Jasmine Hughes

Late summer heat can turn a once-green North Carolina lawn into a patchwork of brown and gray almost…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 20

Pulling weeds feels like a losing battle, but those plants showing up in the same spots year after…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 20

Ruby-throated Hummingbirds pass through North Carolina yards every spring and summer, and most homeowners never know what draws…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 20

Most North Carolina homeowners know the sound well: a warm evening chorus of crickets rising from the lawn,…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 20

Hydrangeas are one of the most beloved flowering shrubs in North Carolina yards, but a common pruning mistake…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 20

Fig trees in North Carolina can produce a generous late-season crop, but hot, dry August weather puts developing…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 19

Spotting a fox trotting across your yard can stop you in your tracks, especially when kids or pets…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 19

Pull back a clump of daylilies or shift a bag of mulch in a North Carolina yard and…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 19

Retaining walls are practical, but most homeowners would rather not stare at a bare concrete or block face…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 19

Crape myrtles are one of the most reliable bloomers in North Carolina yards, but August can bring confusing…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 19

Most North Carolina homeowners drive past sourwood trees every summer without giving them a second look, but bees…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 18

Blueberry bushes that flower every spring but barely produce fruit are one of the most frustrating problems in…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 18

Panicle hydrangeas are one of the most reliable flowering shrubs in North Carolina yards, putting on a show…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 18

A fast-growing invasive tree called tree-of-heaven is already rooted in many North Carolina yards, and right now it…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 18

Spotting a box turtle near your garden beds once might feel like a lucky surprise, but finding one…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 18

Walk out to your porch on a warm North Carolina morning and you might spot a fat, shiny…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 18

Most North Carolina property lines and fence rows look pretty forgettable by October, once summer color has faded…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 17

Every August and September, North Carolina yards fill up with a loud, raspy chorus that seems to come…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 17

Ticks are a real problem for North Carolina families who spend time near wooded backyard edges, and most…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 17

Crape myrtles are one of the most common trees in North Carolina yards, and late summer tends to…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 17

Black gum, also called black tupelo, is a North Carolina native tree that quietly supports wildlife from spring…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 17

Every late summer, North Carolina homeowners start noticing a familiar, shield-shaped visitor crawling along windowsills or slipping under…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 17

If you have ever watched fireflies blink along a dark tree line at dusk, you know how much…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 16

Walk out to your North Carolina porch on a warm summer morning and you might spot a large,…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 16

Spotted lanternflies are spreading across North Carolina, and homeowners are right to look for practical ways to fight…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 16

If you have a wooded backyard edge in North Carolina, you already know that spot is prime tick…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 16

Somewhere in a pocosin thicket along the North Carolina Coastal Plain, a tree you have probably never heard…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 16

Walking out to your garden and spotting a dozen praying mantises perched on your tomato cages and shrubs…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 16

American beautyberry is a North Carolina native shrub that catches your eye every fall with clusters of vivid…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 15

If you’ve heard that crape myrtles need a hard cutback before fall to bloom well next year, that…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 15

Most North Carolina gardeners looking to help pollinators reach for the usual suspects: coneflowers, black-eyed Susans, or a…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 15

Few shrubs stop traffic in a North Carolina yard quite like a panicle hydrangea loaded with cone-shaped blooms…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 15

Spotting a box turtle tucked into your garden bed once is a surprise. Seeing one there again and…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 15

Finding a fresh dirt mound in your garden bed is one of those summer surprises that can stop…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 15

Step outside on a warm North Carolina night in late summer and you might feel like the trees…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 14

Spotting large bees circling your porch on a hot North Carolina afternoon can feel alarming, especially when you…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 14

Spotting a large, fast-moving spider bolting across your patio or disappearing under the mulch can stop you cold,…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 14

English ivy looked like a smart fence solution until it started crawling into the woods, up the trees,…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 14

Spotting a fox in your yard once is a surprise, but seeing one again and again starts to…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 14

Spotting a stink bug crawling across your living room wall can be unsettling, especially when one turns into…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 14

A story has been circulating among gardeners that a North Carolina native shrub can actually block mosquitoes along…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 13

Every fall, North Carolina yards go through a quiet shift when many summer fruits disappear and birds start…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 13

Spotting a hawk gliding in slow circles above your backyard is one of those sights that stops you…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 13

Every spring, the same story plays out along the shaded edge where your lawn meets the trees: the…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 13

Spotting a fox trotting through your yard on a summer morning can stop you in your tracks. Most…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 13

Around late August, many North Carolina homeowners start noticing brown, shield-shaped bugs gathering on sunny walls, slipping under…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 13

Somewhere between the flashy ornamentals at the garden center and the towering oaks that take decades to mature,…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 12

Tucked into the edges of southeastern forests, American beautyberry (Callicarpa americana) is a native shrub that most North…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 12

If your North Carolina yard has turned into a nighttime concert hall this summer, you are not alone.…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 12