Gardening Tips

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

Every fall, North Carolina gardeners watch the calendar with one eye and their tomato vines with the other,…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 21

Dry fall weather sneaks up on container gardeners across North Carolina, leaving pots parched faster than expected. A…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 21

Cilantro might be the most overlooked herb for a North Carolina fall garden, yet it is one of…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 20

Mailbox beds are easy to overlook, but a well-chosen planting can turn that strip of roadside dirt into…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 20

Coneflowers are supposed to be tough, cheerful, and nearly impossible to kill in a North Carolina yard. Yet…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 20

Most North Carolina gardeners spend October pulling spent plants and putting tools away, but one quiet task often…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 20

Every fall, North Carolina homeowners start noticing more wasp activity around their eaves, and many wonder if something…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 20

Knockout roses are the workhorses of North Carolina yards, blooming from spring through fall with almost no fuss.…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 20

If your shady fence line has been host to struggling boxwoods, you might be wondering whether there is…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 19

Tucked into the edges of North Carolina woodlands, sourwood is a native tree that earns its place twice…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 19

A native shrub called American beautyberry has been getting attention from North Carolina homeowners who want a natural…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 19

Small holes appearing near garden beds this fall have some North Carolina homeowners wondering whether chipmunks are to…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 19

Every fall, North Carolina homeowners start noticing a lot more yellowjackets buzzing around picnic tables, garbage cans, and…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 19

Purple coneflowers are one of the easiest perennials to grow in North Carolina, and many gardeners want more…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 19

Ornamental alliums are one of those plants that look effortless in a neighbor’s yard but frustrating in your…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 18

Walk past your shrubs before you grab the pruning shears this fall, and you might spot something that…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 18

Spotted lanternfly egg masses can show up on fence posts, firewood, and dozens of other outdoor surfaces, not…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 18

A fast-spreading invasive insect called the spotted lanternfly has found a foothold in North Carolina, and one invasive…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 18

A video or social post claiming that a single opossum eats thousands of ticks every week sounds like…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 18

Something is chewing through your North Carolina garden beds, and the damage gets worse every fall. Small tunnels,…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 18

Hydrangeas look amazing on a magazine cover, but if yours wilt by noon every July, you are not…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 18

When hostas start flopping and turning yellow in fall, it can feel like something went terribly wrong in…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 18

Hanging a hummingbird feeder and watching nothing happen is one of the more puzzling moments in backyard wildlife…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 18

Watching your hydrangea blooms shift from bright pink, blue, or purple to a flat, dull green can feel…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 17

Tomatoes are the star of most Southern summer gardens, but they can be surprisingly picky about who lives…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 17

Eastern box turtles are a familiar sight in North Carolina yards, and most people who spot one want…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 17

Walk outside on a cool October morning and you might find your favorite azalea or viburnum chewed down…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 17

Fall spinach should come in thick, dark, and low to the ground, so pale leaves and spindly stems…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 17

Eastern Screech-Owls are small, year-round North Carolina residents that hunt at night and nest inside tree cavities. Putting…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 17

When your porch geraniums stop pushing out new blooms as fall approaches, it’s easy to assume something is…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 17

Few gardening frustrations match a hydrangea that pushes out a thick flush of leaves every spring but never…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 17

On a mild October afternoon in North Carolina, a copperhead might be the last thing on your mind…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 17

Watching your hydrangeas droop by midday is genuinely alarming, especially when you are sure you have been watering…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 17

Hearing a coyote howl outside your window on a fall night can stop you cold, especially when it…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 17

Brown leaf tips on a spider plant are frustrating, especially when you feel like you’re already trying your…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 17

Spotting red or purple tints creeping across your Christmas cactus can send you straight to Google looking for…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 17

Spider plants are tough, cheerful houseplants, but those brown, crispy leaf tips can make even a healthy-looking plant…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 17

Staring at a tree full of hard green figs as the calendar flips toward fall is one of…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 17

When the nights start cooling down here in the South, it’s tempting to scoop up your favorite potted…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 17

Every summer, Southern gardeners are on the hunt for that one trick that will turn their backyard vines…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 17

Hanging a hummingbird feeder should be a reward, not a headache, but bees and wasps can show up…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 17

That bare slope in your yard, the one that washes out every time it rains, can turn into…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 17

Hummingbird feeders are a rewarding addition to any Southern backyard, but cloudy nectar can show up faster than…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 17

A sunny, rocky slope in a North Carolina yard can be one of the hardest spots to plant.…

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 17

Refilling a hummingbird feeder every few days feels rewarding until the nectar keeps disappearing and you rarely spot…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 16

Fall cilantro is one of the most rewarding cool-season herbs a Southern gardener can grow, right up until…

By Ethan Brooks · Sep 16

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

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 16