Florida Gardening

The Venomous Saddleback Caterpillar Is Turning Up on Florida Plants Right Now — Here’s Exactly What to Do

A small, brightly colored caterpillar hiding on your hibiscus or crape myrtle can cause a seriously painful sting before you even realize what happened. The…

By Aria Moore F · Sep 20, 2026

Field Notes

The Venomous Saddleback Caterpillar Is Turning Up on Florida Plants Right Now — Here’s Exactly What to Do

Zebra Longwing Caterpillars Devour These 7 Florida Passionvines Before Anything Else in the Yard

California Hooded Orioles Forage for Insects in Your Fruit Trees, but One Feeder Habit Can Make the Station Unsuitable

Vinyl Fences Warp and Crack in the Florida Sun – These 7 Native Screens Hold Up for Decades

From the Garden

California Alligator Lizards Quietly Feast on the Slugs and Black Widows Wrecking Your Yard, but Cleared Brush Drives Them Off

Plant Oakleaf Hydrangea Along Your Shady North Carolina Fence and Skip the Boxwood That Blights Every Summer

Small Snakes Keep Turning Up Around Florida Homes in September Because of These 7 Yard Conditions

Your Central Texas Spinach Seedlings Turn Yellow and Stall the Moment Fall Nights Warm Back Up

Whip Your Tired Florida Yard Back to Life With These 7 Fall-Planted Natives

In Bloom

The Most Underrated North Carolina Native That Blazes Fiery Red in Fall While Feeding Honey Bees All Summer

California Quail Suddenly Nest in Backyard Gardens in Groups, and This Is the Yard Condition Pulling Them In

The Native Texas Porch Plant Big-Box Stores Skip That Keeps Mosquitoes Off Your Patio All Summer

Gardener's Selection

California Wrens Hunt the Aphids and Caterpillars Wrecking Your Garden, but One Tidy Habit Sends Them Packing

American Beautyberry Has Lab-Tested Tick-Repellent Compounds – Here Is What That Actually Means for Your North Carolina Yard

The Texas Native Groundcover Homeowners Are Slipping Under Live Oaks Where Grass Gives Up

Chipmunks Are Tunneling Under North Carolina Garden Beds This Fall, and Here’s What Their Burrows Are Really After

Fireflies Come Back to Florida Yards That Add These 7 Native Plants and Habits

The Potting Shed

How To Stop Weeds From Taking Over Your Central Texas Gravel Driveway For Good

The California Groundcovers That Replace Your Thirsty Lawn in Full Sun and Need Almost No Water After Year One

What It Really Means When California Hummingbirds Suddenly Abandon Your Feeder in Fall, and Where They Really Went

What It Really Means When Yellowjacket Swarms Take Over Your North Carolina Yard This Fall

What Those Big Wasps in Your Central Texas Lawn May Mean This Summer

The One Thing North Carolina Coneflowers Need This Fall or They’ll Stop Coming Back on Their Own Next Year

7 Florida Mulches That Quietly Draw Roaches Up Against Your Foundation – and What to Use Instead

The Native Texas Perennial That Quietly Outshines Tired Lantana Borders in Every Season

Sandhill Cranes Keep Coming Back to Florida Yards That Offer These 7 Features

7 Florida Yard Conditions That Bring White Ibis Flocks Probing Across Your Lawn for Grubs and Mole Crickets

California Barn Owls Clear More Gophers in a Night Than Any Trap, and One Box Placement Mistake Keeps Them Away

7 Florida Native Plants That Fix the Backyard Drainage Problem Every New Homeowner Hits After the First Rainy Season

7 Florida Native Plants That Bring Tree Frogs In to Wipe Out the Roaches Around Your House

California Garden Spiders Trap the Mosquitoes and Aphids Wrecking Your Yard, but One Cleanup Habit Wipes Out Their Webs

What North Carolina Gardeners Do to Get Alliums That Come Back Bigger and Bloom Every Spring Without Replanting

The Garden Almanac

Field Notes

Your Central Texas Fall Tomatoes Are Setting Blooms but Dropping Every One in the October Heat

California Scrub Jays Cache Acorns and Eat Insects, but They Won’t Fix Your Lawn Grubs

Praying Mantis Egg Cases Are Clinging to North Carolina Shrub Stems Right Now, and Leaving Them There May Support Native Wildlife This Spring

What a Suddenly Damaged Citrus Tree May Signal About Roof Rats in California

Your Central Texas Live Oak Leaves Are Yellowing and Dropping in Fall – Could Alkaline Soil or Iron Chlorosis Be the Cause?

The California Trees You Should Fertilize This Fall, and the Ones That Get Damaged if You Push Them