Outdoors Gardening

Named for Russian Princess Anna Pavlovna, Royal Empress Trees are kind of a miracle. They grow at a rate unmatched by any other tree and don’t care a lick what kind of soil they’re in. Some classify them as exotic invasive plants. Others are awed by their unique beauty and grand presence. I’ll let you decide.

Many people understandably want to import plants from other states and climates. However, you may notice that growing non-native plants doesn’t always go as planned, and it can be frustrating. That said, you can’t deny that growing native plants is typically worth every effort.

There’s something extremely satisfying about tending to a vegetable garden and growing your own food. Whether planting leafy greens, juicy tomatoes, or crunchy broccoli, it’s also a boon to your health. Mulch helps protect plants from the elements, among other benefits, but what is the best mulch for vegetable gardens?

One of the best ways to soothe the unbearable allergic reaction associated with poison ivy is to apply calamine lotion. This lotion is derived from the calamine mineral. It is pink in color and is one of the most popular lotions to treat itching associated with ailments like chicken pox, mosquito bites, and even sunburn.

Pea gravel is commonly used for walkways, driveways, and as filler between stone pavers around the home. It consists of small, rounded stones and is commonly used for high-traffic areas due to its smooth finish. However, since the gravel is loose, people often need to know how to stabilize pea gravel.

A plant is nothing without healthy roots, and it tells you more about a plant’s health than anything else. Plants are susceptible to root rot, and this can happen due to everything from overwatering to fungi. Rotten roots look brown instead of green and they feel soft.

Orchids are some of the most beautiful and magical blooming plants in the world. They thrive in seemingly unbelievable conditions, often enjoying the struggle to stay alive. There are thousands of varieties of orchids. They come in all sorts of shapes, sizes, and every imaginable color combination. 

Trees are the highlights of many yards. They’re big, beautiful, and offer a yard feature that you can plan your landscaping around. However, trees aren’t always wanted.

Spring is the most important time to plant most flowers. Not all flowers will thrive and grow if you plant them in spring, however, so it’s important to choose the right ones. What are the best flowers to plant in spring?

A drought is a nightmare for homeowners and communities, especially when they aren’t prepared. Droughts can disrupt the ecosystem, harm animals, and kill your garden and lawn that you worked hard to grow. Understandably, many homeowners struggle with how to prepare for a drought.

Winter, for those who live in colder climates, is usually a time to give your garden and outdoor spaces a rest. Most plants either disappear under the earth or lay fairly dormant for the winter. But just because your plants aren’t doing much in the winter, doesn’t mean they don’t need attention now and then.

It’s no secret that many of the most annoying bugs are drawn to light. Bug zappers emit light that can attract such bugs, and that’s part of why they’re so effective. However, you must keep that in mind when finding a location for your bug zapper, or it may backfire. 

While many variables affect when you should stop mowing your lawn for the year, there are some rules of thumb you can follow. Generally, you should stop mowing your lawn once the weather consistently dips below 45 degrees. A week of temperatures below 40 degrees almost guarantees you are done mowing for the year.

A riding lawn mower makes cutting your lawn a breeze because it gets the job done quickly and easily. Getting the most out of your Craftsman Riding Mower is essential, but the blade may leave bare patches if the mower deck is too low. Adjusting the mower deck’s height may take a bit of time, but the result should be worth the effort.

you want to make your lawnmower even more versatile and hard-working, mounting a ball hitch can be a great idea. However, before you begin, you need to know how to install it.

Working the land is something that must be done, to maintain properties. When it comes to larger 1 acre + properties, you can’t always take care of it, with just a push mower, by yourself. Landscaping companies charge different prices. So, we have found the average price, and cost, to cut 1 acre of grass.

Having live plants around your home can not only be beautiful to look at, but they can help improve your air quality as well. Choosing the right pot for your plant is essential. Something too small can inadvertently cram your plant into a tight living space, which can stunt its growth. But, is there any danger in choosing a pot that is too big for the plant?

One of the best vegetables to plant in October is garlic. Garlic loves to begin its growth cycle in cool soil, which is why so many people choose to start it in October. It also thrives when temperatures are below 40 degrees for prolonged periods. These conditions all help it grow garlic you can harvest in late spring.

Winterizing your lawncare equipment seems like a fool’s errand at times, but believe me, it’s something you should do. It’s what makes sure that you will be able to use your sprinklers once summer comes around. Like with all chores, there’s a right time and a wrong time to start winterizing your system. But, when’s ideal?

One classic way to use up fruit from your garden, especially berries, is to make a sorbet. Making sorbet from scratch might sound intimidating if you aren’t a chef, but the truth is, it’s one of the easiest desserts to make.

Your riding mower needs to have its blades maintained to keep them working well. When your riding lawn mower’s blade wear out, you can easily change them by lifting the lawn mower up, removing the mounting nut and installing new blades. 

Whether it be seed trays and squirrel baffles or basic maintenance, it’s easy to keep pests away from bird feeders. Through trial and error, we found the best ways to protect bird feeders from pests, such as:

It can be quite difficult to remove skunk odor from outdoor furniture, especially if it’s upholstered. It can be an unpleasant process, but you can clean outdoor furniture that’s been sprayed by a skunk with some household items. All it takes is some dish soap, baking soda, and vinegar.

When it comes to filler flowers, the one that everyone knows is baby’s breath. This pillow-like white clustering flower plant is found in all sorts of bouquets. You can even fill a vase with just baby’s breath for a cloud-like and elegant look. Baby’s breath is cheap to buy, but even cheaper to grow.

If you live anywhere with four seasons, you know that it doesn’t quite feel like autumn until you’ve had a nourishing warm bowl of butternut squash soup. While soup is a popular way to utilize this squash, it certainly isn’t the only way.

Perennials typically spread because of rhizomes, and they can also spread when seeds scatter. Rhizomes are stems that grow horizontally in the soil, and many people mistake them for roots. Because they grow horizontally, you may see more of the same plant pop up beside the original perennial you planted. 

If you live somewhere with mild winters, then a palm tree is a great plant to place near your front door. While there are many types of palm trees you can choose from, Areca palms are a great and safe option. They are one of the best and easiest palm tree species to grow.

Pollinator gardens have risen in popularity over the last several years. Homeowners, gardeners, and conservationists alike have realized how important it is to nurture an ecosystem with pollinators. Understandably, many homeowners struggle with what to put in a pollinator garden.

If you're a plant-lover, then you can relate to the pain of watching your favorite plants wither away when temperatures plummet. That doesn’t need to be the case, however, as many plants can survive and even thrive throughout cold weather. So, what are some of the best plants that survive winter?

One of the best and most popular uses for coconut coir in a garden is to improve soil aeration. If you live somewhere with dense or clay-like soil that is easily compacted, then coconut coir can make your soil conditions more favorable.

Photographs and memes of bright sunflowers facing each other have long circulated the internet and been the subject of many chain emails. The memes suggest that when the weather is cloudy or, overcast sunflowers will turn to face one another. Sunflowers can feed off each other’s energy by facing each other, or so the belief and widely circulated memes tout. But is this true?

One of the most effective and easiest ways to increase the number of hummingbirds in your yard this summer is to install a hummingbird feeder. Hummingbird feeders are available in many shapes and sizes and usually come with some sugary nectar that the hummingbirds love.

The first step to reviving your lawn after an overnight frost involves patience. As soon as you see glistening ice crystals on the blades of your beautiful grass, you may feel the urge to address the problem immediately. 

One great way to deter skunks from entering and spraying in your yard is to install outdoor motion sensor lights. Skunks are nocturnal animals, which means they do most of their moving around at night. Motion-sensor outdoor lighting tends to startle nocturnal animals and usually makes them want to head elsewhere.

Everyone wants a lawn that looks beautiful. It instantly increases the curb appeal. A well-manicured lawn guarantees that you’re not the only yard on the block that looks bad. While no one wants their house to be an eyesore, there is a learning curve to maintaining your grass seed while you attempt to eliminate bald spots on your lawn.

The thought of a garden having to go a week without water is enough to give any gardener anxiety. However, you can’t let your worries about your garden keep you from taking the vacation that you have needed for a while. So, can you go a week without watering your garden?

As a fan of retrowave music, I am a palm tree fan by default. I love palm trees. As in, I actually want to move to California as a result of them having palm trees. I wish I was joking, but I’m not. With that said, it only became recently clear to me how many different types of palm trees there are out there. The palm family is way larger than album art suggests!

If your yard doesn’t naturally grow grass, you may have to turn to grass seed to revitalize your property. Having healthy grass around your property will increase your home’s value and make your space seem more inviting, too. However, like most things in this world, it comes with a cost.

When I first got into botany, I was shocked at how many flowers are purple. It seems like purple is just the go-to color for most wildflowers, not to mention many herbs that we take for granted. Are you a fan of the color purple? Well, we have a bunch of types of purple flowers you can look at in this article.

When you imagine a back yard, the first image that comes to mind is likely a sprawling outdoor space with lush green grass. While many back yards look like this, sometimes grass simply isn’t a possibility. Arid climates, for example, make it difficult and expensive to grow grass. Some soil does not allow for it as well. You might even live in an urban area where your “yard” doesn’t even have soil at all. While at first this might seem less than ideal, there are lots of amazing ways you can make a back yard beautiful without using grass.

Ticks are attracted to debris, dense grass, trees, heat, and moisture. Yards with tall trees and grass are most likely to have ticks, even if you can’t see them. The Midwest and West Coast parts of the country are especially prone to tick problems.

Peppermint is the king of mint. It is the most widely used, and also the most famous mint variety. It’s found in tea, candy, and even cosmetics. Peppermint has a very high menthol content. Menthol has great natural cooling properties.

When cultivating and caring for your garden, it can sometimes seem overwhelming. Every flower, every plant you choose needs different things to thrive. Shade, sun, soil, and how frequently you water are all things to consider when creating a backyard oasis. Perennials are a great way to fill your garden with color and beauty.

It’s no secret that butterflies are highly beneficial to any garden. They can help contribute to a healthy garden ecosystem, and they are great to look at. Luckily, there are many easy ways to attract butterflies to your garden.

If one thing is for sure, it’s that the weather is never certain. Just because it’s springtime doesn’t mean that you should start watering your yard. Use this as a guide to determine the best time to turn on your sprinkler system. 

One of the most popular, resilient, and fastest-growing hedge plants is the English laurel. What makes English laurel such a popular choice is its size and growth rate. This plant can tower over your head, and grow three feet in a single year. This makes it ideal for those who want privacy fast.

You can boost the value of your property if you give the woods behind your house a makeover. Not only will it make the woods behind your house look better, but it can open the door to new opportunities. It only takes a few simple steps, such as:

Incorporating wood chips into your garden can be beneficial by increasing nutrients in the soil over time. Wood chip garden mulch is organic, so it slowly breaks down, typically between three to six months. However, if you want to compost your wood chips quickly, you will need to add nitrogen to the mix.

Many things are placed on our property that we need but aren’t exactly the best things to see every day. Electrical boxes are one of those things that can be unsightly when we want to enjoy our front yards. However, many creative ideas to hide an electrical box in the front yard can divert people’s attention from those unsightly bulky boxes.

You’re all set to mow your lawn, but when you come out to your riding lawnmower, you notice that the key is missing. Or worse, you try the key, and it breaks off in the ignition switch. You need to cut the grass ASAP, so you can’t afford to wait for a replacement part. What do you do? Fortunately, you can start your lawnmower with a screwdriver.

Creeping Charlie can kill other plants in your yard once it spreads far enough. This creeping plant features a toxin that can suppress and kill other plants. The toxin is also harmful to livestock, such as cows and horses.

Throughout their lives, trees will continue to grow. They’ll increase in width, add growth rings to their trunks, always put out new branches and sprout leaves. However, when it comes to height, trees grow more slowly with age, so how long does it take a tree to grow?

Are you one of the countless homeowners who have been torn about what to do with your compost pile for the winter? This is a common dilemma for many homeowners who don’t want to let their compost go to waste as temperatures plummet. Understandably, many homeowners struggle with how to store compost in the winter for later use.

Many plants thrive indoors, but every plant can benefit from nature’s elements. Whether it is nutrient-rich soil or plenty of sunlight, indoor plants require outdoor ingredients even when they are inside. But what about when you water your indoor plants? Many plant owners use tap water to water plants inside the home. While tap water is not likely to kill your plants, you might wonder which is better for your plants: Tap water or rainwater.

Spring is the most exciting time of year for anybody with a green thumb. The excitement and possibilities of picking out plants and planting seeds are incredible. However, it can be disconcerting when you discover moldy soil in your garden or potted plants. So, is moldy soil bad?

Regardless of whether you are in the market for a mower and are thinking of purchasing a Gravely or you already have one, knowing the average life span is important. Especially when buying one of their more expensive Pro-Turn Kawasaki mowers that costs upwards of $14,000.

Your trusted and reliable Briggs and Stratton engine is showing signs of trouble.  You have noticed gas leaking around the air filter.  You begin to wonder if it is time to replace that old engine with a new one.

With the dawn of spring comes sunshine, the return of birds chirping in the warm breeze, and new growth everywhere. Daffodils and tulips make their early presence known, and of course, there is your lawn.

Tropical plants aren’t naturally meant to grow indoors, and that creates some hurdles. Luckily, it’s easier than ever to grow tropical houseplants with modern grow lights and potting mixes. A few simple tricks can ensure optimal growth for your indoor tropical plants, such as:

Whether you’re growing palm trees in your yard or a small palm plant inside your home, you likely selected them to enjoy their magnificent, lush green fronds. When palm trees flourish they are reminiscent of paradise and island getaways but have you noticed the leaves of your palm tree turning yellow?