The moment the temperatures drop and the first frost settles, rodents across your yard seem to hold an annual strategy meeting about which of your tree trunks they’re going to gnaw on next. It’s almost as if they wait all year for winter to arrive so they can treat your landscape like an all-you-can-eat bark…
winter
Why Ignoring Your Fountain Could Cost You Hundreds This Winter
If you’ve ever strolled past your backyard fountain in December and thought, “Eh, it’ll be fine until spring,” brace yourself—because that innocent-looking decorative feature might be plotting financial chaos. A fountain that runs flawlessly all summer can turn into a cracked, leaking, wallet-draining disaster once temperatures drop. Winter has a way of sneaking up on…
The Garden Fence Test: How to Tell If Yours Will Survive the Snow
Snowstorms don’t politely ask whether your fence is emotionally or structurally prepared—they just arrive, dump a blinding wall of white across your yard, and dare your fence to stay standing. One morning you’re sipping coffee, admiring the cozy winter scene, and the next you’re staring at a sad, sideways panel that looks like it lost…
The Winter Vegetable Garden Hack That Southern Gardeners Swear By
The secret is out: Southern gardeners have a winter trick that feels almost like cheating, and once you learn it, you’ll never look at cold-season growing the same way again. While the rest of the country is scraping frost off windshields and giving their garden beds a final goodbye, Southerners are quietly coaxing vibrant greens,…
Grow This Indoors and You’ll Have Fresh Herbs All Winter
There’s something magical about snipping a handful of fresh herbs when everything outside is frozen solid and aggressively unfriendly. While your neighbors are staring sadly at their barren gardens and scraping frost off windshields, you could be inside plucking fragrant leaves like you live in a tiny indoor Mediterranean paradise. Indoor herb growing isn’t just…
Design a Winter Garden That Looks Just as Good Without Flowers
Winter can feel like a sad, gray pause in the garden calendar, but it doesn’t have to be. A well-designed winter garden can be a visual feast without a single bloom in sight. Texture, color, and structure take center stage, transforming the outdoors into a captivating space even when flowers are long gone. With the…
Your Irrigation System Needs One Thing Before It Freezes Solid
Winter is coming. And if you have an irrigation system, it’s not just a Game of Thrones metaphor—it’s a reality check that can make or break your spring garden. Water left inside pipes when temperatures drop can freeze, expand, and turn your expensive irrigation setup into a burst pipe disaster. The scary part? Many homeowners…
The Right Way to Seal and Insulate Your Compost Pile for Winter
You know that moment when the air gets cold enough that your breath becomes visible and suddenly your backyard feels like it belongs to someone far hardier than you? That’s when most people abandon their compost pile, whisper “good luck,” and hope nature figures it out. But winter composting doesn’t have to be a survival…
How to Wrap Shrubs Like a Pro and Keep Them Safe from Frost
Every fall, gardeners are sure to feel that first icy bite in the air and immediately panic about their plants like they’re beloved pets they forgot outside. Shrubs may look tough, standing there like leafy little warriors, but frost can take them out faster than you can say “why does winter hate my landscaping?” The…
Plant Shrubs Now to Lock in Moisture Before Winter
There’s a moment every fall when the air snaps colder, the leaves start tumbling like nature’s confetti, and gardeners everywhere feel that familiar seasonal shift—half excitement, half panic. It’s the time when summer’s leftover projects either get done or get tossed onto the “next year” list with a hopeful shrug. But here’s the secret veteran…