Jasmine Hughes

Eastern Bluebirds are one of North Carolina’s most beloved backyard visitors, and many homeowners are surprised to learn…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 16

A shrub covered in bright purple berries might be the most underappreciated plant in a North Carolina yard.…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 16

If you have noticed small lizards perching on your potted plants or darting along porch railings lately, you…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 16

Fall is a great time to divide perennials and renovate garden beds, but it comes with a small…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 16

A weedy tree growing along your fence line or the edge of your driveway might be the first…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 16

Spotted lanternfly egg masses are showing up on tree bark, fences, and outdoor gear across parts of North…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 16

Something colorful and unwelcome may be clinging to your backyard grapevines right now, and it is not a…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 15

Rows of Leyland cypress once promised fast, thick privacy along North Carolina property lines, but many of those…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 15

An invasive insect that first made headlines in Pennsylvania has now put down roots in parts of North…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 15

Finding a box turtle tucked into your garden bed feels like a sign that you are doing something…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 15

A colorful but destructive insect called the spotted lanternfly has been turning up in North Carolina yards, and…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 15

A row of crape myrtles looks tidy and promising the day you plant it, but give those trees…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 15

Walk under a Southern magnolia in late summer and you might spot something that looks almost alien: a…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 14

A dry summer can leave your perennial bed looking ragged, but the plants you wrote off might not…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 14

Pine straw is one of the most popular mulches in North Carolina, but a thin or uneven layer…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 14

Summer heat in North Carolina hits fast, and a porch pot full of flowers or herbs can go…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 14

Every summer, North Carolina gardeners watch their squash plants collapse almost overnight, and a small moth larva tunneling…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 14

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