Hoya australis is a climbing houseplant known for oval leaves, twisting vines, and clusters of sweet-smelling white flowers. Native to Australia, it belongs to the dogbane family Apocynaceae and goes by the common names waxvine, porcelain flower, honey plant, and common waxflower. The species is less common than hoya carnosa, but online retailers and specialty […]
Skunks show up in a yard for one reason: food. Grubs, beetles, fallen fruit, pet food, and open trash all qualify, and a skunk with a reliable meal returns night after night. The digging that follows, cone-shaped holes punched in the turf and sod rolled back at the edges, is the visible damage; the musk
Petunias are the workhorse of summer flower beds: reliable color, easy care, and a long bloom season. They are also prone to a midsummer crisis when heat, drought, and neglect pile up, leaving a once-full plant brown, leggy, and finished. Most of these plants can come back, and the fixes are simple enough that the
Summer brings the garden to its fullest, and that lush growth makes the pruners look tempting. For a group of popular shrubs, that timing is exactly wrong: cutting them back in summer removes the wood that already carries next spring’s flower buds, so the effort buys fewer blooms or none at all. The same discipline
Hanging baskets fail in summer for one reason more than any other: they dry out. Plants in baskets sit exposed to sun and wind on every side, so their roots lose moisture far faster than plants in garden beds. The fix is not a secret watering schedule; it is understanding how much water a suspended
Skunks dig up lawns in search of beetle grubs, and a frightened animal can spray pets, children, or anyone who gets too close. Homeowners reach for whatever repellent is on the shelf, and mothballs are a common guess. Pest control professionals are unanimous on the answer: mothballs do not deter skunks, and using them outdoors
Most gardeners plan vegetables and flowers and overlook nuts, usually because nut trees need more space and patience than a tomato patch. The payoff is different in kind: a mature tree produces for decades, shades a yard, and turns part of the landscape into a food source. Depending on your region, the options run from
The timing of a herb harvest decides more of the final flavor than most gardeners expect. Leaves picked at the wrong hour can taste flat, while the same plant cut a few hours earlier fills a dish with aroma. The general rule is simple: harvest in the morning, after the dew has dried, before the
Fire pits and wood stoves produce a surprising amount of residue: a household that burns three cords of firewood each season collects roughly 60 to 90 pounds of ash, and most of it ends up in the trash. Ash from clean, well-burned wood carries calcium, potassium, phosphorus, and magnesium in plant-available forms, and its texture
Every gardener eventually faces the same trade-off: pests damage plants, but broad chemical sprays can also harm the pollinators and soil life that keep a garden productive. Companion planting offers a middle path. You place plants known for their pest-repelling scent around the beds you want to protect, and the fragrance does the work without
