Jasmine Hughes

Those crispy, faded zinnia and marigold blooms standing in your North Carolina beds may be holding seed. If…

By Jasmine Hughes · Nov 10

Nothing spoils a spring morning like a fresh fire ant mound popping up in your flower bed. Some…

By Jasmine Hughes · Nov 10

November in North Carolina feels like the yard is finally taking a breath. The leaves are dropping, the…

By Jasmine Hughes · Nov 10

Almost every North Carolina yard with clay has one: a sunny border that stays wet long after the…

By Jasmine Hughes · Nov 10

Few things sting like a bigleaf hydrangea that leafs out green and never blooms. The flower buds were…

By Jasmine Hughes · Nov 10

Once the leaves drop, many North Carolina yards suddenly show round, messy clumps way up in the branches.…

By Jasmine Hughes · Nov 9

You meant to seed your fescue lawn in September, and now the leaves are down and November is…

By Jasmine Hughes · Nov 9

You step outside with your coffee and spot fresh holes scattered across the grass that were not there…

By Jasmine Hughes · Nov 9

Some of the first yellow flowers of spring in North Carolina belong to a low, leafy native called…

By Jasmine Hughes · Nov 9

Walk out on a fall morning and find small, scattered pits in your lawn, and you will probably…

By Jasmine Hughes · Nov 9

That flat, empty patch of grass over your septic lines does not have to stay boring. Deep, thirsty…

By Jasmine Hughes · Nov 9

If your bulb bags are still sitting in the garage, you have not missed your chance. In most…

By Jasmine Hughes · Nov 8

A Christmas cactus with only a few buds in November can feel like a missed deadline. Many gardeners…

By Jasmine Hughes · Nov 8

November might feel like the end of the gardening year in North Carolina, but smart gardeners know it…

By Jasmine Hughes · Nov 8

Maybe you looked out the window one November morning and saw a bunch of small birds working through…

By Jasmine Hughes · Nov 8

Few things sting like watching fat camellia buds turn brown and drop before they ever open. In North…

By Jasmine Hughes · Nov 8

Every North Carolina yard has a problem spot, like the dry shade under an oak, the soggy corner…

By Jasmine Hughes · Nov 8

Those giant elephant ear leaves can turn to mush after one cold night, and many gardeners wonder if…

By Jasmine Hughes · Nov 7

A light frost does something surprising to certain vegetables in North Carolina. It can turn their starches into…

By Jasmine Hughes · Nov 7

Crape myrtles get most of their fame from summer blooms, but the show does not have to end…

By Jasmine Hughes · Nov 7

Some of the prettiest plants at the edge of a North Carolina yard are also on state or…

By Jasmine Hughes · Nov 7

Walk past a few older North Carolina homes and you will spot the same tough plants growing year…

By Jasmine Hughes · Nov 7

Late fall changes how a North Carolina yard looks, and that can make some invasive shrubs easier to…

By Jasmine Hughes · Nov 7

Crimson clover can turn a bare vegetable bed into a patch of red blooms by spring. But a…

By Jasmine Hughes · Nov 6

Fall in North Carolina feels like a safe time to clean up the yard, but the leaf pile…

By Jasmine Hughes · Nov 6

Daffodils look like they bloom on their own, but what you do in the fall and spring does…

By Jasmine Hughes · Nov 6

Spirea is one of the most common shrubs in North Carolina yards, yet it is also one of…

By Jasmine Hughes · Nov 6

Collards are a classic winter crop in North Carolina, and plenty of gardeners hunt for a secret fertilizer…

By Jasmine Hughes · Nov 6

You water it all summer, and it rewards you with bright clusters of orange, yellow, and pink. Then…

By Jasmine Hughes · Nov 6

Every spring, lots of North Carolina gardeners spend money on flats of flowers that die by July. There…

By Jasmine Hughes · Nov 5

A stretch of warm November days can catch new pansy plantings off guard. These cool-season flowers love fall…

By Jasmine Hughes · Nov 5

Some herbs share a spot in the garden and a spot in the soup pot, and one gray-green…

By Jasmine Hughes · Nov 5

Fire ants are known for their painful stings, but their effects on small wildlife get less attention. Worker…

By Jasmine Hughes · Nov 5

You spot a tree loaded with glowing orange fruit at the edge of your woods, and your mouth…

By Jasmine Hughes · Nov 5

A fig tree that freezes back to the ground can cost you a year or more of fruit.…

By Jasmine Hughes · Nov 5

Most North Carolina yards go quiet and brown once the first frost rolls through. The right camellias can…

By Jasmine Hughes · Nov 4

By November, your hydrangeas look like bare sticks, but some of them are already holding next summer’s flowers.…

By Jasmine Hughes · Nov 4

Peonies look like they vanish every fall, and that leaves many North Carolina gardeners wondering what to do…

By Jasmine Hughes · Nov 4

Fall brings falling leaves, and it also brings a close look at limbs hanging over the fence. Many…

By Jasmine Hughes · Nov 4

When the first hard freeze hits North Carolina, the bugs vanish and birds start hunting for food and…

By Jasmine Hughes · Nov 4

A poison ivy vine hugging a tree trunk or fence post can make a whole corner of the…

By Jasmine Hughes · Nov 4

Gray patches on a fence post or tree trunk can look like nothing more than dried mud. In…

By Jasmine Hughes · Nov 3

Moving a potted Meyer lemon indoors for winter can bring an unwelcome surprise: leaves dropping onto the floor…

By Jasmine Hughes · Nov 3

Burning bush earns its spot in many North Carolina yards for one reason: that glowing red in autumn.…

By Jasmine Hughes · Nov 3

Every hard rain in North Carolina sends a rush of water off your roof and straight into the…

By Jasmine Hughes · Nov 3

Mâche is a small, tender salad green that does not mind chilly weather. Few gardeners think to plant…

By Jasmine Hughes · Nov 3

Pansies can brighten a North Carolina yard all winter, but cold snaps test them. A few simple checks…

By Jasmine Hughes · Nov 3

Small gray birds with white bellies are suddenly hopping around under your feeder, and you wonder why. They…

By Jasmine Hughes · Nov 2

Picture a garden bed in October with fluffy, blue-violet flowers glowing among fading green leaves. That is blue…

By Jasmine Hughes · Nov 2