Peach Tree Care
Having your own peach tree at home is an appealing thought. It’s a relatively fast-growing tree that usually starts producing fruit in its third year, so you can see results quite quickly –…
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Get all the latest insight into the world of plants, from experts.
How To Grow Pumpkins
There is a wide variety of fruits and vegetables you can grow with little effort in most places. Whatever the conditions of your soil, or the weather it is subjected to, there is…
How to Get Rid Of Japanese Beetles
If you’re a gardener you’ll know just how many pests can attack all your hard work, but there’s a good chance the one that worries you most is the notorious Japanese beetle. These…
How to get rid of moles in yard?
Getting your grass into top condition takes a lot of work, so the last thing you want is to wake up one morning, open the curtains and see the untidy mounds of earth…
Trees and Shrubs for Florida
Florida sits across two hardiness zones. The north, and indeed most of the state, is in gentle zone 9, where winter temperatures might reach 20 degrees, meaning 12 degrees Fahrenheit below freezing, but…
Getting Rid Of Wood Bees
Every gardener owes a big debt to bees. Bumblebees are some of the world’s most efficient pollinators, and many flowering plants would be in trouble without them. A healthy bee population is an…
Grafting Fruit Trees
For most non-experts, grafting is one of the strangest things gardeners do. After all if you want a new apple tree the easiest thing to do is just plant a seed and grow…
Growing Citrus Trees in Containers
Gardeners who live in colder areas and travel to the south are always impressed with the various citrus trees they see growing. Maybe it’s the heady perfume when they are in bloom, or…
Growing Apple Trees
Despite all the more exotic fruits around today, apples remain the top favorite with almost everyone. Their balance of sweet and sharp flavor, combined with great portability is the reason why. There is…
A Garden of Native Trees and Shrubs
There was a time when the more exotic and rarer the plants in your garden were, the better your garden was. But with a growing awareness of the natural environment, that isn’t true…
Where Does Pepper Come From?
Pepper is the most common spice in the world. In fact it’s so common that even people who insist they don’t like spicy food still use it regularly. Almost every table in the…
How to Kill a Tree
Only some very strange people actually want to kill a tree, but sometimes a situation occurs where a particular tree just has to go. Maybe it wasn’t your fault – some previous owner…
How To Lay Sod?
How to Lay Sod It is not difficult to grow a lawn from seed, but it takes time and a little work, so most gardeners opt for sod when they want to put…
How To Get Rid Of Crickets
Crickets are part of the intricate tapestry that makes up a beautiful summer evening. Sitting in the yard in your favorite chair, sipping a drink as you watch the sun drop towards the…
Types of Leaves
Fall is approaching, and soon many of the trees will be putting on a bold, colorful display before settling into their winter hibernation. In the process a lot of them will dump leaves…
How To Get Rid Of Aphids
If there’s one class of insect that bothers gardeners more than any other, it has to be aphids. These tiny pests can be found worldwide and they are to plants what mosquitoes are…
How To Kill Poison Ivy
Poison Ivy was here when the first settlers arrived, but it with suburban development it has become much more wide-spread, since it lives naturally at the edges of woodlands, just where we…
Trees and Shrubs for Southern California
With the sudden arrival of unexpected rain in much of California, the four-year drought may be coming to an end, but for gardeners in most of the state, dryness is a natural state…
How To Grow A Pineapple
The pineapple is one of those fruits that splits opinions, with some loving them and some loathing them. Often the dislike comes from childhood memories of very sharp, sour fruits that many children…
Spectacular Trees for Fall
Although summer is still going strong, it is not too soon to start thinking about the coming seasons – the wise gardener plans ahead! So with fall rapidly approaching this is a great…
A Woodland Garden of Flowering Shrubs
As we sit in our gardens enjoying the summer, now is a good time to cast our minds forward to next year. There is an old saying that the gardening year starts in…
Growing Peach Trees
Peaches are everyone’s favorite fruit, so imagine the pleasure of bringing your own harvest into your home, to share with your family and friends, to eat fresh, bake in pies or preserve. One…
How to Create a Windbreak
A garden is a mental break for many of us – a place where we can relax and be sheltered from the stresses of daily life. The garden itself needs shelter too –…
Creative Hedges
Hedges have a lot to offer in the garden. They give privacy and protection from the eyes of neighbors or passers-by. They create shelter from wind and even sun. They are wonderful sound-barriers…
The Ins and Outs of Tree Roots
Trees of course have roots to collect water and nutrients for the tree to grow. In the garden, tree roots can become a problem if proper consideration is not given to them when…
All About Bamboo Plants
Bamboo is well-known for its beauty in the garden, making an exotic and interesting screening plant, a garden specimen or a potted plant that adds lots of height to limited spaces. What exactly…
How To Get Rid Of Crabgrass?
Crabgrass is a remarkable plant. It’s tough and adaptable. A single flower can produce 150,000 seeds in a year, and spread them widely. This is great news for farmers; loaded with nutrients, hay…
How To Get Rid Of Groundhogs?
If you’ve seen the movie Groundhog Day you probably have a bit of a soft spot for Bill Murray’s furry co-star. That’s understandable – groundhogs, which you might know as woodchucks or whistlepigs…
Gardenia Care
The scent of Gardenias in the still air of a summer evening is a wonderful thing. Not only is it a beautiful experience in its own right, but it evokes the Old South,…
The Amazing Monkey Puzzle Tree
“It would puzzle a monkey to climb that”, said the Englishman who saw this tree for the first time in a friend’s garden in Cornwall around the middle of the 19th century. The…
What is Chlorophyll?
It is pretty common these days to come across everything from toothpaste to dietary supplements that contain chlorophyll. So what is these weird stuff, and should we care? Chlorophyll is a large molecule…
What Is Urea?
Urea is a form of nitrogen that is made in the kidneys to excrete excess nitrogen, mostly from eating protein, which cannot be stored in the body. It is also manufactured on a…
The Mosquito Plant
Mosquitos can ruin a beautiful summer. Just when the weather gets beautiful and you are ready to go with the barbeque, out come the mosquitos buzzing around and driving you crazy – and…
Getting Rid Of Poison Ivy
When you’ve put a lot of effort into getting your garden looking just the way you want, any weed is an unwelcome guest. Poison ivy goes well beyond that, though – it’s a…
How To Grow Strawberries
Of all the berry fruits, strawberries are certainly the most popular and the most versatile. Fresh, with cream, in shortcake, or in jams and preserves, they have so many uses and we never…
Trees For Cold States
Those who live in colder parts of the country may look in envy at the flowering trees and exotic shrubs in the gardens of their southern neighbors, but they do have a good…
Getting Rid Of Carpenter Ants
There are few things as satisfying as a well-tended and cared for garden. Maintaining your outdoor spaces can be a joy, not just for you but also for the wildlife it brings to…
Tree Stump Removal
Sometimes it’s time for your garden to say goodbye to a large old tree. Maybe you want a new look that it just won’t fit in to, or perhaps it’s become diseased and…
Skunk Repellent
Skunks are famous for their smelly spray. It’s hard to describe skunk odor to someone who’s never experienced it; anyone who has experienced it doesn’t need it explained, because it’s not something you’ll…
Pruning Leyland Cypress Trees
Leyland cypress trees are great if you want a fast-growing screen. They can be shaped into an excellent hedge, or used to protect your property from the wind or curious eyes. They also…
Pruning Roses
Roses have been a favorite with gardeners for millennia – archaeologists know that the Babylonians were growing ornamental roses 4,000 years ago, and many believe the tradition is even older than that. Roses…
Getting Rid Of Chipmunks
Chipmunks are cute little critters – in small doses. They can quickly become a real pest in your home and garden, though. A few chipmunks living in and around your property can cause…
Getting Rid Of Raccoons
Raccoons are amusing animals, but the joke can wear a bit thin when they start making regular nocturnal visits to your property. Raccoons are smart and ingenious, and not shy about taking advantage…
All About The Monkey Puzzle Tree
An ancient and curious tree, the Chilean Pine has been fascinating people for generations. Of course you might be wondering what a Chilean Pine is – it’s best known by the name Monkey…
Getting Rid Of Wasps
The world’s bee population continues to decline and many gardeners are trying to increase bee-friendly plantings on their properties, but it seems like wasps are positively flourishing. There’s no doubt that wasps play…
Getting Rid Of Squirrels
Squirrels can be cute, but they can also be a nuisance. Watching them race through the branches of an old tree is always a charming sight – finding a nest in your loft…
How To Get Rid Of Snakes
Most snakes aren’t venomous, but quite a few are – there are some really nasty species in the USA. Who wants to share their home with a rattlesnake? Even non-venomous snakes can be…
Growing Trees and Shrubs on Walls
There are many beautiful trees and shrubs that we are tempted to grow in our gardens, but with the smaller gardens that are becoming more normal, the space can quickly be filled and…
Choosing Shrubs for All-year Interest
If trees are the bones of a garden, then shrubs are the muscles. These bushy plants, evergreen or deciduous, ground-hugging or over our heads, provide the bulk and form that gives a garden…
Trees and Shrubs For Hot States
With drought in the headlines in California, this seems like a good time to look at trees and shrubs that will thrive in hotter, drier areas of the country. If you garden in…