Gardening Tips

Many North Carolina fences wear a green blanket of English ivy, and it looks harmless enough. But that…

By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 8

The scraps you toss in the trash this fall could be the secret behind bigger, healthier tomatoes next…

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 8

If your hydrangeas gave you more leaves than flowers this year, the reason may have started last fall.…

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 8

Hostas can look tired and floppy by the end of the growing season, and many gardeners worry their…

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 8

Maybe you opened a window screen this fall and found a shield-shaped bug clinging to it. Some stink…

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 8

You water, you weed, and your beet tops look like they belong in a magazine. Then you pull…

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 8

Clearing out summer containers leaves many Southern gardeners staring at a pile of used potting mix and wondering…

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 8

Basil hates the cold, and a chilly night can leave a healthy plant limp and dark. If you…

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 8

Once the last muscadine drops from the arbor, it is tempting to think the vine can take care…

By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 8

You walk out after a good rain and spot a curve of dark green or dead grass that…

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 8

Big golden webs strung between porch posts and shrubs can stop a homeowner in their tracks. The spiders…

By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 8

Fallen leaves pile up fast, and raking them is nobody’s favorite weekend job. A mower can chop a…

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 7

Nothing stings quite like pulling up garlic in early summer and finding heads no bigger than a marble.…

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 7

Walk across a North Carolina yard in October and you may spot a small fuzzy caterpillar hurrying over…

By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 7

You wake up after a stormy night and find a cluster of pale mushrooms poking through the grass.…

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 7

A lonely snake plant with a few tall leaves can look a little sad in a big pot.…

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 7

October feels like the end of the garden year for a lot of folks, but in North Carolina…

By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 7

Your tomato and pepper beds worked hard all summer, and right now the soil underneath them is hungry.…

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 7

Every yard has a spot you wish nobody could see, like the humming AC unit or the row…

By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 7

Spotting pale, spongy patches on a ripe tomato or pepper is frustrating, especially when you have babied the…

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 7

That leggy pot of geraniums on your porch can leave behind more than memories. A few snipped stem…

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 7

Walk past a yard in early fall and you might spot clusters of bright purple berries wrapped around…

By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 7

Crispy brown tips on a peace lily can make a once-lush plant look worn out fast. Tap water…

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 7

Hosta leaves start to flop and fade, and the urge to grab the shears hits hard. A clean…

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 7

Your fig tree looks great, with big leaves and long branches, yet the branches hold no fruit. That…

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 7

Your potted geraniums were covered in color all summer, and now the flowers are thinning out. It is…

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 7

A fig tree with deep green leaves and strong new branches seems like it should be loaded with…

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 7

If your hydrangeas gave you more leaves than flowers this year, the fix probably starts right now, not…

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 7

Every fall, lots of gardeners pull out their geraniums and toss them in the trash. That plant you…

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 7

A fig tree can look dead after a hard January freeze, then surprise you with a basket of…

By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 7

You plant a tray of fresh pansies, and by morning half of them look chewed or missing. The…

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 7

Every spring you reseed the bare patch under your big oak, and every August it turns back into…

By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 7

A hydrangea full of big green leaves looks like it should be ready to flower. Yet many Southern…

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 6

A rosemary plant you love can feel like a lost cause when the first cold forecast shows up.…

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 6

Blueberry bushes that go unpruned for years can fill up with thin, crowded shoots and small berries. A…

By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 6

Bare soil is an open invitation for weeds, and many Southern gardeners spend whole seasons pulling the same…

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 6

A porch mum that looks perky at breakfast and limp by 3 p.m. can make any gardener nervous.…

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 6

You water, you feed, and you wait, but your fall cabbage and broccoli still form heads no bigger…

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 6

Your oakleaf hydrangea is already planning next summer’s flowers, even as its leaves turn wine red this fall.…

By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 6

You pull the clover, spray it, and a few months later the same green patches are back. It…

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 6

Those crispy brown hydrangea heads in your yard can look like a plant in trouble. Most of the…

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 6

You hear the lid rattle, or you find a patch of lawn flipped over like a rug. Fall…

By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 6

You glance at the hummingbird feeder and the nectar that looked crystal clear a few days ago now…

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 6

A climbing rose can give you a lot of green stems, and it is tempting to wonder if…

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 6

You walk out after a soggy October weekend and find a scatter of pale mushrooms standing in the…

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 6

Rain hammers bare garden soil all winter, and that can wash away the best part of your bed.…

By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 6

A low hydrangea branch can become a brand-new plant without you buying a single nursery pot. The trick…

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 6

If you garden in North Carolina, you know the red clay that turns to brick in July and…

By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 6

Big, sweet onions start with a good plan in the fall. Southern gardeners can grow bulb onions through…

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 6