Jasmine Hughes

A clematis that looked tired and patchy all summer is not a lost cause. In North Carolina, fall…

By Jasmine Hughes · Nov 2

Leaves are turning, migrants are passing through, and many North Carolina yards are asking the same question: when…

By Jasmine Hughes · Nov 2

A few bare forsythia stems can turn into new shrubs without a trip to the garden center. That…

By Jasmine Hughes · Nov 2

Gardenias are the heart of many North Carolina yards, and fall is when a few simple choices decide…

By Jasmine Hughes · Nov 1

November in North Carolina is a quiet month, but it is one of the smartest times to grab…

By Jasmine Hughes · Nov 1

Under the bare edge of a tree canopy, a small plant can add pink or white blooms and…

By Jasmine Hughes · Nov 1

Some flowers fade after a season or two, but a few tough plants come back every spring for…

By Jasmine Hughes · Nov 1

You have mixed in compost for years, yet that corner of the yard still squishes underfoot after every…

By Jasmine Hughes · Nov 1

The sky finally opens up, the gutters overflow, and the yard looks soaked. It feels like the dry…

By Jasmine Hughes · Nov 1

A holiday cactus branch snaps off the plant, and most of us toss it in the trash. That…

By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 31

A shaded bed can look pretty empty once the leaves drop and the cold settles in. Hellebores are…

By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 31

A few bare stems from a shrub you already own can turn into new plants without a trip…

By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 31

A snipped rose stem, a small pot, and a clear mason jar can make a cheap experiment for…

By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 31

Those pots of fall mums look great for a few weeks, and then the blooms fade and many…

By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 31

A turtle plodding through your hostas can make you want to step in and help. But for an…

By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 31

Grab the loppers too early and you could cut off every flower your tree planned to show you…

By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 30

Fall is the season most North Carolina gardeners circle on the calendar for planting trees. But dry soil…

By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 30

A thorny, arching shrub growing along fence lines and field edges in North Carolina may be more than…

By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 30

Dry spells can turn a young fruit tree into a watering chore fast. Chinese jujube has a reputation…

By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 30

One hard summer storm or a soggy fall tropical system can carry a surprising amount of your yard…

By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 30

A January morning in Raleigh can dip into the teens, and by lunch your porch pots tell you…

By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 30

Picture a small, fast visitor hovering at a flower just as the light fades. Many North Carolina gardeners…

By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 29

Plenty of North Carolina homeowners hope one clever plant can keep ticks away from the back fence line.…

By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 29

A pale green Luna moth resting under your porch light looks almost unreal. It is easy to wonder…

By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 29

A soft, shaky trill drifts across the yard after dark, and now it is back again tonight. Many…

By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 29

Almost every North Carolina yard has one: a corner that stays damp and gets only part of the…

By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 29

You were pulling weeds when a burning sting hit your ankle, then another, then ten more. A day…

By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 29

Azaleas are the stars of a North Carolina spring, so it is natural to wonder what you can…

By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 28

Those brown, spiky heads on your purple coneflowers are not just leftovers. Some may still hold seeds you…

By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 28

A fig tree can look fine in December and still leave you guessing in April. Cold can hurt…

By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 28

Sunny walls across North Carolina can look crawling with stink bugs once September and October roll around. Many…

By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 28

Some of the prettiest spring and summer blooms in North Carolina start with a handful of seeds tossed…

By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 28

Eastern box turtles are North Carolina’s official state reptile, and right now they are searching your yard for…

By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 28

Cold nights in North Carolina do something sneaky to certain vegetables. They turn starch into sugar, so a…

By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 27

Walk past a crape myrtle in October and you will see rows of dry brown clusters where pink,…

By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 27

Those big, bright garden geraniums that fill your pots all summer do not have to end up on…

By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 27

You walk out after a soaking November rain and find your best cabbage cracked wide open like a…

By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 27

You dug up a bucket of beautiful sweet potatoes, and now the next few days matter more than…

By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 27

A box turtle plodding across your mulch can make you stop mid-weed and wonder what it is up…

By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 27

You step onto the patio on a mild fall afternoon and a yellowjacket is already circling your drink.…

By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 26

Pansies are one of the few flowers that thrive when the weather cools down, which makes fall the…

By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 26

You do not need to live in the tropics to have a yard that looks like a rainforest.…

By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 26

A bright grass along the driveway can make a plain curb look finished. But many North Carolina gardeners…

By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 26

You trimmed a fig branch in October, and now every cold forecast makes you wonder if you doomed…

By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 26

Crape myrtles bloom hard for a few summer weeks, then spend the rest of the year as bare,…

By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 26

Your dogwood put on a show last April, and now you want to help it do it again.…

By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 25

Picture a weed poking up from a crack in a driveway, and a bottle of vinegar sitting in…

By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 25

A big oak can shade a whole house, but it can also eat a small yard alive and…

By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 25

A favorite coleus can fade fast once fall nights turn cold in North Carolina. Hauling a big, sprawling…

By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 25