Every new season brings a rush of excitement to plant new seeds and prepare the soil. Retailers line their shelves with bright packaging that promises perfect blooms and massive vegetable harvests. You might find yourself tossing numerous gadgets and colorful bottles into your shopping cart. This enthusiasm frequently leads to cluttered storage sheds filled with …
Gardening
Watching a hummingbird zip up to a flower is a magical moment. These tiny birds have a massive appetite, needing to drink half their body weight in nectar every single day. By planting trees that provide this sweet treat, you can turn your yard into a bustling pit stop for these energetic visitors. The best …
Most gardeners trying to help bees are accidentally harming them. Before you plant another bee-friendly border or pick up another flat of flowering perennials from the garden center, there are nine plants worth knowing about (and one hidden danger hiding in plain sight that has nothing to do with the species itself). Bee populations across …
That cottage garden you’ve been tending for years? It may already be one of the most hazardous spaces in your yard. The plants most likely to send a child or a pet to the emergency room aren’t the exotic specimens or the ones marked with warning labels at the nursery. They’re the classics: the same …
That gorgeous tree shading your back patio might be writing you a bill that you can’t afford. Foundation damage caused by tree roots is one of the most expensive and least visible threats to a home, and most homeowners never see it coming until doors stop closing, basement walls crack, or a home inspector delivers …
The colorful, adaptable wildflower bee balm plants make a great addition to flower beds, cottage gardens, tall borders, and herb gardens. But what should you plant with it? The list below includes some of the best companion plants for bee balm, whether for benefits to either plant or simply for well-matched beauty in the garden. …
Planting a fresh lawn requires hard work and a lot of patience. You scatter tiny seeds across bare dirt and wait for green shoots to appear. Hungry birds often spot a free meal before any roots can take hold. Flocks of flying birds look for easy food sources during migration and nesting seasons. Freshly sown …
Does your storage shed look like something from a hoarder’s show? Are you constantly wasting precious time you could be using to enjoy your garden? If you need 10 minutes just to locate a tool, it’s time to declutter. No matter what you use your shed for (tools, greenhouse, etc.), learning how to organize your …
The arrival of Japanese beetles, those iridescent green-and-copper invaders that descend on yards every summer like an uninvited swarm, is not random. Japanese beetles are methodical. They locate their targets by scent, by color, and by the chemical signals released from their favorite plants, and if you’re growing any of the ten plants below, your …
Wildlife damage is more expensive than most gardeners realize. According to Gardening Know How, mice alone destroy countless spring bulbs each fall and winter, and most gardeners blame moles or squirrels, never solving the actual problem. Add deer browse and rabbit nibbling, and the average home garden loses $200 to $400 worth of plants and …