Gardening Tips

Cheap resin bird baths from the big-box store often crack after one North Carolina winter of freezing nights…

By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 24

Slick green patches on a patio can turn a simple walk to the mailbox into a slip risk.…

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 24

Many North Carolina yards have a shady strip under old trees where grass gives up and bare soil…

By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 24

A geranium full of green leaves but few flowers can make any gardener frustrated. Feeding is one thing…

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 23

You waited all season for those little buds, and now they are landing on the windowsill. It feels…

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 23

Maybe you spotted glowing blue bottles on a crepe myrtle down the road and wondered what they were…

By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 23

Those leaves piling up in your yard could be put to work before your fall greens even sprout.…

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 23

A strawberry bed can look fine in December and then show broken roots and crowns sitting high on…

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 23

A jade plant that starts dropping leaves as the weather cools can leave you wondering what went wrong.…

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 23

Walk a North Carolina field edge or fence line in fall and you may spot a tree hung…

By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 23

Fall salad greens love cool weather, but a hard frost can end the party fast. A thin sheet…

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 23

Cilantro has a reputation for racing to flower the moment the weather turns hot. Many Southern gardeners sow…

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 23

Those blinking lights you saw over the yard in June started life as tiny larvae living in damp…

By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 23

A tomato seedling that leans, stretches, and flops over can make you worry that you have already lost…

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 23

You water, you wait, and your radishes shoot up big green leaves. Then you pull one and find…

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 23

A small pile of dirt in the lawn can look like nothing, until a bare foot or a…

By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 23

Your lavender looked fine in fall, then turned gray and brittle by spring. Many gardeners blame the cold,…

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 23

Fire ant mounds can keep popping up in North Carolina lawns well into autumn. Fall is a smart…

By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 23

Fallen leaves can look like a big chore, but your mower may be able to handle a lot…

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 23

A small green lizard on your porch rail in late fall can make you stop and look twice.…

By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 23

Those torn, spotted, and chewed-up rhubarb leaves can make a gardener want to grab the shears right now.…

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 23

You plant a neat row of lettuce and spinach, and a few days later the bed looks thin…

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 23

Once the garlic is out, that empty bed can sit bare all winter, open to heavy rain, weeds,…

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 23

That jug of vinegar in your pantry looks like an easy fix for weeds popping up in patio…

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 22

Pine needles feel acidic, so many gardeners worry that a layer of pine straw will ruin their soil.…

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 22

Peonies look tidy all summer, then the leaves yellow, droop, and drop into a messy pile around the…

By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 22

Your clematis climbed the trellis, covered the mailbox post, and gave you almost no flowers. Now fall cleanup…

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 22

Your hydrangea looks scruffy in October, and the pruners are calling your name. Hold off for a minute,…

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 22

A bare front porch in January can make a house feel half asleep. Evergreen pots promise a fix,…

By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 22

Picture a garden hose still hooked to the outdoor faucet when a cold night rolls in. Water may…

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 22

Those tall, feathery asparagus tops start to fade just when the rest of the garden is winding down.…

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 22

Some of the best chances to add a tree to your yard come when the summer heat finally…

By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 22

Fresh lettuce in the cooler months sounds great, but the calendar matters a lot. In some warm parts…

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 22

The last iris blossom drops, and the garden bed suddenly looks like the party has ended. But a…

By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 22

Fall brings a to-do list for the yard, and the lawn often gets lumped in with everything else.…

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 22

Potted geraniums can be expensive to replace every year, and a surprise freeze can end them overnight. With…

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 22

Your blueberry bushes may look finished once the last berries are picked, but they are already getting ready…

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 22

It is late October, and your holiday cactus is still just green segments with no sign of buds.…

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 22

Garlic is one of the easiest crops to tuck into a Southern fall garden, but the advice on…

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 22

A sweet-smelling plant that keeps rats away sounds like the perfect garden fix. Peppermint is the plant most…

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 22

Peony leaves turn brown and floppy every autumn, and many gardeners wonder when to grab the pruners. The…

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 22

A fox trotting across your lawn as the light fades can make you stop and stare. It is…

By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 22

Bare soil in a garden bed does not stay bare for long. Weeds are usually the first to…

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 22

A big hawk drifting in slow circles over your yard is hard to ignore. Many people assume the…

By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 22

Got a fig tree you love? You may be able to turn a few pieces of its wood…

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 21

Your rosemary and sage plants are hiding a free gift, and fall is the time to claim it.…

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 21

A big hawk perched on a backyard fence can stop you mid-step. Seeing one raises a fair question…

By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 21

A cold snap in the forecast can turn a vine full of tomatoes into a lost harvest overnight.…

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 21

You tuck a handful of onion sets into the ground in fall and picture a spring harvest of…

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 21