Jasmine Hughes

Every late summer, North Carolina homeowners notice patches of grass turning brown almost overnight, and fall armyworms are…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 2

American beautyberry is a North Carolina native shrub that most homeowners walk right past at the garden center,…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 2

Finding a toad tucked under your pepper plants or nestled against a raised bed edge is one of…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 2

Most North Carolina homeowners walk right past yaupon holly at the nursery without giving it a second look.…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 2

Every late summer, North Carolina homeowners start noticing white silky webs draped over the tips of tree branches,…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 1

A fast-growing tree with a bad reputation has been quietly spreading through North Carolina roadsides, yard edges, and…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 1

When the last leaves drop and the yard turns bare, most North Carolina homeowners assume wildlife has to…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 1

Spotting a flock of wild turkeys strutting through your North Carolina yard can stop you in your tracks.…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 1

Walk past most North Carolina yards in late August or September and the color story has quieted down…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 1

That gray, honeycomb-looking nest tucked under your porch eave is not a random accident. Paper wasps are deliberate…

By Jasmine Hughes · Aug 1

Spotting a large dark snake at the edge of your North Carolina yard can stop you cold, but…

By Jasmine Hughes · Jul 31

Every August, silken tents start appearing on tree branches across North Carolina yards, and the first instinct for…

By Jasmine Hughes · Jul 31

Spotting a brown thrasher tossing leaf litter in your garden bed is one of those yard moments that…

By Jasmine Hughes · Jul 31

Spotting a slow-moving opossum crossing your yard at night can feel surprising, but this animal is one of…

By Jasmine Hughes · Jul 31

That thick row of nandina lining your fence may look tidy, but fruiting plants are listed as invasive…

By Jasmine Hughes · Jul 31

By late August, a lot of North Carolina gardens hit a wall. The zinnias are looking ragged, the…

By Jasmine Hughes · Jul 31

American beautyberry is a native North Carolina shrub that produces clusters of brilliant purple fruit every fall, drawing…

By Jasmine Hughes · Jul 30

Spotting a box turtle slowly making its way through your garden bed is one of those moments that…

By Jasmine Hughes · Jul 30

Finding a large, hairy spider crouched near your porch light can stop you cold, especially when you have…

By Jasmine Hughes · Jul 30

A weedy, fast-growing tree that most North Carolina homeowners mistake for a native is quietly making their yards…

By Jasmine Hughes · Jul 30

Spotting a fox trotting through your yard at dusk can stop you in your tracks – and your…

By Jasmine Hughes · Jul 30

Spotting a domed turtle making its way through your vegetable beds or flower borders is one of those…

By Jasmine Hughes · Jul 30

Boxwood hedges are neat and evergreen, but they never put on a fall color show, and they do…

By Jasmine Hughes · Jul 29

Finding a toad settled under your garden bed or tucked beside a flowerpot is one of those small…

By Jasmine Hughes · Jul 29

Walk across a North Carolina yard on a June morning and you might spot a gray bird hopping…

By Jasmine Hughes · Jul 29

Tucked into forest edges across North Carolina, blackgum quietly does something most yard trees never manage: it drops…

By Jasmine Hughes · Jul 29

American beautyberry (Callicarpa americana) is a North Carolina native shrub that earns its place along a wooded edge…

By Jasmine Hughes · Jul 29

Fire ants have spread into portions or all of 81 North Carolina counties, and if you have ever…

By Jasmine Hughes · Jul 29

Most North Carolina yards go quiet in winter, with bare branches and empty feeders replacing the busy activity…

By Jasmine Hughes · Jul 28

Two fruit-bearing North Carolina natives deserve a closer look from anyone who wants edible harvests and real wildlife…

By Jasmine Hughes · Jul 28

Spotting a big, buzzing bee hovering around your porch railing can send most homeowners straight for the nearest…

By Jasmine Hughes · Jul 28

Finding a box turtle slowly crossing your garden beds is one of those moments that makes you stop…

By Jasmine Hughes · Jul 28

Some plants look pretty in the garden but turn into bullies once they escape into the wild. Across…

By Jasmine Hughes · Jul 28

One morning you notice the usual flicker of green on the fence post is gone, and a week…

By Jasmine Hughes · Jul 28

Lemongrass has a way of earning permanent real estate near a North Carolina patio once a gardener tries…

By Jasmine Hughes · Jul 27

Crape myrtle shows up in almost every North Carolina front yard, but it fades fast once the flowers…

By Jasmine Hughes · Jul 27

Most nursery shelves pass right over St. Andrew’s cross, a compact native shrub that quietly flowers through much…

By Jasmine Hughes · Jul 27

Butterfly weed is one of those plants that earns its place in a North Carolina yard quickly, drawing…

By Jasmine Hughes · Jul 27

Owls have lived in North Carolina’s woodlands, fields, and suburban neighborhoods long before anyone thought to build them…

By Jasmine Hughes · Jul 27

Spotting a fox slipping through your backyard as the sun goes down can feel alarming, but for most…

By Jasmine Hughes · Jul 27

Spotting a stink bug on your curtain can send your mind racing toward worst-case scenarios, but the reality…

By Jasmine Hughes · Jul 26

That hawk riding the air above your backyard is doing something worth paying attention to, even if its…

By Jasmine Hughes · Jul 26

Most North Carolina gardeners know coneflowers and black-eyed Susans, but there is one native plant that quietly earns…

By Jasmine Hughes · Jul 26

Your wooded property line is one of the first places you should think about when it comes to…

By Jasmine Hughes · Jul 26

Every spring, a lot of North Carolina homeowners haul home bag after bag of mulch, only to watch…

By Jasmine Hughes · Jul 26

Sunny, dry slopes in North Carolina can defeat almost every plant a homeowner tries. The soil is shallow,…

By Jasmine Hughes · Jul 26

American beautyberry is one of those shrubs that most North Carolina gardeners stroll right past at the nursery,…

By Jasmine Hughes · Jul 25

Lantana is one of the toughest flowering plants you can grow in a North Carolina yard, pushing out…

By Jasmine Hughes · Jul 25

Most North Carolina gardeners have watched a promising perennial slowly give up during a July heat wave, leaving…

By Jasmine Hughes · Jul 25