Composting turns kitchen scraps and yard waste into a soil amendment that gardeners call garden gold, but the bin is not a universal recycling bin. Diseased plants are the exception: a tomato vine covered in blight or a rose cane with black spot carries fungi, bacteria, and viruses that a backyard pile usually does not […]
Hydrangeas earn a place in nearly every garden, but most mophead types put on a single show and then sit quiet for the rest of the season. A smaller group of reblooming varieties keeps producing flowers from late spring to the first hard frost, which makes them valuable in cold climates where one late frost
Bright red toadstools, rounded puffballs, and odd jelly fungi appearing in a lawn look alarming, yet they usually signal healthy soil rather than a problem. Mushrooms are the fruiting bodies of fungi whose main body lives underground as a network of threadlike cells called mycelium. When conditions turn warm and moist, that network sends up
It is gut-wrenching when the almost-ready-to-harvest lettuce and tender tomatoes you have spent months tending are ravaged by rodents or butchered by bugs. Some garden pests are common but easy to control, or at least slow to cause major damage. Learning the worst offenders helps you identify an infestation early and put appropriate measures in
Repotting a spiny cactus looks like an invitation to get stuck, but with the right tools and a calm technique the job takes minutes and keeps the plant healthy for years. Cacti are slow-growing plants that prefer to be slightly potbound, which is why many owners leave them alone until the soil is exhausted. Every
Brown spots on hydrangea leaves are one of the most common complaints in home gardens. The blemishes are rarely fatal, but they make shrubs look bedraggled and can reduce flowering over time. Flowers can show spotting too, and buds that rot before they open point to a disease problem rather than a cosmetic one. Most
Thousands of wasp species live in the United States, and the vast majority are non-aggressive insects that earn their keep by hunting pests and pollinating flowers. Problems start when yellowjackets and a few territorial species set up nests under eaves, in ground holes, or inside wall voids where people walk and play. Prevention is easier
Neem oil has become a default tool for gardeners who want to control insects without synthetic chemistry. Pressed from the seeds of the neem tree, the oil works against a wide range of common pests while breaking down quickly in sunlight and rain. It is not a miracle cure, and it fails when used at
Scabiosa, the pincushion flower, builds its reputation on a long season of airy blooms that keep coming from early summer into fall. The buttercream-colored variety called Fata Morgana turned into the surprise star of one well-known summer garden, growing wildly and filling the border with soft cream petals on stems that need a helping hand
Vinegar earns its place in most households because it cleans, deodorizes, and removes mineral buildup. The same acidity that works when you clean a coffee maker with vinegar is what makes the liquid attractive as a weed killer, but on a lawn that strength cuts both ways. Vinegar is a non-selective herbicide, which means it
