Gardening Tips

Hostas are supposed to make shady spots look full, calm, and healthy, so it is frustrating when the…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 24

Every fall, North Carolina homeowners spend more time stacking firewood, clearing garden beds, and poking around retaining walls…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 24

Ants around a hummingbird feeder are one of the most frustrating backyard problems in the South, especially when…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 24

Many North Carolina homeowners plant wax myrtle along their property lines hoping for a thick, fast green wall,…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 24

Holiday cactus owners across Florida and Texas often spot their plant’s flat, jointed stem segments turning red or…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 23

Fall is the season when a lot of gardeners feel the urge to cut everything back and tidy…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 23

Every August and September, North Carolina yards fill with a loud, buzzing chorus that seems to come from…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 23

Purple coneflowers put on a great show all summer, but once the blooms fade and the stems turn…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 23

You filled the feeder, hung it in the same spot, and waited. But the hummingbirds that were buzzing…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 23

Crape myrtle seed pods are one of those fall details that homeowners either ignore or obsess over, and…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 23

Growing a fig tree in a container gives you control over placement, portability, and even winter protection, but…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 23

Fuchsia is one of the most eye-catching plants you can hang on a porch or tuck into a…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 23

Fall is a turning point for many hydrangeas, but not because of any single treatment you apply. For…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 23

A hydrangea with lots of leaves but only a few flowers can feel like a letdown, especially when…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 23

Daffodils are one of the most reliable spring flowers a North Carolina gardener can grow, but plenty of…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 23

Purple coneflower is one of those plants that keeps on giving long after the blooms fade. Those spiky…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 23

Every summer, crabgrass shows up in the same tired spots, and most homeowners blame the weather or bad…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 23

If your geraniums have been limping through summer and you’re hoping a big dose of fertilizer will bring…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 23

Hydrangeas are beautiful, but Southern summers can make them look tired fast. If you want big color without…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 23

Hostas are supposed to make shady spots look full and fresh, so it is frustrating when the leaves…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 23

Creeping Charlie is one of those weeds that seems to laugh at you every spring, no matter how…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 23

Reaching for the pruning saw on a fig tree this fall could quietly erase part of next year’s…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 23

If your crape myrtle leaves are coated in black and the branches feel sticky to the touch, you…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 23

Those raised ridges snaking across your lawn are not just an eyesore – they show up fast, and…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 23

Spotting what looks like a tiny hummingbird hovering over your flowers at dusk is one of those moments…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 23

Few things are more frustrating than watching a healthy Christmas cactus suddenly go soft and droopy when the…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 22

Purple coneflowers are supposed to be reliable summer bloomers, so it is genuinely frustrating to watch them push…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 22

Mosquitoes are a real problem in North Carolina yards, and the idea of planting one native shrub to…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 22

A fragrant, fast-climbing vine might be winding through your backyard right now, and it could be causing more…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 22

Spotting yellow leaves on your geranium can send any gardener into a quiet panic, but yellowing alone rarely…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 22

Few things are more alarming than watching a peace lily’s glossy leaves turn black almost overnight. That darkening…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 22

Sweet potato growers in North Carolina sometimes stare at their vines all season, waiting for a clear signal…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 22

You spend a weekend tucking tulip and crocus bulbs into freshly turned soil, then walk out a few…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 22

If your hydrangeas droop like wet socks every afternoon, you might assume you’re watering them at the wrong…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 22

When cold weather settles over North Carolina, food gets scarce for chickadees, goldfinches, and juncos. The good news…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 22

A limp, floppy Christmas cactus right before the holidays is one of the most frustrating things a plant…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 22

Stepping outside to find a cluster of mushrooms sprouting overnight in your lawn or garden bed can feel…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 22

Lavender can be a frustrating plant when the blooms come in sparse, pale, or barely fragrant after a…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 22

Rock mulch might look tidy, but it soaks up summer heat and cooks the soil right next to…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 22

Staring at a fig tree packed with leaves and hard green fruit as the season winds down is…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 22

Azaleas are gorgeous in spring, but plant them where the afternoon sun pounds down and they scorch by…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 22

Plenty of Southern gardeners hang a feeder, fill it with sugar water, and then watch hummingbirds zip right…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 22

A productive fig tree can give you more than fruit – it can give you free trees. Dormant…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 22

That glossy shrub lining your North Carolina foundation might look tidy, but if it is a fruiting nandina,…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 22

Noticing purple or reddish edges creeping across your broccoli leaves as fall settles in can feel alarming, especially…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 22

Fig trees in North Carolina can grow into a tangled thicket fast, especially after a mild winter, and…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 21

Every spring, neighborhoods across North Carolina light up with clouds of white blossoms from Bradford pear trees, but…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 21

Most bed-edge plants in North Carolina look great in a nursery pot and fall apart by August, flattened…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 21

Growing more than one vegetable type in the same bed is a trick many North Carolina gardeners swear…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 21