If your bearded irises bloomed sparse and sad this past spring, or if the clump looks like a tangled mess…
Walk into any grocery store, hardware store, or garden center right now and you’ll hit a wall of mums. Rust,…
If you’ve walked past your hydrangea lately and thought “wait, did my blue mophead just turn into a lime popsicle,”…
If your lawn looks like it’s been through a war this summer — thin patches, bald spots where the dog…
You fed the fish Saturday morning and the water was clear-ish. By Wednesday it looks like you could stand a spoon up in it. Welcome to peak algae season, courtesy of the same heat wave that’s been wilting your tomatoes. It’s Not One Kind of Algae, It’s Two People say “algae” like it’s a single…
You watered this morning. You know you did. And yet by lunchtime your porch pots look like they haven’t seen a drop of water in a week, leaves drooping like they’ve given up on the whole photosynthesis thing. Before you dump more water on them (please don’t, we’ll get to that), let’s talk about what’s…
If you’ve got a crape myrtle in the yard, you’ve probably noticed strips of bark curling off the trunk right about now, mid-July, peak bloom season, sitting there looking like the tree is shedding its skin. First instinct for a lot of people is panic. Second instinct is to go Google “tree disease bark falling…
You water your tomatoes on Tuesday, feeling like a competent adult with a functioning garden. By Thursday, half the plant looks like it went through a wood chipper. Welcome to hornworm season. These things are basically the horror movie villains of the vegetable patch — silent, huge, and somehow invisible until you’re standing right on…
If your basil suddenly sprouted little white or purple flower spikes sometime in the last couple weeks, congratulations, you have officially entered bolting season. It happens to basically everyone’s basil in July. The heat spikes, the days are long, and your plant decides its life’s purpose is now reproduction instead of making pesto for you.…
You mow on Saturday, everything looks normal, and by Tuesday your lawn has sprouted a fairy ring of little tan umbrellas like it’s auditioning for a storybook. Welcome to mushroom season, courtesy of all that July rain followed by a heat wave. It’s annoying, it’s a little gross if you’ve got dogs or toddlers who…
