Still no buds on your Christmas cactus? A cooler, darker spot this week brings holiday blooms
You bought a holiday cactus, kept it alive all year, and now the stems are bare of buds while the decorations go up. Take a…
By Ethan Brooks · Nov 2, 2026
In the Garden
How To Sow California Wildflower Seeds This Fall To Improve Your Odds Against Birds and Wind
John Miller CA · Nov 2
Rats Hate These 9 Fragrant Plants That Make Your Florida Garden Smell Amazing This November
Aria Moore F · Nov 2
What It Really Means When Dark-Eyed Juncos Start Hopping Under Your North Carolina Feeder This Month
Jasmine Hughes · Nov 2
From the Garden
Your Florida Plumeria Is Heading Into Winter Rest, and Here’s What to Do Before It Sleeps
Many Florida plumerias slow down in winter, and some drop most of their leaves. That bare look can feel alarming after months of fragrant blooms.…
By Aria Moore F · Nov 2
How to Manage Mulch-Bed Edges to Reduce Rat and Tick Habitat in Central Texas
By Ella Brown T · Nov 2
Your Florida Desert Rose May Be Slowing Down for Winter, and Here’s What It Needs This November
By Aria Moore F · Nov 2
Growing your own fig tree is easier than you think, and getting these few basics right does most of the work
By Ethan Brooks · Nov 2
If your kale leaves are riddled with tiny holes this November, cabbage worms are still feeding underneath
By Ethan Brooks · Nov 2
In Bloom
What's thriving right now.
Could a Red-Tailed Hawk Be Hunting Gophers in Your California Yard This Winter?
Why Your Potted Meyer Lemon Drops Tiny Fruit When the Heater Starts: Clues to Check
By Ethan Brooks
Garden Spiders Strung Across Your California Yard This Fall Are Catching the Pests Chewing Your Winter Greens
Carrots left in the ground under a thick leaf blanket taste sweeter after every frost, so stop rushing to dig them
By Ethan Brooks
Plant of the Week
Deer start stripping your shrubs and fall greens in November, and a few strong scents near the beds send them elsewhere
Walk out one morning and find your shrubs nibbled down to ragged stubs, and it is hard not to blame the calendar. Deer do change...
By Ethan Brooks · Nov 2, 2026
Read MoreThe Potting Shed
Field Notes
Could Tarantulas Prey on Scorpions? What One Mexico Study Means for Central Texas Yards
Tarantulas and scorpions both make Texas homeowners nervous, so it is natural to wonder if one keeps the other in...
By Ella Brown T on Nov 2
When Garlic Needs Straw Cover to Stop Freeze-Thaw Heaving
Picture a garlic bed after a hard freeze and a warm spell: a few cloves sit right on top of...
By Ethan Brooks on Nov 2
Crimson Clover as a Winter Cover Crop for Southern Vegetable Beds
An empty garden bed in winter can turn into a patch of weeds before you know it. Crimson clover is...
By Ethan Brooks on Nov 2
Forsythia Suits Dormant Hardwood Cuttings in North Carolina, but Timing and Care Shape Success
A few bare forsythia stems can turn into new shrubs without a trip to the garden center. That is why...
By Jasmine Hughes on Nov 2
This Texas Border Plant Keeps Squirrels Out of Your Central Texas Beds All Fall and Winter
Plant a fall bulb bed in Central Texas, and a squirrel may start digging before the soil settles. Daffodils get...
By Ella Brown T on Nov 2
Leaving your tomato cages and stakes out all winter carries blight spores straight into next year’s plants, so scrub them now
Those rusty tomato cages leaning against the fence held a whole summer of leaves, vines, and soil splashes. If your...
By Ethan Brooks on Nov 2