In the Garden

A coyote in your backyard this fall means doing these 9 things before you ever turn and run

A coyote in your backyard this fall means doing these 9 things before you ever turn and run

You step outside with your morning coffee and spot a lean, gray-brown animal staring back at you from the edge of the garden. Coyotes now…

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 31, 2026

If your fig tree still has hard green fruit on it now, pinch the tips and next year’s crop comes in earlier

Ethan Brooks · Oct 31

Lavender Is Gorgeous and Fragrant, but Is It Really a Rat Deterrent for Your Yard?

John Miller CA · Oct 31

Why your fall-planted onion sets bolt and send up flower stalks before they ever bulb

Ethan Brooks · Oct 31

From the Garden

Growing notes from every corner of the plot.

Rake Smart Under Your California Oaks: Some Bumblebee Queens Overwinter in Leaf Litter

Rake Smart Under Your California Oaks: Some Bumblebee Queens Overwinter in Leaf Litter

Every fall, oak leaves pile up on California lawns, and most of us grab a rake without thinking twice. Some of that leaf litter may…

By John Miller CA · Oct 31

Your potted aloe turns mushy and brown at the base indoors this winter because the pot never drains

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 31

Fall peas flowering without pods? Check for frost, heat, water stress, and a row cover

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 31

Is your potted lavender sitting in soggy mix this winter? Check the pot’s drainage first

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 31

These 12 Common Houseplants Hide Toxic Sap That Sickens Curious Cats, Dogs and Toddlers

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 31

In Bloom

What's thriving right now.

How North Carolina Mums Get a Better Chance of Returning Next Fall

How North Carolina Mums Get a Better Chance of Returning Next Fall

By Jasmine Hughes

Turk’s Cap Can Give Passing Hummingbirds Another Place to Feed in Central Texas

Texas Gardening

Turk’s Cap Can Give Passing Hummingbirds Another Place to Feed in Central Texas

By Ella Brown T

Potted peppers you bring indoors before frost may survive winter, and some might even fruit

Potted peppers you bring indoors before frost may survive winter, and some might even fruit

By Ethan Brooks

Gardener's Selection

The guides worth your time — handpicked by our gardeners.

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When to Leave a Box Turtle in Your North Carolina Garden and When a Short Move Is Okay

When to Leave a Box Turtle in Your North Carolina Garden and When a Short Move Is Okay

By Jasmine Hughes

Missed the Big Fall Native Plant Sale? Here’s Where Florida Gardeners Still Shop

Florida Gardening

Missed the Big Fall Native Plant Sale? Here’s Where Florida Gardeners Still Shop

By Aria Moore F

What Catnip Can and Can’t Do Against Texas Rats and Roaches This Winter

Texas Gardening

What Catnip Can and Can’t Do Against Texas Rats and Roaches This Winter

By Ella Brown T

Plant These 7 Florida Natives Now and Your Yard Feeds Robins and Warblers All Winter

Florida Gardening

Plant These 7 Florida Natives Now and Your Yard Feeds Robins and Warblers All Winter

By Aria Moore F

Why Orchid Buds Drop Before Opening: Is Watering to Blame?

Plant of the Week

Why Orchid Buds Drop Before Opening: Is Watering to Blame?

You wait weeks for those little buds to swell, and then they shrivel and fall off before a single flower opens. Gardeners call this bud...

By Ethan Brooks · Oct 30, 2026

The Potting Shed

8 Florida Natives That Replace Your Boxwood Edging and Never Brown Out After a Cold Snap

Florida Gardening

8 Florida Natives That Replace Your Boxwood Edging and Never Brown Out After a Cold Snap

Why Your California Lime Tree Keeps Giving You a Handful of Fruit, and the One Change That Fixes It

Florida Gardening

Swap Your Florida Vinyl Fence Line for These 8 Native Shrubs That Never Warp in the Heat

Skip the Annual Impatiens: These 8 Florida Natives Keep Shady Beds Blooming All Winter

Florida Gardening

Skip the Annual Impatiens: These 8 Florida Natives Keep Shady Beds Blooming All Winter

These Everyday California Yard Habits Are Quietly Inviting Skunks to Dig Up Your Lawn Every Night

Could a Heater Vent Be Behind Your Christmas Cactus Dropping Its Buds?

Which North Carolina Trees You Should Prune This Winter and Which Ones to Leave Alone Until Spring

Which North Carolina Trees You Should Prune This Winter and Which Ones to Leave Alone Until Spring

Texas Gardening

Texas Bermuda Grass Fall Care: When to Fertilize, Mow, and Water Before Dormancy

Your amaryllis bulb sits leafy and bloomless every December because it never got its fall rest, and here’s how to give it one now

Your fall lettuce bolts and turns bitter after a warm November spell, and shade cloth saves the rest of the bed

Your fall lettuce bolts and turns bitter after a warm November spell, and shade cloth saves the rest of the bed

Can Your California Neighbor Make You Cut Back a Hedge That Sits Entirely on Your Side?

Potted Rosemary Gray and Brittle After a Cold Night? Check for Cold Injury

Should North Carolina Gardeners Still Plant Trees This Fall After Such a Long Drought?

Should North Carolina Gardeners Still Plant Trees This Fall After Such a Long Drought?

How To Adjust Your California Avocado Tree’s Watering as Fall Weather Changes

Texas Gardening

These White Perennials Come Back in Your Texas Yard Every Year Through Heat and Drought

Field Notes

What Those Curled, Silver-Streaked Leaves on Your California Lemon Tree Are Really Telling You This Fall

What Those Curled, Silver-Streaked Leaves on Your California Lemon Tree Are Really Telling You This Fall

Your lemon tree put out fresh fall growth, and now some of the new leaves are twisted, curled, or marked...

By John Miller CA on Oct 30

Overwintered lettuce in a cold frame wilts on sunny afternoons because you forgot to crack the lid

Overwintered lettuce in a cold frame wilts on sunny afternoons because you forgot to crack the lid

You walk out on a bright winter afternoon and find your lettuce flopped over like it gave up. A cold...

By Ethan Brooks on Oct 30

Why Christmas Cactus Buds Drop: Check Moisture and Changing Conditions

Why Christmas Cactus Buds Drop: Check Moisture and Changing Conditions

You spot tiny pink buds on your Christmas cactus, and then a few days later they are lying on the...

By Ethan Brooks on Oct 30

Multiflora Rose in North Carolina: A Potential Host of Rose Rosette Disease

Multiflora Rose in North Carolina: A Potential Host of Rose Rosette Disease

A thorny, arching shrub growing along fence lines and field edges in North Carolina may be more than a nuisance....

By Jasmine Hughes on Oct 30

Your Florida Hibiscus Needs This One Quick Step Before the First Chilly Night Hits

Florida Gardening

Your Florida Hibiscus Needs This One Quick Step Before the First Chilly Night Hits

Your hibiscus can be full of flowers one afternoon and facing a sharp temperature drop that night. Florida’s warm fall...

By Aria Moore F on Oct 30

Rosemary Near a California Home: A Plant to Reconsider in Fire Country

Rosemary Near a California Home: A Plant to Reconsider in Fire Country

Rosemary smells great, feeds the bees, and shrugs off dry summers, so it ends up planted right beside many California...

By John Miller CA on Oct 30