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 back fence. Who owns it, who can…
By Jasmine Hughes · Oct 19, 2026
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Gardening Tips
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2,419 Articles
Gardening Tips
How to Protect Shrubs and Fall Greens From Deer Browsing in the South
Walk out one morning and find your collards nibbled down or your favorite shrub stripped of new growth,…
By Ethan Brooks · 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
Why Your Broccoli Heads Stay Tiny and Bolt Into Yellow Flowers This Fall
You check your fall broccoli and find a head the size of a golf ball, or one that…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 19
Gardening Tips
Why a Potted Tomato Plant Can Turn Purple Underneath in Fall, and What to Check First
You walk out to water your container tomato and flip over a leaf, and the underside is a…
By Ethan Brooks · 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
How to Water a Snake Plant in Winter and Lower the Risk of Soggy Roots
Snake plants are tough, but winter can trip up even careful plant owners. Shorter days and cooler rooms…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 19
Gardening Tips
Why Your Lemon Tree Drops Its Leaves When You Bring It Indoors for Winter
You carry your potted lemon tree inside to keep it safe, and a few days later there are…
By Ethan Brooks · 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
Saving Tomato and Pepper Seed: Drying Protects Storage, Genetics Decide What Grows
Pulling the last tomatoes and peppers from the garden is the perfect time to save seed for next…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 19
Gardening Tips
Why Your Pansies Planted This Fall Stretch Tall and Flop Over Instead of Staying Bushy
You planted pansies for cheerful fall color, and now they are sprawling across the pot or bed like…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 18
Gardening Tips
Cold, Wet Soil Can Put Dahlia Tubers at Risk This Winter: How to Dig, Dry, and Store Them
Dahlia tubers can sit happily in the ground all summer, then run into trouble once fall turns cold…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 18
Gardening Tips
The Yellow Leaves on Your Geraniums Are Telling You Exactly What They Need Right Now
A few yellow leaves on a geranium can make any gardener worry. As fall nights cool off, the…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 18
Gardening Tips
Brown Leaves on Your Peace Lily Usually Come Down to One of These 8 Everyday Problems
Your peace lily was glossy and green last month, and now the leaf tips look like they got…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 18
Gardening Tips
5 Simple Habits That Keep Your Potted Geraniums Flowering Right Through Fall
Your potted geraniums looked amazing in spring, but now the blooms are thinning out and the leaves look…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 18
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
Snake Plant Leaves Turning Yellow and Flopping Over Usually Trace Back to These 6 Care Mistakes
Snake plants have a reputation for being almost impossible to kill, so it feels extra frustrating when the…
By Ethan Brooks · 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
Raspberry Pruning in Fall: Which Cut Fits Your Canes and Your Harvest Goal
Raspberry canes live on a two-year schedule, and the cut you make can change which berries show up…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 18
Gardening Tips
These 12 Things Quietly Ruin Your Compost Pile When You Toss Them In This Fall
Fall cleanup fills your yard with leaves, spent tomato vines, and kitchen scraps that seem perfect for the…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 18
Gardening Tips
When to Harvest Beets: Check Root Size, Not a One-Week Deadline
You planted beets this fall, and now the big question is when to pull them. Some advice online…
By Ethan Brooks · 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
What You Do in the Last Weeks of October Decides Whether Your Christmas Cactus Fills With Buds
Your holiday cactus is probably sitting on a shelf right now, looking green and a little boring. Late…
By Ethan Brooks · 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
Clematis Pruning: Identify Your Vine and Pick the Right Time
A thin, scraggly clematis makes many gardeners grab the shears in October. But a fall cut can snip…
By Ethan Brooks · 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
Here’s How to Assess Whether Your Fall Mums Might Come Back Next Year Before You Toss Them
That pot of mums on your porch is fading, and the trash can looks tempting. Before you toss…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 18
Gardening Tips
Polymeric Sand May Reduce Weed Growth Between Your Pavers
Weeds sprouting in the gaps of a patio can make a clean outdoor space look neglected. Pulling them…
By Ethan Brooks · 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
Your Jade Plant Starts Dropping Leaves the Moment Fall Arrives, and These 8 Problems Are Usually Behind It
You walk past your jade plant one cool morning and spot a little pile of plump green leaves…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 18
Gardening Tips
Extra Fertilizer Is Not a Reliable Way to Get More Geranium Flowers
Your geraniums have lots of leaves but hardly any flowers, so you reach for the fertilizer. Hold off…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 17
Gardening Tips
Are Slugs Chewing Your Fall Lettuce and Kale Seedlings? How to Check and Manage the Damage
You head out to the garden and find your lettuce and kale seedlings full of ragged holes, or…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 15
Gardening Tips
Spinach Seedlings Collapsing at the Soil Line This Fall: Could It Be Damping-Off?
You walk out to the garden and a row of spinach that looked fine yesterday is lying flat.…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 15
Gardening Tips
Fall Weed Prevention Can Reduce Some Future Weed Pressure, and Shredded Leaves Can Help Suppress Seedlings
Spring weeds can feel like they appear overnight, and many gardeners wonder what they missed. Fall is a…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 15
Gardening Tips
Why Garlic Cloves Turn Mushy Before Spring and Practical Planting Steps That Reduce the Risk
You dig into the bed where you planted garlic last fall, and the cloves feel soft, slimy, or…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 15
Gardening Tips
Why Fall Lettuce Turns Bitter and How Steady Watering and Outer-Leaf Picking Help
Your fall lettuce looked perfect last week, and now one bite makes you wince. Many gardeners blame cool…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 15
Gardening Tips
These 16 Common Houseplants Sitting on Your Windowsill Are Quietly Toxic to Kids and Pets
That pretty green plant on your kitchen windowsill might be hiding a secret. Many of the most popular…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 15
Gardening Tips
Stink Bugs Sneaking Into Your Kitchen This Fall Fall for a Simple Dish Soap and Light Trap You Set Up in Minutes
You flip off the kitchen light at night, and there it is, a shield-shaped bug clinging to the…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 15
Gardening Tips
Your Geraniums Don’t Have to Die With the First Frost, and Three Ways to Keep Them Blooming Next Spring
That first cold snap can turn a porch full of bright red geraniums into a sad pile of…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 15
Gardening Tips
Which Hydrangeas Are Setting Next Spring’s Flowers, and What to Do This Fall
Walk past your hydrangeas this fall and you might see nothing but fading leaves. Yet some types already…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 15
Gardening Tips
One Wrong Cut Sets Your Fig Tree Back a Whole Season, and These Pruning Mistakes Are the Usual Culprits
Fig trees are tough, but a single bad pruning cut can wipe out a whole summer of sweet…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 14
Gardening Tips
Geranium cuttings can be rooted in water on your windowsill when cold threatens
Those potted bedding geraniums on your porch can turn into new plants for next spring. All it takes…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 14
Gardening Tips
Which Hard Green Tomatoes Left After Frost Are Worth Trying to Ripen Indoors
Frost hit, and now your tomato plants look rough, but a few hard green fruits are still hanging…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 14
Gardening Tips
Rooting Rosemary in Water and Thyme in Sand: What Southern Gardeners Should Know
Got a rosemary bush that is sending out long green shoots? Those tips might become new plants if…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 14
Gardening Tips
How to Harvest Fall Swiss Chard and What Affects Whether It Lasts Into Winter
Swiss chard is one of the easiest greens to keep picking in a Southern fall garden. The way…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 14
Gardening Tips
Potted Common Figs in Winter: Cool Dormant Storage Is the Safer Bet, Not the Only Way
A fig in a pot can look like it is falling apart in autumn, with leaves yellowing and…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 14
Gardening Tips
Beets With Big Leaves and Tiny Roots: Excess Nitrogen Is One Possible Cause, and Here Is a Plan for Next Year’s Bed
You pull up a beet expecting a plump, ruby root and find a skinny little marble under a…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 14
Gardening Tips
Spearmint oil cut brown marmorated stink bug trap catches in one study, but mint is not a proven garden fix
Brown marmorated stink bugs start looking for cozy winter shelter as fall arrives, and your house can look…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 14
Gardening Tips
Rosemary Cuttings Snipped Before the First Frost Root on a Sunny Windowsill and Give You New Plants by Spring
A rosemary plant you love can be copied for free with a few snips and a little patience.…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 14
Gardening Tips
Overwintering Peppers Indoors May Give You a Head Start on Next Summer’s Harvest, and Here’s How to Do It
A pepper plant loaded with fruit in October can feel like a waste to lose when the first…
By Ethan Brooks · Oct 14