Complete Gardening

Plant of the Week

The One Thing North Carolina Tomatoes Need in Early Fall or the Late Fruit Never Ripens Before Frost

Every fall, North Carolina gardeners watch the calendar with one eye and their tomato vines with the other, wondering which green fruit still has a...

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 21, 2026

Field Notes

When North Carolina Gardeners Prune Their Fig Trees So the Next Crop Comes in Bigger, Not Just Bushier

7 Florida Fall Cleanup Habits That Strip the Seeds and Berries Cardinals Are Counting On

Live Oak: The Popular Central Texas Shade Tree Worth Shopping for Early This Planting Season

7 Florida Plants You Should Feed in September – and 5 You’ll Hurt If You Do

From the Garden

California Dark-Eyed Juncos Comb Your Beds for the Weed Seeds and Aphids That Take Over in Winter

Why Your California Lavender Goes Woody and Quits Blooming, and the Cutback That Actually Brings It Back

How To Tell When Your California Jujubes Are Ripe Enough to Pick, and the One Sign They’re Just About There

Skip the Bradford Pear in Your North Carolina Yard and Plant This Native That Blooms Just as Bright

7 Florida Ground Cover Plants That Quietly Draw Snakes to Your Yard – and What to Plant Instead

In Bloom

The California Mulch You’re Spreading Right Now That Quietly Invites Rats and Ticks Straight to Your Yard

Your Central Texas Amaryllis Bulbs Refuse to Bloom Indoors Because You Skipped Their Fall Chill

The Most Underrated North Carolina Native That Edges a Bed Through Clay, Humidity, and Summer Storms Without Flopping

Gardener's Selection

California Kestrels Snatch More Gophers and Voles From Your Yard Than Any Trap, but One Tree Habit Drives Them Off

The Meaning Behind a Great Horned Owl Landing in Your Central Texas Yard at Dusk

What North Carolina Gardeners Do to Pair Vegetables Together So Pests Stay Away and Harvests Get Bigger

Fall Is a Good Time to Inspect Central Texas Oaks for Stress, Wounds, and Secondary Borers – Not an Invasive Beetle Outbreak

The One Thing North Carolina Tomatoes Need in Early Fall or the Late Fruit Never Ripens Before Frost

The Potting Shed

Prepare Purple Martin Housing This Fall for a Better Shot at Spring Visitors

What North Carolina Gardeners Do to Keep Container Gardens Thriving Through Dry Fall Stretches Without Touching the Hose

This Fast-Spreading Invasive Tree Is Choking Out More Central Texas Creek Land Than Fire Ants

The One Step That Stops Florida Desert Rose Cuttings From Rotting Before They Root

7 Florida Native Plants That Bring Ladybugs In to Wipe Out the Chinch Bugs Chewing Up Your Lawn

7 Florida Native Hedges That Give You Real Privacy Where a Fence Just Cracks and Fades

9 Florida Native Shrubs That Keep Blooming in Full Sun Right Into October

8 Central Florida Native Nurseries Worth Clearing a Whole Saturday to Visit This Fall

California Bewick’s Wrens May Forage Among Roses and Eat Some Insects, but They Are Not a Proven Control for Scale or Spider Mites – and Pruning Around an Active Nest Can Disturb the Birds and Remove Their Cover

Why Your California Fig Tree Grows Nothing but Leaves, and the Care Change That Finally Sets Fruit

The Most Underrated Herb North Carolina Gardeners Should Plant This September for a Harvest Before First Frost

California Gophers Tunnel Straight to Your Roots, but No Native Plant Has Been Shown to Stop Them

The Texas Native Milkweed Central Texas Gardeners Are Planting Now So Monarchs Return Every Fall

The Native North Carolina Perennial Combo That Makes Your Mailbox the Best-Looking One on the Street

What Your California Lavender Really Needs Now to Keep From Turning Woody and Sparse by Next Summer

The Garden Almanac

Field Notes

The Native Texas Groundcover Homeowners Are Planting Where Heat-Radiating Gravel Used to Bake Their Beds

Florida Homeowners Are Swapping Failing Vinyl Fences for This Native Hedge That Improves Every Year

What Your California Hydrangeas Are Really Telling You When They Wilt in a Heat Spike, and the Two Fixes That Aren’t the Same

10 Spots in North Carolina Yards Where Coneflowers Quietly Fail No Matter How Well You Care For Them

What Your California Bougainvillea Really Needs Before the First Cool Nights, and the One Feeding Mistake That Stops Its Blooms

The Fragrant Native Vine Central Texas Homeowners Are Training Along Fences to Beat the Heat