Complete Gardening

Plant of the Week

If Your Tomatoes Keep Splitting Their Skins After a Hot Spell, One Watering Habit Is Usually to Blame

Walking out to your garden after a summer rainstorm and finding your nearly ripe tomatoes split wide open is genuinely discouraging. The good news is...

By Ethan Brooks · Jul 22, 2026

Field Notes

Bitter Cucumbers and Tough Ends in the Heat: How Uneven Watering May Be Contributing

If You Spot This Bug in Your North Carolina Yard, Don’t Touch It – Here’s Why

The Native Texas Plants That Shrug Off Our Weather Because They Already Know How Texas Behaves

If Your Tomatoes Get Pale Sunken Patches on the Sunny Side in the Heat, Aggressive Foliage Removal Can Raise the Risk

From the Garden

More Bats in Your North Carolina Yard Means Fewer Mosquitoes – Here’s How to Bring Them In

This Is How Florida Gardeners Keep Their Plumeria Blooming From Summer Straight Into Fall

What a Yard Full of Green Anoles Is Really Telling You About Your Texas Garden This Summer

What To Do With Your Florida Bougainvillea Now So It Blooms Nonstop All Summer

If Your Pepper Plants Grow Bushy but Set No Pods in the Heat, One Feeding Swing Is Usually to Blame

In Bloom

How Florida Gardeners Actually Get Desert Rose Cuttings to Root When Most Guides Fail Them

The Native Florida Privacy Plants That Screen Your Yard Without Bamboo Taking Over

The Native Florida Plants Fueling the 2026 Pollinator Garden Trend – and Why the Old Nectar Beds Are Fading

Gardener's Selection

If Your Cucumbers Turn Yellow and Mushy on the Vine in Midsummer Heat, One Watering Habit Is Usually to Blame

Here’s What It Means When Hawks Keep Circling Back to Your North Carolina Yard

The Texas Plants That Keep Roaches From Ever Reaching Your House and Look Good Doing It

If Your Cucumber Plants Look Lush but Never Fill Out Their Fruit, One Feeding Swing Is Usually to Blame

If Your Tomatoes Keep Splitting Their Skins After a Hot Spell, One Watering Habit Is Usually to Blame

The Potting Shed

Pawpaws and Persimmons Are North Carolina Natives Almost Nobody Grows but Every Yard Should Have

Why More Texans Are Planting Esperanza Right by the Front Door for Blooms Into October

If Your Tomatoes Rot on the Bottom Only After a Hot Spell, the Trouble Starts in How You Water

The Invasive North Carolina Tree That Quietly Spreads Spotted Lanternfly Through Backyards

These Texas Native Plant Nurseries Are Worth the Summer Drive With a Cooler in the Trunk

Cucumber Plants Full of Flowers but No Fruit in the Heat? Here Is What to Check Before You Feed

If Your Zucchini Grows Huge Leaves but Never Sets Fruit in the Heat, One Hidden Mistake Is Usually to Blame

The Most Underrated North Carolina Native Shrub That Turns Your Yard’s Edge Into a Tick Barrier

The Right Way to Prune Your Florida Plumeria So Every Cut Supports Better Blooms

The Texas Flowers That Bring Hummingbird Hawk-Moths Hovering Over Your Garden at Dusk

If Your Tomatoes Are Growing Tall but Setting No Fruit in the Heat, One Feeding Habit Is Usually to Blame

If Your Cucumber Vines Wilt by Afternoon but Bounce Back by Morning, the Trouble Is Already in the Roots

If Your Cucumber Leaves Turn Yellow From the Bottom Up in the Heat, the Cause Is Usually Below the Soil

If Your Pepper Plants Keep Dropping Blossoms in the Heat, One Watering Swing Is Usually to Blame

If Your Zucchini Sets Fruit That Rots Before It Grows, the Trouble Starts Before the Bloom Opens

The Garden Almanac

Field Notes

Why Your Pepper Plants Are Bushy but Dropping Every Flower: Midsummer Heat Is Often the First Place to Look

If Your Cucumbers Taste Bitter in the Heat, One Watering Habit Is Usually to Blame

The Meaning Behind Seeing a Cardinal Land in Your North Carolina Yard

The Fire-Resistant Texas Groundcovers That Belong Against Your House Instead of Bark Mulch

Your Christmas Cactus Leaves Go Limp – the Real Fix Usually Starts Below the Surface

10 Reasons North Carolina Gardeners Are Finally Planting Lemongrass This Summer