Your Yard Keeps Drawing Snakes In Because These 9 Common Features Make It Easy
Snakes usually do not show up by accident. Most of the time, a yard offers food, water, shade, or a safe place to hide, and…
By Ethan Brooks · Sep 26, 2026
In the Garden
Cut your hostas back too late in fall and next year’s growth pays for it
Ethan Brooks · Sep 26
The Defensible-Space Plants California Counties Actually Recommend, and Why They Surprise Homeowners
John Miller CA · Sep 26
Those Holes All Over Your Lawn Without Dirt Piles Usually Point to One of These 17 Digging Culprits
Ethan Brooks · Sep 26
From the Garden
California Ring-necked Snakes May Eat Slugs, but Stripping Away All Surface Cover Can Make Your Yard Less Welcoming to Them
Tiny, secretive, and rarely seen, California ring-necked snakes turn up in gardens across much of the state, and some homeowners have heard they eat the…
By John Miller CA · Sep 26
Your Coneflowers Look Done for the Year, but This Fall Step Brings Them Back Stronger
By Ethan Brooks · Sep 26
Your Hydrangeas Set Next Year’s Blooms With One Fall Step Gardeners Skip
By Ethan Brooks · Sep 26
Your Potted Geraniums Slow Down Fast When the Feeding Routine Stays Off
By Ethan Brooks · Sep 26
Your Raised Bed Harvest Shrinks Fast When You Grow the Wrong Crops There
By Ethan Brooks · Sep 26
In Bloom
What's thriving right now.
Why North Carolina’s Fall Color Is Peaking in Strange Pockets Instead of Along the Usual Drive
Florida fall color is easier than most yards make it look – start with these 7 trees
By Aria Moore F
The Native Texas Salvia That Keeps a Central Texas Border Colorful Through Heat and Drought
By Ella Brown T
Brown patches in your Florida lawn this September usually point to this before drought does
By Aria Moore F
Plant of the Week
Your Fig Tree Still Sets More Fruit When You Fix This One Late-Season Miss
Late summer is when fig trees can either reward your patience or leave you with a branch full of fruit that never quite gets there....
By Ethan Brooks · Sep 25, 2026
Read MoreThe Potting Shed
Field Notes
The California Native Plants To Put In The Ground Now So They Root In Before Summer
California yards do better when new plants get a head start before the long dry stretch of summer. Putting native...
By John Miller CA on Sep 25
Prune Your Fig Tree at the Wrong Time and Next Year’s Crop Pays for It
Timing a fig tree pruning sounds simple until you realize one wrong cut can quietly wipe out months of anticipated...
By Ethan Brooks on Sep 25
Your Christmas Cactus Looks Wrinkled by Fall Because Watering and Drainage Mistakes Drain It Fast
A wrinkled Christmas cactus in fall is one of the most confusing sights a home gardener can face, because the...
By Ethan Brooks on Sep 25
The North Carolina Bulbs to Plant Now for a Fuller Show of Spring Color
A brighter spring yard starts months before the flowers appear. In North Carolina, fall is the best time to plant...
By Jasmine Hughes on Sep 25
Your Florida mandevilla gets thin and tangled fast now — do this before it decides the shape for you
Mandevilla vines can turn from lush to leggy almost overnight during Florida’s warm growing season, sending long bare stems spiraling...
By Aria Moore F on Sep 25
These California shrubs pull hummingbirds to your yard while shutting down thirsty bare spots
Dry, empty patches can make a yard look tired fast, especially through California’s long rain-free season. The good news is...
By John Miller CA on Sep 25