What to Do in the First Few Seconds a Coyote Shows Up in Your North Carolina Yard
A coyote trotting across your lawn can make your heart jump, and your first instinct may be to bolt or grab the nearest pet. Those…
By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 25, 2026
Written by
Jasmine Hughes
1,142 Articles
Gardening Tips
The Messy Black Walnut Harvest North Carolina Gardeners Swear Is Worth Every Stained Finger
Black walnuts wrapped in thick green hulls can litter a North Carolina yard and leave dark stains on…
By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 25
Gardening Tips
The One Thing North Carolina Gardeners Must Do Before Bringing Potted Plants Inside or Pests Spread to Every Houseplant
Your porch plants spent all summer soaking up North Carolina sun, and now cooler nights are coming. Before…
By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 24
Gardening Tips
These Native North Carolina Plants Quietly Rebuild Your Clay Soil a Little More Every Year
If you garden in North Carolina, you know the red clay that cracks in August and turns to…
By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 24
Gardening Tips
Rosemary in North Carolina: An Evergreen Herb Option Beside Garden Mums
Fall beds and porch pots in North Carolina often default to mums, but there is another plant worth…
By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 24
Gardening Tips
What Really Happens When You Mow Over Fallen Leaves Instead of Raking Your North Carolina Lawn
Every October, North Carolina yards fill up with leaves, and so do the weekends of people who rake…
By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 24
Gardening Tips
These DIY Bird Baths Outlast Store-Bought Ones in North Carolina Yards and Draw More Winter Birds
Cheap resin bird baths from the big-box store often crack after one North Carolina winter of freezing nights…
By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 24
Gardening Tips
Green-and-Gold Under North Carolina Shade Trees: A Native Alternative to Ajuga to Consider
Many North Carolina yards have a shady strip under old trees where grass gives up and bare soil…
By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 24
Gardening Tips
What It Really Means When Your North Carolina Neighbor Hangs Blue Glass Bottles From a Tree
Maybe you spotted glowing blue bottles on a crepe myrtle down the road and wondered what they were…
By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 23
Gardening Tips
American Persimmon in North Carolina: A Native Fall Fruit Tree Often Overlooked for Yards
Walk a North Carolina field edge or fence line in fall and you may spot a tree hung…
By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 23
Gardening Tips
These Native North Carolina Plants Turn Your Fall Leaf Litter Into the Damp Shelter Firefly Larvae Need to Survive Winter
Those blinking lights you saw over the yard in June started life as tiny larvae living in damp…
By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 23
Gardening Tips
A Quick Backyard Screening Check for Possible Fire Ant Mounds in Your North Carolina Yard
A small pile of dirt in the lawn can look like nothing, until a bare foot or a…
By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 23
Gardening Tips
The Two-Step Fall Fire Ant Plan North Carolina Yards Need Before Mounds Go Dormant for Winter
Fire ant mounds can keep popping up in North Carolina lawns well into autumn. Fall is a smart…
By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 23
Gardening Tips
What It Really Means When Green Anoles Start Hiding Around Your North Carolina Porch This Fall
A small green lizard on your porch rail in late fall can make you stop and look twice.…
By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 23
Gardening Tips
Fall Cleanup for North Carolina Peonies: Cutting Back Foliage to Reduce Botrytis
Peonies look tidy all summer, then the leaves yellow, droop, and drop into a messy pile around the…
By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 22
Gardening Tips
Dwarf Yaupon Holly for NC Porch Pots: A Possible Evergreen, Depending on Region, Exposure, and Container
A bare front porch in January can make a house feel half asleep. Evergreen pots promise a fix,…
By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 22
Gardening Tips
The Most Underrated North Carolina Native Tree You Can Plant This Fall
Some of the best chances to add a tree to your yard come when the summer heat finally…
By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 22
Gardening Tips
How to Deadhead North Carolina Bearded Irises After Bloom and Keep Crowded Clumps Flowering
The last iris blossom drops, and the garden bed suddenly looks like the party has ended. But a…
By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 22
Gardening Tips
Why a Fox May Visit Your North Carolina Yard at Dusk
A fox trotting across your lawn as the light fades can make you stop and stare. It is…
By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 22
Gardening Tips
Red-Tailed Hawk Circling Your North Carolina Yard? Here Is What to Watch For
A big hawk drifting in slow circles over your yard is hard to ignore. Many people assume the…
By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 22
Gardening Tips
Why Hawks Sometimes Nest in North Carolina Neighborhoods and What Your Yard Can Add
A big hawk perched on a backyard fence can stop you mid-step. Seeing one raises a fair question…
By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 21
Gardening Tips
The Yard Mistakes That Quietly Turn a North Carolina Backyard Into a Tick Hotspot
Ticks in North Carolina do not pack up when summer ends. In fact, fall is when adult blacklegged…
By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 21
Gardening Tips
What a Box Turtle in Your Garden Can and Can’t Tell You About Soil
A slow, domed shell moving between your tomato cages is hard to ignore. Many North Carolina gardeners wonder…
By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 21
Gardening Tips
Squash Vine Borers in North Carolina: What to Scout, Treat, and Plan
A zucchini plant can look fine one afternoon and droop the next morning. Squash vine borers are the…
By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 21
Gardening Tips
Bat Houses in North Carolina: A Habitat Option With Uncertain Mosquito Benefits
Bats swoop over North Carolina yards at dusk, and many people hope they are quietly eating the mosquitoes.…
By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 21
Gardening Tips
American Witchhazel: A North Carolina Native That Can Extend Flowers Into Late Fall
Most North Carolina gardeners think of witchhazel as a winter plant, but the native kind can open its…
By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 21
Gardening Tips
Skip Bradford Pear in Your North Carolina Yard and Plant These Natives That Actually Feed the Birds
Bradford pears look pretty for about two weeks each spring, then they smell bad, split in storms, and…
By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 20
Gardening Tips
Moss Phlox (Phlox subulata): A Low Spring Bloomer Worth Considering for a Sunny, Dry North Carolina Bank
Every yard seems to have one spot that makes gardeners sigh: a sunny, dry bank where the soil…
By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 20
Gardening Tips
The Small Native Trees That Belong in Western North Carolina Mountain Yards but Almost Nobody Plants
Drive through almost any mountain neighborhood near Asheville or Boone and you will see the same few trees…
By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 20
Gardening Tips
Why You May See More Green Anoles in Your North Carolina Yard in Summer
You step onto the porch and spot a small lizard on the railing, then another on the fence.…
By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 20
Gardening Tips
Skip Butterfly Bush in Your North Carolina Pollinator Garden and Plant New Jersey Tea, a Native Nectar Source and Caterpillar Host
Butterfly bush earns its name every summer when adult butterflies crowd its purple spikes. But a garden that…
By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 20
Gardening Tips
Japanese Beetles in North Carolina: What Stripped Leaves Really Mean for Next Summer
A shrub chewed down to lace can make any gardener want to do something fast. Many people hear…
By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 20
Gardening Tips
Could a Planting Bed Be Drawing Foxes Back to Your North Carolina Yard?
A fox trotting across the lawn at dusk can make any homeowner stop and stare. When it shows…
By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 19
Gardening Tips
The Native North Carolina Wildflowers That Outperform Black-Eyed Susans Right in Heavy Clay
Black-eyed Susans get all the love, but in sticky North Carolina clay they often flop, rot, or fade…
By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 19
Gardening Tips
What North Carolina Homeowners Should Know About Neighbor Tree Disputes Before One Starts
A tree can stand quietly for decades and then become the center of a tense talk over the…
By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 19
Gardening Tips
Invasive Plants North Carolina Homeowners Are Urged to Pull Now Before They Set Seed
Late September in North Carolina is when a handful of sneaky invaders finish blooming and start loading up…
By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 19
Gardening Tips
What to Do (and What to Leave Alone) When a Hawk Starts Targeting Your North Carolina Feeder Birds
One minute your feeder is busy with chickadees and titmice, and the next the yard goes silent. A…
By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 19
Gardening Tips
Why Opossums Keep Visiting Your North Carolina Garden, and What It Does and Doesn’t Mean
A shadow waddles across the patio again, and you wonder why this animal keeps stopping by. Opossums are…
By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 19
Gardening Tips
The One Thing North Carolina Hydrangeas Need Before Summer Ends or They Skip Blooming Next Spring
A hydrangea that grows lush green leaves but never shows a single flower can leave any gardener scratching…
By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 18
Gardening Tips
These Underrated Native North Carolina Perennials Hold a Steep Sunny Slope Better Than Daylilies Ever Could
A steep, sunny bank can feel like the hardest spot in a North Carolina yard to keep green.…
By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 18
Gardening Tips
What a Hawk That Keeps Returning to Your North Carolina Backyard Is Really Telling You
A big bird lands on your fence post, scans the grass, and then shows up again a few…
By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 18
Gardening Tips
Green-and-Gold for Shady North Carolina Side Yards: A Native Groundcover Worth Planting, Not a Tick Fix
The shady strip beside the house is often the spot nobody wants to plant or walk through. A…
By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 18
Gardening Tips
The Native North Carolina Groundcovers That Beat Pine Straw at Choking Out Weeds for Good
Pine straw looks tidy for a few weeks, then it thins out, blows around, and the weeds push…
By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 18
Gardening Tips
Can Deadheading Crape Myrtles Bring Back Blooms in North Carolina?
Crape myrtles put on a long show across North Carolina, but the flowers do fade. Some gardeners snip…
By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 18
Gardening Tips
Maypop: A Native North Carolina Vine to Consider for Your Fence
Plain wooden and chain-link fences can look stark by midsummer. Maypop, a native North Carolina vine with wild-looking…
By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 13
Gardening Tips
What the Wasps Building Nests Around Your North Carolina Porch This Summer Are Really Telling You
You step onto the porch with your coffee and spot a gray, papery nest tucked under the ceiling.…
By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 13
Gardening Tips
These North Carolina Perennials Establish So Deep You Plant Them Once and Never Replace Them
Some plants show up for one summer and quietly vanish, leaving you to buy them all over again…
By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 12
Gardening Tips
Native North Carolina Ground Covers That Beat Pine Straw at Smothering Weeds Under Trees
Pine straw looks tidy for a few months, then it thins out, blows away, and lets weeds sneak…
By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 12
Gardening Tips
How to Stop Moles From Wrecking Your North Carolina Lawn Before the Damage Adds Up
A strip of raised, crumbly soil snaking across your grass can make a tidy yard look like a…
By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 12
Gardening Tips
Why North Carolina Gardeners Get Moles This Time of Year and How to Actually Stop Them
You walk out one morning and find a fresh raised ridge snaking across the lawn. It looks like…
By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 12