Why Your Hydrangea May Keep Wilting After You Water It
You soaked the soil, yet your hydrangea is drooping again by afternoon. That sinking feeling is common after a long, hot Southern season. Roots may…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 12, 2026
Written by
Ethan Brooks
1,744 Articles
Gardening Tips
Your Hostas Come Back Fuller and Slug-Free When You Use These 12 Simple Care Tricks
Few things sting like walking out to your shade bed and finding your hostas chewed into lace overnight.…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 12
Gardening Tips
Your Cannas Come Back Bigger and Bolder Next Summer When You Do These Fall Jobs Before Frost
Canna lilies light up Southern yards all summer with giant leaves and fiery blooms, but what you do…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 12
Gardening Tips
Sparse, Leggy ZZ Plant? How to Support Healthy Growth and Build a Fuller Pot
A ZZ plant with only a few stalks can make you wonder if you did something wrong. Usually,…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 12
Gardening Tips
Why Your Southern Lawn May Still Be Brown in October: How to Tell If It’s Dormant or Damaged
You mowed all summer, the heat finally eased, and the grass still looks tan. Before you buy a…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 12
Gardening Tips
Your Hydrangeas Look Finished for the Year, but What You Do Before Frost Shapes Next Summer’s Blooms
The flowers have faded, the leaves are turning, and your hydrangeas look ready to be ignored until spring.…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 12
Gardening Tips
Brown Peace Lily Tips? Check the Soil Moisture Before You Water
Brown tips on a peace lily can make you want to grab the watering can or put it…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 12
Gardening Tips
Clematis Full of Leaves but Few Flowers? Possible Causes to Check This Fall
A clematis that climbs fast and covers the trellis in green can still leave you with almost no…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 11
Gardening Tips
Peony Fall Cleanup: A Sanitation Step, Not a Bloom Guarantee
Once the last peony petals drop, many gardeners grab the pruners and cut everything down. That habit can…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 11
Gardening Tips
Your Geraniums May Have Another Season in Them, and Here’s How to Carry Them Through Winter
That leggy geranium by the porch does not have to end up in the compost pile when the…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 11
Gardening Tips
Moles Hate These Smells, and Putting Them in the Right Tunnels Clears Your Lawn Before Winter
Those raised ridges and soft spots in your lawn usually mean one thing: a mole is busy underground.…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 11
Gardening Tips
Topping Indeterminate Tomato Plants Late in the Season: A Conditional Way to Limit New Growth
Late in the season, a tall tomato plant can keep stretching and flowering even when cold nights or…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 11
Gardening Tips
Before You Feed Your Hydrangeas This Fall, Check Whether They Need It
Your hydrangea has big green leaves, but the flowers never showed up. Many gardeners wonder if a fall…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 11
Gardening Tips
Curled Tomato Leaves Are a Clue: Read the Whole Plant Before You Act
Tomato leaves that fold up like tacos can make any gardener nervous. The curl is a real message…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 11
Gardening Tips
Your Tomatoes Grow Bigger Next Summer When You Start Feeding the Bed These 17 Pantry Staples Now
Big, juicy tomatoes start long before you set a single plant in the ground. The soil they grow…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 11
Gardening Tips
Can a Fall Feeding Help Potted Geraniums Keep Blooming Before Frost?
Potted geraniums can look tired by fall, with fewer flowers and leggy stems. A well-timed feeding may help…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 11
Gardening Tips
Pruning Fig Trees Can Reduce Some of Next Summer’s Crop, Especially When Fruit-Bearing Shoots Go
You look at your fig tree, see long branches and tangled growth, and wonder if it is time…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 11
Gardening Tips
Your Fall Carrots Keep Coming Up Forked and Stubby, and Crowded Seedlings Are Usually Why
You pull a carrot you have waited months for, and it is split in two or short and…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 11
Gardening Tips
Asian Lady Beetles May Gather on Sunny Walls in Fall, and Here’s How to Keep Them Out
Some fall afternoons, a sunny wall suddenly looks crowded with small orange beetles. Many of them may be…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 11
Gardening Tips
Which Raspberry Canes to Cut After Harvest, and Which to Keep for Next Year’s Fruit
Walk out to your raspberry patch after harvest and you will see a tangle of canes, some finished…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 11
Gardening Tips
Your Irises Come Back With More Blooms Next Spring When You Do These Two Fall Jobs Now
If your irises gave you lots of leaves but only a few flowers last spring, you are not…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 11
Gardening Tips
Clover in Southern Lawns: What Actually Helps, and What Depends on Your Grass
Clover popping back up in your lawn can feel personal, especially after you’ve mowed, fed, and sprayed. The…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 10
Gardening Tips
Brown Tips on Your Spider Plant: Could Your Water Be One Possible Cause?
Those crispy brown tips on your spider plant can make a healthy-looking plant seem like it is struggling.…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 10
Gardening Tips
Your Figs Are Still Hard and Green on the Branch, and a Few Quick Moves Ripen Them Before Frost
Nothing stings quite like a fig tree loaded with fruit that just will not soften as the nights…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 10
Gardening Tips
Your Hydrangea Spent All Summer Making Leaves Instead of Flowers, and Fall Is When You Find Out Why
Your hydrangea looked healthy all summer, with big green leaves and strong stems, yet the flowers never showed…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 10
Gardening Tips
Your Fig Tree Keeps Pushing Out Leaves Instead of Figs, and These Steps Load It With Fruit Next Summer
Few things in the garden feel as frustrating as a fig tree covered in big green leaves but…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 10
Gardening Tips
Why Late-Season Tomato Leaves Turn Yellow From the Bottom Up, and What to Check
You walk out to your tomato plant and spot yellow leaves low on the stems. It is easy…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 10
Gardening Tips
How to Prune Lavender in the South: Where to Cut and When
A few snips can keep lavender tidy, but one cut too deep can leave bare sticks that never…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 10
Gardening Tips
Your Lavender Is Turning Woody and Bare at the Base, and These 4 Fall Steps Stop It Spreading
You look at your lavender and notice the bottom looks like a pile of gray sticks, with leaves…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 10
Gardening Tips
Your Hydrangea Grew Big and Green but Never Flowered: Could Your Pruning Shears Be the Reason?
A hydrangea that is thick with leaves but has no flowers can feel like a plant that is…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 10
Gardening Tips
Your Lumpy Lawn Smooths Out This Fall With Just a Rake, a Shovel and a Few Bags of Topsoil
A bumpy yard can turn a simple walk to the mailbox into an ankle-rolling risk. Some dips are…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 10
Gardening Tips
Brown, Crispy Spider Plant Tips: Possible Causes and What to Check
Crispy brown tips on a spider plant are easy to spot, and they tend to show up more…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 10
Gardening Tips
Your Parsley May Keep Producing in a Bright Kitchen Window This Winter When You Pot It Up in Fall
Fresh parsley is hard to replace once the garden slows down in winter. Digging up a plant and…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 10
Gardening Tips
Your Hydrangeas May Struggle Next Summer When Dry Fall Soil Goes Unwatered
Once the blooms fade, most of us hang up the hose and forget about our hydrangeas. But fall…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 10
Gardening Tips
Your Peonies Look Spotted and Floppy Right Now: What Fall Cleanup Can and Can’t Do
Peonies that look yellow, spotted, and flattened by autumn can make any gardener nervous. In most cases, the…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 10
Gardening Tips
Lemon Tree Leafy but Dropping Tiny Fruit? Fall Care Can Support Tree Health
A lemon tree covered in glossy green leaves should feel like a win, so tiny fruit on the…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 10
Gardening Tips
Your Tomatoes and Cucumbers Pay Off Double Next Season When You Feed Them One of These 16 Things
Your tomato and cucumber plants work hard all summer, and the soil under them works even harder. When…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 9
Gardening Tips
Your Lawn’s Bare Patches Stayed Bare After Aerating and Overseeding: Possible Reasons the Grass Isn’t Growing
You aerated, spread seed, and watered, yet those empty spots are still staring back at you. A bare…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 9
Gardening Tips
Remove Spent Blackberry Canes and Keep Healthy New Ones to Support Next Year’s Crop
Your blackberry patch has given you its summer harvest, and now it looks a bit tangled. Some of…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 9
Gardening Tips
Why Crowded Beets Stay Small, and How Early Thinning Gives Roots Room
You sow a row of beets, watch the green tops fill in, and then pull up roots no…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 9
Gardening Tips
These 16 Common Houseplants Are Sitting Within Reach of Your Kids and Pets, and Most People Never Check
That leafy plant on your coffee table might look harmless, but some of the most popular houseplants can…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 9
Gardening Tips
Your Sage, Thyme and Mint Keep Growing on a Sunny Windowsill All Winter When You Take Cuttings Before Frost
One hard frost can turn a lush pot of sage, thyme, or mint into a sad pile of…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 9
Gardening Tips
Stink Bugs Keep Sneaking Into Your House This Fall, and These 7 Tricks Keep Them Out of Your Home and Garden
As the nights cool off, brown marmorated stink bugs start hunting for a warm place to spend the…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 9
Gardening Tips
Some Potted Begonias Can Keep Flowering Indoors This Winter, While Others Need a Rest to Return Next Spring
That begonia on your porch does not have to end up in the trash bin when the weather…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 9
Gardening Tips
Your Hydrangea Flower Buds Are Already Set for Next Summer, and Winter Wind Kills Them Unless You Protect the Stems Now
Some hydrangeas are already holding next summer’s flowers on their bare stems. Cold, drying wind, and a late…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 9
Gardening Tips
Your Daylilies Come Back Thicker Next Spring When You Do These Two Quick Jobs Before Winter
Daylilies are tough plants, but tired clumps can come back thin and spotty after a long year. The…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 9
Gardening Tips
Blueberry Bushes Look Done for the Year, but Fall Care Can Help Protect Next Summer’s Potential Crop
Once the last berry is picked, a blueberry bush can look like it has nothing left to do.…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 9
Gardening Tips
Why Healthy Potted Geraniums Barely Bloom: Check Heat, Light, and the Pot
Your potted geranium has green leaves and a sturdy shape, yet the flowers just will not show up.…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 8
Gardening Tips
Your Fig Tree Is All Leaves and Barely Any Figs, and These Fall Fixes Turn Next Year Around
A fig tree covered in big green leaves looks healthy, so it stings when you find only a…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 8
Gardening Tips
Overfeeding May Be One Reason Your Geraniums Stay Leafy With Few Blooms, and Smarter Feeding Can Help Support Flowering
You bought a geranium for bright color, but all you get is big green leaves and a flower…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 8