants, you are…
By Aria Moore F
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Sep 28
Florida Gardening
The Florida yard change that makes painted buntings start using your space in fall
Painted buntings are among the most striking birds that visit Florida yards, but most homeowners never see one…
By Aria Moore F
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Sep 28
Florida Gardening
The Florida animals most likely to turn up around your home after storm cleanup starts
Storm cleanup can make your yard look busy in more ways than one. As branches move, water drains,…
By Aria Moore F
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Sep 28
Florida Gardening
North Florida Gardenias Need This September Feeding More Than Any Other All Year
Gardenias are one of North Florida’s most rewarding landscape shrubs, but they do need the right care at…
By Aria Moore F
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Sep 27
Florida Gardening
Florida yards with fewer mosquitoes usually give bats these 7 things to work with
Mosquitoes can turn a Florida evening into a race back indoors. Bats will not erase every mosquito, but…
By Aria Moore F
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Sep 27
Florida Gardening
Florida hummingbirds stop hardest at yards that offer these 7 things during fall migration
Fall migration is a hungry season for hummingbirds moving through Florida. Tiny birds burn energy fast, so a…
By Aria Moore F
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Sep 27
Florida Gardening
Florida crepe myrtle seed pods look messy now, but cutting them off changes more than you think
Brown seed pods on a crape myrtle can make an otherwise tidy yard look like it needs attention,…
By Aria Moore F
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Sep 27
Florida Gardening
Your Florida yard gets more anoles and fewer pests when you stop doing these 7 things
Anoles are tiny backyard helpers with quick feet, bright eyes, and a big appetite for small insects. In…
By Aria Moore F
·
Sep 27
Florida Gardening
The Io Moth Caterpillar Is Showing Up on Florida Plants Right Now – Here’s How to Avoid the Sting
Florida gardeners are finding a startling surprise on their landscape plants: a bright green caterpillar covered in sharp,…
By Aria Moore F
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Sep 27
Florida Gardening
Mint on Your Florida Porch May Deter Some Cockroaches – But Not Rats, and Not Without Limits
A claim making the rounds says one common Florida porch plant can make rats and roaches stop visiting…
By Aria Moore F
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Sep 26
Florida Gardening
What to replace areca palms with in Florida when the fronds keep burning out
Areca palms look soft and tropical when they are happy, but in many Florida yards their fronds turn…
By Aria Moore F
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Sep 26
Florida Gardening
Your Florida porch gets fewer mosquitoes when these 7 plants do the screening
Mosquitoes can turn a nice Florida porch into a place you avoid after sunset. Plants will not replace…
By Aria Moore F
·
Sep 26
Florida Gardening
That overgrown Florida corner gets easier to manage with these 7 native shrubs
A messy corner can make the whole yard feel harder than it is. In Florida, that spot may…
By Aria Moore F
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Sep 26
Florida Gardening
Why Swallow-Tailed Kites Vanish From Florida Skies Right When Fall Starts
Every summer, Florida skies fill with the graceful, fork-tailed silhouettes of Swallow-tailed Kites swooping over yards, wetlands, and…
By Aria Moore F
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Sep 26
Florida Gardening
Florida fall color is easier than most yards make it look – start with these 7 trees
Fall color in Florida is not a lost cause. You just need trees that understand sandy soil, warm…
By Aria Moore F
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Sep 26
Florida Gardening
Brown patches in your Florida lawn this September usually point to this before drought does
Walking out to find a spreading brown patch in your Florida lawn can send you straight for the…
By Aria Moore F
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Sep 25
Florida Gardening
Florida gardeners keep regretting Mexican petunia once these 7 native alternatives fill in
Mexican petunia can look pretty at first, but many Florida gardeners learn the hard way that it spreads…
By Aria Moore F
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Sep 25
Florida Gardening
Florida palms suffer long-term storm damage when they’re hurricane-pruned before landfall
Every hurricane season, well-meaning Florida homeowners reach for the pruning saw and give their palms a severe haircut,…
By Aria Moore F
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Sep 25
Florida Gardening
Bamboo creates quick privacy in Florida yards and a removal nightmare not long after
Bamboo can make a bare Florida fence line look private in a hurry. That fast growth is the…
By Aria Moore F
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Sep 25
Florida Gardening
Your Florida mandevilla gets thin and tangled fast now — do this before it decides the shape for you
Mandevilla vines can turn from lush to leggy almost overnight during Florida’s warm growing season, sending long bare…
By Aria Moore F
·
Sep 25
Florida Gardening
These 7 hydrangeas are the only ones that still look right in a Florida summer
Florida summer can make many hydrangeas look tired by lunchtime. Heat, sandy soil, sudden downpours, and bright sun…
By Aria Moore F
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Sep 25
Florida Gardening
Florida HOAs Keep Fighting This Protected Native Lawn Plant, and Homeowners Keep It Anyway
A low-growing plant called frogfruit has been quietly spreading through Florida yards, and some homeowners in deed-restricted communities…
By Aria Moore F
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Sep 24
Florida Gardening
Without these 7 host plants, Florida butterfly gardens keep looking busy but raising almost nothing
A butterfly garden can look full of flowers and still be missing the real nursery. Adult butterflies sip…
By Aria Moore F
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Sep 24
Florida Gardening
Those rough “boots” on a Florida palm aren’t junk — here’s what you remove with them
Look up at almost any Florida cabbage palm and you’ll notice a rough, almost armored texture covering the…
By Aria Moore F
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Sep 24
Florida Gardening
What to plant in a Florida yard that keeps cardinals around after feeders empty
A cardinal at the feeder is nice, but a cardinal that stays after the seed is gone means…
By Aria Moore F
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Sep 24
Florida Gardening
These 7 Florida Yard Problems Make Armadillos Start Digging There First
Armadillos do not show up with a plan to ruin your lawn. They follow food, soft soil, and…
By Aria Moore F
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Sep 24
Florida Gardening
Why a Mockingbird Keeps Singing Outside Your Florida Window After Dark
Something is singing outside your Florida bedroom window at midnight, and it sounds like an entire flock of…
By Aria Moore F
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Sep 24
Florida Gardening
7 Florida Plants That Keep Barn Owls Hunting Your Yard for Moles After Dark
Barn owls do not come to a yard because of one magic plant. They come when the whole…
By Aria Moore F
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Sep 23
Florida Gardening
Most Florida butterfly gardens stay busy through fall only when these 7 host plants are there
Fall can still feel alive in a Florida butterfly garden, but nectar flowers are only half the story.…
By Aria Moore F
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Sep 23
Florida Gardening
Florida gardeners get far better desert rose starts when they stop rooting cuttings like houseplants
Desert rose is one of the showiest plants Florida gardeners can grow, and taking cuttings is the fastest…
By Aria Moore F
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Sep 23
Florida Gardening
Mushrooms Keep Popping Up Across Your Florida Lawn After Rain for a Reason
After a summer downpour in Florida, mushrooms can seem to appear out of nowhere overnight, dotting a lawn…
By Aria Moore F
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Sep 23
Florida Gardening
Replacing boxwood in Florida gets easier with these 7 natives that stay full through fall
Boxwood can look tidy at first, but Florida heat, sandy soil, storms, and pest pressure often make it…
By Aria Moore F
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Sep 23
Florida Gardening
7 Florida Yard Habits That Make Black Widows Set Up Closer to Your House
Black widows are shy spiders, but no one wants them settling near the back door, porch steps, or…
By Aria Moore F
·
Sep 23
Florida Gardening
7 Florida Plants That Fill a Bare Fence Line Into Real Privacy Faster Than Most Shrubs
A bare fence can make a yard feel unfinished, especially when neighbors are close by. In Florida, the…
By Aria Moore F
·
Sep 22
Florida Gardening
Bats stick around in Florida gardens that give them these 7 mosquito-hunting advantages
Florida evenings should feel relaxing, not like a mosquito buffet. Bats can help because many local species eat…
By Aria Moore F
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Sep 22
Florida Gardening
Most Florida shrubs stop earning their space by fall, but these 7 start looking better now
By fall, many Florida shrubs look tired from months of heat, rain, bugs, and sandy soil. The good…
By Aria Moore F
·
Sep 22
Florida Gardening
Replace thirsty annual beds in your Florida yard with 7 natives that flower through fall
Annual beds can look great for a few weeks, then they ask for more water, more fertilizer, and…
By Aria Moore F
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Sep 22