Sumac trees and shrubs are flowering plants in the Rhus genus, part of the Anacardiaceae family that also includes cashews and mangos. Roughly 35 species are native to North America, and they earn their place in the landscape with dense summer blooms, upright fruit clusters that appear in June and July, and reliable fall color. […]
Drought-tolerant lawn grasses survive extended dry periods by doing what other grasses cannot: keeping their roots alive when the top growth browns. In arid regions and places with water restrictions, that trait decides whether a lawn comes back green in fall or has to be replanted. Some species tolerate dry spells naturally, and improved cultivars
A groundhog, also called a woodchuck or whistle pig, can wreck a vegetable garden in a single night. The rodents graze seedlings down to the stem, strip bean and squash vines, and dig burrows that collapse under lawn mowers and twist ankles. Their chisel-like incisors cut through green and woody vegetation with the same ease
A backyard in full summer sun can turn into an unusable heat trap. Paved patios and dark decks absorb solar radiation all morning and release it for hours after the sun drops, which is why the air over a hot patio feels several degrees warmer than the surrounding lawn. Cooling a yard is not about
There are more than 100,000 species of wasps in the world, and almost none of them want anything to do with people. The ones that do, such as yellow jackets, paper wasps, and European hornets, are the reason most homeowners reach for a spray can in July. Before treating anything, it helps to know the
Yellow tomatoes bring a milder, less acidic flavor to the garden than red types, which makes them a favorite for snacking, salads, sandwiches, and homemade salsa. Cultivars such as ‘Yellow Brandywine’, ‘Lemon Boy’, ‘Basinga’, and ‘Sun Sugar’ prove that a tomato patch does not have to be monochrome. The color does practical work too, because
A flash of motion at a flower border can fool even experienced gardeners. What looks like a tiny hummingbird hovering over a bloom may be a large moth with the same feeding style. Hummingbird moths fly in daylight, hover while drinking nectar, and visit many of the same flowers as real hummingbirds. Learning to tell
A flower garden does not have to be strictly ornamental. Many blooms are edible, and the right seed selection gives you color in the beds and ingredients for the kitchen from the same plants. Edible flowers can garnish salads, flavor teas, decorate cakes, and fill ice cubes for summer drinks. Whether you are adding to
The maintenance budget of a property is set at planting time, and it compounds for years. Homeowners who swap high-effort beds for self-sufficient plants get back dozens of hours every season. The same discipline that drives construction equipment maintenance programs applies in the yard: schedule the recurring work, choose components that rarely fail, and cut
Every yard has a corner the sun rarely reaches: the strip beside a north wall, the ground under a mature canopy, or the pocket between the house and the fence. Gardeners often assume that corner must stay empty because fast-growing trees demand full sun. Plenty of shade-tolerant trees grow at a moderate to fast pace
