Jasmine Hughes

Fire ants have been quietly building their colonies across much of North Carolina, and the mound you do…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 14

Late summer in North Carolina is brutal on vegetable gardens, with temperatures staying high well into September across…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 13

Fall collard season in North Carolina is one of those satisfying stretches when the garden finally cools down…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 13

Spotting a large, bristly fly hovering around your tomatoes or pepper plants can catch any gardener off guard.…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 13

Planting garlic in the fall sets the stage for everything you pull out of the ground next summer,…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 13

North Carolina summers bring pop-up thunderstorms that can turn a pretty garden path into a soggy mess in…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 13

Watch a hummingbird feeder long enough in a North Carolina yard and you will almost certainly see one…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 13

That narrow strip of ground between the sidewalk and the street looks harmless enough, but it might be…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 12

Gladiolus put on one of the most dramatic flower shows a North Carolina garden can offer, but keeping…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 12

If you’ve heard that one native grass can single-handedly keep fleas out of your backyard, the truth is…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 12

Bare mulch between flagstone looks tidy for about a month, then weeds move in and you are back…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 12

Planting a fig tree too close to your house is one of those mistakes that looks harmless at…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 12

Finding a tunnel beneath your mulch bed can make you wonder what is living down there and whether…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 12

If you have a crape myrtle in your North Carolina yard, you may have noticed strips of bark…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 11

Every fall, North Carolina homeowners spot orange-and-black monarchs gliding through their yards, only to watch them disappear without…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 11

Few things are more frustrating than a blueberry bush that looks perfectly healthy but barely fills a quart…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 11

North Carolina summers can feel like walking through warm soup, and a big shade tree makes all the…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 11

Plenty of North Carolina fence lines are lined with nandina, a shrub that looks tidy and holds its…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 11

Tucked along stream banks and woodland edges across North Carolina, spicebush quietly does something most ornamental shrubs never…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 11

Camellias are one of the few shrubs that bring real color to a North Carolina yard when almost…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 10

Every summer, North Carolina yards buzz with ruby-throated hummingbirds looking for a safe sip of sweet nectar. But…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 10

Every spring, North Carolina homeowners spot large, shiny black bees hovering around the same porch rail or eave…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 10

If you love the idea of a yard that gets prettier every year without you digging and replanting…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 10

English ivy looks tidy in a shaded tree bed, but that lush green carpet can quietly become one…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 10

Every fall, monarch butterflies pass through North Carolina on their long journey south, and they need every calorie…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 10

Around late summer and into fall, some North Carolina homeowners step outside to find large, golden webs stretched…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 9

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