plant maintenance

Should You Cut Back Perennials That Flop After Heavy Rain?

July 31, 2026 by Brandon Marcus Leave a Comment

One pounding rainstorm can turn a picture-perfect flower bed into what looks like a botanical traffic accident. Tall stems lean sideways, blooms rest on the ground, and suddenly those carefully planned borders resemble a pile of spilled laundry. The temptation to grab the pruners and start cutting everything down feels almost impossible to resist. That…

How to Keep Your Garden Alive During Vacation Season

June 4, 2026 by Brandon Marcus Leave a Comment

Vacation season brings excitement, suitcase chaos, and one big worry for plant lovers: what happens to the garden while everything is packed and quiet? Hot weather, dry soil, and unattended plants can turn a vibrant space into a stressed-out patch in just a few days. A little planning changes everything and keeps plants steady while…

5 Maintenance Habits That Keep Growth Consistent

May 20, 2026 by Brandon Marcus Leave a Comment

A successful garden never happens by accident. Tomatoes do not suddenly swell into juicy beauties because the weather felt generous for a week, and flower beds do not explode with color simply because a seed packet made big promises. Consistent growth comes from small maintenance habits that gardeners repeat almost without thinking, like morning coffee…

The Hidden Causes of Curling Leaves and How to Stop Them

April 1, 2026 by Brandon Marcus Leave a Comment

A plant never curls its leaves for no reason. That twist, that fold, that tight little roll signals a clear message: something feels off, and it needs attention now. Healthy plants stretch outward, soak up light, and show off smooth, open leaves that signal strength. When those leaves start curling, shrinking, or warping, they shift…

How To Get Free Seeds From The Government by Amanda Blankenship Seeds might seem like a small expense, but any seasoned…
Should I Use Enviro Ice On My Plants? by Kathryn Vercillo Every week, I receive food from Hungryroot. It's a great…
From Trash to Treasure: Transform Shredded Paper Into Garden Gold by Amanda Blankenship Should you use shredded paper as garden mulch? It might…
What Happens to Plants If You Use Enviro Ice on Them? by Amanda Blankenship About a year ago, I wrote our first article about…

Snakes in the Garden Aren’t Always Bad — Here’s When You Should Be Concerned

A snake sliding through the garden can turn a peaceful morning of tomato picking into a full-blown staring contest. But before grabbing a shovel or sprinting for the shed, take a breath: many snakes provide useful pest control by eating mice, voles, insects, frogs, and other small animals. In fact, some gardeners have a perfectly…

His HOA Approved His Front-Yard Food Forest — Then a New Board Fined Him $750

A front yard usually comes with an unspoken suburban assignment: grass, a few shrubs, maybe a tree that behaves itself. Michael Sherman of Chino, California, had a different idea, turning his lawn into a productive food forest filled with passionfruit, radishes, calendulas, sunflowers, aloe vera, Swiss chard and banana trees. His HOA initially approved the…

6 Ways to Protect Young Trees From String-Trimmer Damage

A string trimmer can turn a tidy lawn into a masterpiece, but that same spinning line can deliver a surprisingly nasty wallop to a young tree. One careless pass around a thin trunk can strip bark, expose living tissue, and create an injury that may cause problems long after the grass has grown back. Protecting…

7 Plants You Should Think Twice About Touching With Bare Hands

Gardening usually involves getting a little dirt under the fingernails, but some plants can make that hands-on approach a genuinely bad idea. Certain species can sting instantly, trigger an itchy rash hours later, or leave skin dangerously sensitive to sunlight. A pair of gloves can turn a questionable gardening decision into a very uneventful afternoon….