Jasmine Hughes

You just watered your basil, but an hour later it looks like it gave up completely. Before you…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 9

A bumpy lawn is more than an eyesore – it can make mowing dangerous, collect standing water, and…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 9

Growing okra in North Carolina through late summer is rewarding right up until the moment you miss a…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 9

Sage has a long reputation as a kitchen staple, but plenty of North Carolina gardeners tuck it between…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 9

A steep bank in your yard can be a real headache, washing out every time a big Carolina…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 9

If you have a shady corner of red clay where every plant you try seems to give up,…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 8

Pulling out the edger every few weeks is one of those yard chores that never seems to stay…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 8

Every North Carolina yard seems to have that one corner that turns into a shallow pond after a…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 8

Oregano has been growing quietly in North Carolina gardens for years, doing its job without much fanfare. Whether…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 8

Landscape fabric sounds like a smart shortcut, but in North Carolina beds it usually breaks down, traps weeds…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 8

Peonies are one of the most rewarding perennials a North Carolina gardener can grow, but they come with…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 8

That soggy corner where your downspout empties never seems to dry out, and most plants rot there within…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 7

Buying bag after bag of mulch every spring gets old fast, and it drains your wallet while doing…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 7

Lantana is one of the most reliable warm-season bloomers in North Carolina yards, but even the toughest plants…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 7

A bare chain-link fence is one of the least attractive features a yard can have, and most homeowners…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 7

Late summer and early fall bring a hidden hazard to many North Carolina lawns: a possible underground yellowjacket…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 7

Every summer, North Carolina gardeners watch deer strip their hosta beds overnight, leaving nothing but ragged stems. Hostas…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 7

Waiting three years for a new flower bed to look full is nobody’s idea of fun. Some North…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 6

American elderberry is a native shrub that can soften a fence line, supply summer fruit for birds, and…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 6

Bare patches in a North Carolina yard can feel like an open invitation to weeds, mud, and eroding…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 6

Ticks are a real concern for North Carolina homeowners, especially during the warmer months when people and pets…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 6

Plenty of North Carolina homeowners have looked at a crape myrtle growing in the wrong spot and thought,…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 6

Zinnias are one of the most rewarding flowers you can grow in a North Carolina yard, but keeping…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 6

Watching ruby-throated hummingbirds zip around the backyard is one of the small pleasures of a North Carolina summer.…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 5

Japanese beetles are a real headache for North Carolina homeowners, but the timing of when to act matters…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 5

Hard concrete edges can make a patio feel cold and uninviting, but the right plant along that border…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 5

Weeding around zinnias all summer is one of those chores that never seems to end, and plenty of…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 5

Eastern purple coneflower, known by its scientific name Echinacea purpurea, is one of North Carolina’s most reliable native…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 5

A Cooper’s Hawk dropping into your backyard while you are watching the bird feeder is one of those…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 5

Asparagus is one of the few vegetables you plant once and harvest for many springs to come. North…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 4

Most birdbaths sit in the yard looking lonely, drawing a splash or two and then going ignored for…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 4

Most gardens in North Carolina fizzle out by late summer, leaving beds bare just when you crave fresh…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 4

Tomato leaves curling up in the July heat is one of the most unsettling sights in a North…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 4

Blueberry bushes are patient plants, but years of skipped pruning can slowly work against them. An overcrowded, aging…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 4

Black widows are real residents of North Carolina gardens, hiding in woodpiles, under pots, and inside stored gloves.…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 4

Imagine walking through rows of sunflowers so tall they reach over your head, scissors in hand, ready to…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 3

Ajuga is one of the most popular shade groundcovers in the South, but plenty of North Carolina gardeners…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 3

Black-eyed Susans are one of the most cheerful native wildflowers in North Carolina gardens, pushing out golden-yellow blooms…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 3

Yellowing leaves on a tomato plant can send a gardener scrambling for fertilizer, a watering can, or a…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 3

Japanese beetles can turn a healthy Knockout rose into a ragged mess of skeletonized leaves and chewed blooms…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 3

English ivy looks tidy when you first plant it along a fence, but it has a way of…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 3

North Carolina grows more sweet potatoes than almost any other state, and a big part of that success…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 2

Every August, North Carolina gardeners find the same grim surprise: lamb’s ear that looked silver and lush in…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 2

Late summer in North Carolina can be rough on tomato plants, and when the harvest slows down or…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 2

Boxwood has been the go-to front-yard shrub for so long that most North Carolina yards look nearly identical.…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 2

Weeds in a North Carolina garden bed can feel like a fight you can never fully win, no…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 2

Bare, shady dirt under big oaks and pines is one of the trickiest spots in any North Carolina…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 2

Most North Carolina gardeners know the feeling: it is the middle of July, the tomatoes are sulking, the…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 1

Your tomato vines are full of leaves, growing fast, and putting out flowers – yet the fruit just…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 1