Norway spruce (Picea abies) is the tall coniferous evergreen behind many town and city holiday displays, and it remains one of the most widely planted landscape trees in North America. Mature specimens commonly reach 50 to 75 feet, with exceptional trees topping out near 100 feet. Young trees carry thin bark that matures into a […]
Cats wander into yards out of curiosity, mating instincts, or the search for food and shelter, and a single determined visitor can dig up seedlings, spray plants, or turn a flower bed into a litter box. You can discourage these visits without harming the animal by combining odor deterrents, physical barriers, water devices, and sound-based
Cool-weather annuals can be planted in April and enjoyed right away, and many of them keep blooming for months with almost no attention. Some, like petunias and sweet peas, want full sun, while begonias and ranunculus handle partial shade. Native perennials such as creeping phlox return every spring on their own, and calendula self-sows year
The pawpaw tree (Asimina triloba) is a deciduous fruit tree native to the eastern United States, known for large fruits that taste like a blend of banana, mango, and vanilla custard. Because the fruit spoils within days of harvest, it almost never reaches grocery stores, so home gardeners are the main audience for this unusual
Raised garden beds deliver better drainage, warmer soil in spring, and far less bending than a traditional in-ground plot, and they do not have to cost much. Homeowners have turned cinder blocks, cedar boards, pallets, and galvanized stock tanks into productive beds for well under $100, and the design choices range from simple soil mounds
Bokashi composting turns kitchen scraps into soil-building material without a backyard pile, which makes it a practical option for apartment dwellers and anyone with limited outdoor space. The method relies on anaerobic fermentation inside a sealed bucket rather than the aerobic decomposition used in conventional compost bins. Meat, dairy, cooked food, and citrus, all of
Strawberries are one of the easiest fruits to grow, and nothing beats a warm, ripe berry picked straight from the plant. The plants do well in garden beds, vertical planters, and hanging baskets when they get nutrient-rich soil, full sun, and a steady supply of water. Wilting changes that picture quickly. A drooping plant is
August feels like the end of the gardening season, but for the construction industry it is a month of two meanings for the word plant. Homeowners and landscapers set perennials in the ground for fall color, while contractors and material producers keep construction plant running through the busiest weeks of the paving season. On the
Sunflowers are one of the fastest ways to add height, color, and structure to a garden bed, and they are forgiving enough for first-time growers. A single stem can climb past 15 feet, and the flower heads turn to follow the sun before settling into a fixed eastward position at maturity. Because the plants grow
The pencil cactus (Euphorbia tirucalli) is a succulent shrub from the semi-arid tropics that looks nothing like a cactus despite its common name. Its stems are smooth, spineless, and pencil-thin, which is exactly how it got its name: young growth is bright green, while older wood turns brown and barky. In the wild it reaches
