If your basil plant suddenly looks like it’s trying to become a different species entirely — tall, sparse, with weird…
Walk out to the garden this week and your zucchini or yellow squash leaves might look like someone came through…
If your bearded irises bloomed less enthusiastically this spring than they did a couple years ago, or if the clump…
If your crepe myrtle looks like someone dumped a bucket of dark syrup over it, you’re not imagining things, and…
If your lavender bloomed its heart out in June and is now looking a little tired and gray-green, that’s not a sign of failure. That’s just lavender being lavender. But the window you’re in right now, right after the main bloom flush and before fall’s cool-down really kicks in, is the single best time all…
If your rose bushes suddenly look like lace doilies, you’re not imagining things and you’re not alone. Late July is peak Japanese beetle season across most of the country, and these metallic little jerks have a very specific taste in real estate: roses, grapevines, linden trees, and anything in the rose family gets hit hardest.…
If you’ve been diligently pinching suckers off your tomato plants all summer, congratulations — you’ve been throwing away free tomato plants. Every one of those little shoots you snap off has the genetic instructions to become a full, fruiting plant on its own. Late July is actually the sweet spot to start rooting them, because…
If your lawn suddenly looks like someone took a blowtorch to random circles of grass, and it happened almost overnight, you’re probably not dealing with drought stress or a dog problem. You’re dealing with brown patch, and late July is basically its Super Bowl. Warm days, muggy nights that never quite cool off, and grass…
You walk out after a good soaking rain expecting to admire your tomato plants, and instead you find half your ripening fruit looking like it lost a fight with a tiny knife. Splits, cracks, sometimes full-on bursts. It’s one of the most common complaints this time of year, and the good news is it’s not…
If your crepe myrtle looked gorgeous in June and now looks like it got hosed down with motor oil, you’re not imagining it. That black, sooty film coating the leaves and dripping onto your patio furniture below is one of the most common July complaints about these trees, and it’s almost always the same culprit:…
