Simple ways to save money while you garden
If you’ve ever tasted spinach straight from the garden on a chilly fall morning, you might have noticed something surprising: the leaves can taste sweeter and less bitter than the spinach you harvested during warmer weather. That isn’t just your imagination. Cooler temperatures can actually change the chemistry inside certain vegetables, creating flavors that are…
Your summer tomatoes are finished, the cucumber vines are turning brown, and the garden beds that kept you busy all summer are starting to look empty. But before you pack away your gardening tools, there’s one inexpensive crop that can keep fresh food coming well into autumn. Lettuce thrives in cooler weather, and with the…
Your summer vegetable garden may be winding down, but that doesn’t mean you’ve missed your last opportunity to grow something fresh. While tomatoes and peppers need months of warm weather, certain radishes can go from seed to harvest in just three or four weeks. That makes them an excellent option for gardeners hoping to squeeze…
Your summer container gardens probably looked beautiful a few months ago, but by October, those once-colorful petunias, begonias, and other warm-weather flowers may be looking tired. Fortunately, you don’t have to pack away your planters or spend a fortune replacing everything. With a few strategic changes, those same pots can provide beautiful color throughout fall…
Those gorgeous pots of orange, yellow, and burgundy chrysanthemums seem to appear everywhere once fall arrives. They’re an easy way to brighten a porch or garden after summer flowers begin fading, but there’s one frustrating problem many gardeners encounter: their mums look beautiful for a few weeks, then disappear for good. If you’ve purchased new…
You spent spring planting new shrubs, summer keeping them watered, and fall making sure they’re ready for colder weather. Then, one winter morning, you look outside and discover that deer have eaten half the branches off your favorite plants. Unfortunately, winter browsing can undo months or even years of gardening work in a surprisingly short…
When summer flowers start fading and temperatures drop, many gardeners assume their colorful displays are finished until spring. However, pansies thrive in cooler conditions, making them one of the best options for keeping flower beds, porch containers, and window boxes looking cheerful through fall and even winter. The trick is knowing when to plant them…
You might assume that freezing temperatures are the biggest threat to young trees during winter, but surprisingly, sunshine can cause serious damage, too. A bright winter afternoon followed by a freezing night can create conditions that split bark, injure living tissue, and leave trees vulnerable to disease. If you’ve recently planted a maple, fruit tree,…
Your roses may be producing their final flowers of the season, but what you do in the garden this fall could determine how well they perform next spring. Many gardeners assume that cutting everything back, adding fertilizer, and tidying up flower beds will give their roses a head start. Unfortunately, some of those well-intentioned chores…