Complete Gardening

Plant of the Week

Copperheads Are Slipping Into North Carolina Stone Walls and Retaining Blocks This Fall, and These Gaps Give Them Away

Every fall, North Carolina homeowners spend more time stacking firewood, clearing garden beds, and poking around retaining walls without a second thought about what might...

By Jasmine Hughes · Sep 24, 2026

Field Notes

Your Potted Fig Tree Starts Stalling Out When the Container Is the Problem

The One Fall Cut North Carolina Butterfly Bush Needs Now or Next Year’s Blooms Stay Weak

A Texas Rain Lily That Can Brighten Beds After Fall Rains

Your Hostas Keep Looking Rough Because of 4 Easy-to-Miss Care Mistakes

From the Garden

The Native North Carolina Plants That Build the Cool, Leafy Hideouts Fireflies Need to Come Back

These 7 Florida Yard Problems Make Armadillos Start Digging There First

The Native Texas Plants Cardinals Actually Need in Fall More Than a Feeder

Tired of struggling with hydrangeas? These flowering shrubs give you the same wow with less fuss

Your fig tree makes easy new plants when you start cuttings before cool weather slows them down

In Bloom

Western kingbirds hunt grasshoppers in California yards – and an exposed perch may give them a better shot

Your clematis gives you free new vines when you root the healthy shoots now

The California Fruit Trees Worth Planting This Fall So They Root In Before Winter

Gardener's Selection

Your Hydrangeas Keep Struggling Because the Spot You Picked Sets Them Up to Fail

Your Geranium Leaves Turn Yellow When One Growing Condition Stays Off Too Long

Your Snake Plant Is Drooping for One of These 7 Common Reasons — Here’s How to Bring It Back

Your Hostas Keep Looking Thin and Torn Because of These 7 Easy-to-Miss Mistakes

Copperheads Are Slipping Into North Carolina Stone Walls and Retaining Blocks This Fall, and These Gaps Give Them Away

The Potting Shed

The Texas wildflower quietly returning to roadsides is finally earning a place in home gardens

Your Hummingbird Feeder Keeps Leaking Nectar, and That’s What Brings the Ants Running

Skip Wax Myrtle Along Your North Carolina Property Line and Plant This Native Screen That Stays Dense After Ice and Wind

Why a Mockingbird Keeps Singing Outside Your Florida Window After Dark

Why Smart Central Texas Gardeners Want Roadrunners Hunting Their Yard Every Day

7 Florida Plants That Keep Barn Owls Hunting Your Yard for Moles After Dark

Your Christmas Cactus Leaves Turn Red When One Growing Condition Stays Off Too Long

Most Florida butterfly gardens stay busy through fall only when these 7 host plants are there

California skunks may hunt lawn grubs, but motion lights offer only limited, temporary help

Florida gardeners get far better desert rose starts when they stop rooting cuttings like houseplants

Leave this California orb-weaver alone and it clears the mosquitoes gathering by your porch lights

Mushrooms Keep Popping Up Across Your Florida Lawn After Rain for a Reason

Western toads may eat some garden slugs, but persistent night lighting can disrupt their activity

Your Hydrangeas Set Next Spring’s Biggest Blooms With What You Do Right Now

Katydids Are Taking Over North Carolina Yards Right Now, and Your Shrubs Are Why

The Garden Almanac

Field Notes

Mexican Oregano on Your Central Texas Patio: Real Garden Benefits and an Honest Roach-Control Plan

Your Coneflowers Look Finished for the Year, but What You Do Next Sets Next Summer’s Bloom Show

Your Hummingbirds Stopped Showing Up Even With a Full Feeder — Here’s What Changed

Cut These Crape Myrtle Seed Pods Before Winter or You’ll Be Pulling Seedlings All Spring in North Carolina

Why California’s ember-zone rules now outrank HOA landscaping demands for some homeowners

Your Central Texas basil leaves turn black and limp fast once cool nights hit