Simple ways to save money while you garden
Those beautiful zinnias that filled your garden with color all summer could provide next year’s flowers for free. But if you’re planning to save their seeds, there’s one mistake that could ruin your chances: waiting until a hard frost damages the flowers before collecting them. Zinnias are among the easiest annual flowers to grow from…
Before you pull those fading marigolds out of your garden this fall, take a closer look at their dried flower heads. Hidden inside those shriveled blooms could be dozens of seeds capable of producing another colorful display next spring, without spending another dollar at the garden center. Marigolds are among the easiest annual flowers for…
What if some of the flowers you planted this year could come back next spring without spending another dollar at the garden center? While most gardeners treat annual flowers as one-season investments, certain varieties have a surprising ability to return year after year. The secret is allowing them to complete their natural life cycle instead…
Your boxwoods may look perfectly healthy in October, but by February, those beautiful green shrubs could be covered in ugly brown and bronze patches. It’s a frustrating sight, especially when you’ve spent years growing a neatly trimmed hedge or invested money in landscaping around your home. The culprit is often winter burn, a common problem…
Your evergreen trees may look perfectly healthy in October, but what happens beneath the soil could determine whether they survive the winter without damage. While many gardeners focus on raking leaves, trimming shrubs, and preparing flower beds for freezing temperatures, one important fall gardening task often gets overlooked: watering evergreen trees and shrubs. Unlike deciduous…
If your fall gardening routine involves cutting everything back, raking up every leaf, and leaving your flower beds spotless, you might actually be doing more harm than good. While a tidy yard may look appealing, many of those seemingly messy plants and leaves serve an important purpose during the colder months. In fact, some of…
Your driveway might be perfectly clear of ice this winter, but the shrubs and flowers growing alongside it could be paying the price. Every time you spread rock salt or another deicing product, some of those chemicals can eventually reach nearby landscaping. By spring, you may notice brown evergreen needles, damaged leaves, or plants that…
Just because temperatures are dropping doesn’t mean your landscaping projects have to stop. In fact, fall can be one of the best times to plant shrubs, especially if you’re hoping to save money on end-of-season garden center sales. But there’s a catch: Planting shrubs before winter requires careful timing and proper preparation to give their…
That fresh mound of mulch around your tree might look like you’ve done everything right to protect it before winter, but it could actually be causing damage that costs hundreds or even thousands of dollars to fix. The practice is called volcano mulching, and it’s surprisingly common in residential neighborhoods, commercial landscapes, and even professionally…