Outdoors Gardening

Basil plants like soil that is constantly moist. Remember, moist does not mean spoaking wet. The ideal moisture level is similar to a wrung-out sponge. To achieve this, your basil should be watered moderately on a daily basis. 

Garden arches can be a beautiful addition to any garden. They add visual appeal and texture to your garden and give you more  vertical space for growing plants. Unfortunately, pre-made garden arches can be expensive.

Like most homeowners, you would do anything to have your lawn look as luscious and green as possible. You have likely tried everything from aeration and fertilizer to high-end sprinkler systems, perhaps with disappointing results. Lime is a popular way to encourage healthy lawn growth. Many homeowners have asked themselves the question: does my yard need lime?

Boxwoods have been around in gardens for centuries, going all the way back to the mid-1600s in America. It makes sense that these popular shrubs would withstand the test of time since they have so many good points. They’re versatile, feeling right at home outside, inside, in the ground, or in a container, deer-resistant, and easy to maintain.

Pot mums are one of many Chrysanthemum varieties that can help with allergies. Not only do pot mums help clean the air, but they are also quite low-maintenance. You can even grow pot mums from cuttings; the results come quickly.

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.

Some people jump to conclusions and think they should set harmful traps to get rid of iguanas. However, doing so is inhumane and only serves as a temporary solution. Today, deterring iguanas in a humane way is easier than ever thanks to a few simple methods, such as:

Lawn mowers have come a long way since the old push mowers of yesteryear. Now they push themselves, mulch your grass and sometimes even take you for a ride. If you recently purchased a new mower, you are probably eager to take it out for its first mow. But in making room for your new mower you are left wondering what you should do with your old mower.

Proper lawn maintenance doesn’t end during autumn, even if it does slow down a bit. Autumn lawn maintenance is more about getting ready for the winter than anything else. You’re not alone if you want to know how to prepare your lawn for the winter.

Crusty clothes, dirty dishes, and toilet stains are common signs that you have hard water in your home. However, many people don’t realize that hard water is also not great for their garden. So, how does hard water affect plants?

A greenhouse lets homeowners expand their gardening capabilities and extend their growing season. However, a greenhouse can also attract many pests looking for shelter and food sources, including snakes. You’re not alone if you’ve ever wondered how to keep snakes out of your greenhouse.

Whether you like bugs or not, some of them are good for your garden. The average homeowner doesn’t like having to navigate a sea of insects and arachnids while doing yard work. However, it’s unavoidable, and many of them are more beneficial than you may think. So, what bugs are good for your garden?

Native to the rocky hills of China, Taiwan, and the Philippines, the Chinese pistache tree is known for its signature umbrella shape and its brilliant fiery leaves in the fall. If you’re looking for a low-maintenance tree with ornamental properties for your xeriscape back, front, or side yard, the Chinese pistache tree will check all the boxes. 

You might not know it, but there is a good chance you have several items in your produce drawer or kitchen pantry that you can plant in a new vegetable garden. Several species easily sprout new life from existing plants. Potatoes that have grown eyes can be cut into several pieces that give birth to new potato plants, and in turn new potatoes.

One key factor to remember is that English gardens are inspired by gardens from more than a hundred years ago. In those times, everything in the garden was natural and often handmade. 

Whether you grow plants from seed or buy seedlings at your local nursery, you should know there’s an art to transplanting young plants into the ground. While many young plants are more resilient than they look, the last thing you want to do is make a mistake with your seedling. You'll want to do all you can to ensure your young plants survive this spring. 

Earthworms aren’t as cute as colorful caterpillars, but they offer many valuable benefits to the environment. You should be happy if you find them in your garden, even if you're not sure of what they do. So, why are earthworms good for gardens?

The best thing a senior gardener can do is simplify their garden. While vast gardens are rewarding, they can be hard to keep up with and maintain. The more plants you have spread out over a large area, the more drained you will become while gardening.

One excellent way to use jalapeños is to add them to baked goods like bread. Cornbread is a particularly perfect place to add these spicy peppers. The sweetness of the corn helps to offset some of the spice of the pepper, but you still get the delicious flavor.

Lavender is an easy-to-grow herb with seemingly endless uses. It has a relaxing and intoxicating smell, beautiful purple blooms that you can eat, and so much more. Lavender has been used for centuries as a natural medicine for several ailments.

Gardeners love to plant as many perennials as possible to make their springtime list of chores even easier. Perennials come back year after year and bloom for months at a time, but this only happens if you take good care of them. Many homeowners understandably struggle with how to make sure perennials come back.

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.

Whether you have a residential or commercial sprinkler system, the adjustment procedure will depend on the specific sprinkler heads you have. There are many different types of sprinkler heads, each with slightly different instructions for adjusting their spray pattern.

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.

Pill bugs may look cute and harmless, but it’s easy to hate them when you see how much time they spend eating your plants. It can also be disheartening when you constantly see the pill bug population grow in your yard. That’s why we compiled the six best ways to stop pill bugs from eating your plants.

Mowing the lawn is a chore anyone with a yard needs to do regularly. It isn’t always the easiest or most enjoyable task, but it’s crucial to keep your yard looking great year-round. While it’s relatively easy to operate most lawn mowers, these machines are potentially dangerous, which is why you must know how to stay safe when mowing the lawn.

The key to a successful spring and summer garden is planning. If you want your vegetables and flowers to grow better, you should start gathering supplies and mapping out your ideas in the winter. March is a great time to prepare for your gardening projects, but the key is knowing which items to buy before the planting season begins.

Known for its signature star shape, Nelly Moser Clematis is a favorite of gardeners everywhere. This pink floral vine is easy to grow and adapts easily to its environment. Because of this, Nelly Moser Clematis’s growth can get out of hand if not tended to properly, so it’s important to know how to prune a Nelly Moser Clematis.

A Weed Eater can be an effective tool in the battle against overgrowth in your yard. Weed Eater makes an effective line of lawncare tools that can help you keep your yard looking the way that you want it to all year round.

Shaded porches serve as both an oasis and an entry to your home. Finding the right plants that can thrive in the shade is easier said than done, however. So, what are the best plants for a shaded porch?

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.

One of the best tiny plants to incorporate into your home with limited space is an air plant. These exotic plants thrive in hanging terrariums, or simple glass bowls. Some species flower from time to time, offering tropical color to your space.

Part of the appeal of growing houseplants is that they aren’t as susceptible to bug infestations that can occur in your garden. While that’s partially true, indoor plants are still vulnerable to a range of pests. Some common indoor plant pests can kill your plants and spread quickly if you don’t act fast.

Citrus trees are fantastic additions to your property. The blossoms smell fragrant and lovely in the breeze, and the fruit allows you to enjoy sweet, tangy, or sour fruit in abundance. But citrus thrives in warm climates and often dies off in a freeze. But if you live in an area where the temperatures dip below freezing every now and then, you might wonder if there are any citrus trees that can survive annual frosty conditions.

Snapdragons provide a vibrant splash of color to any garden, blooming beautifully in the spring and fall. These bright blooms come in almost every color imaginable, and when cared for properly, can last a long time.  

You put a lot of energy into maintaining the lawn. So, you probably don’t want weeds where your garden should be. But can you put weed killer on wet grass, or will that cause a problem? And how do you keep weeds off of your lawn otherwise?

With a vibrant pink/purple color, the Rhododendron blooms brightly across the world. These bushes provide magnificent pop of color wherever they spring up. But when they become distressed, it can rob them of their natural beauty. The key is determining the problem.

Mowing the lawn is an important, but often dreaded activity. As the summer heat increases, this chore can become hot, sweaty, and altogether exhausting. So, there may come a time when you have procrastinated longer than you should have, and find yourself needing to mow the lawn in the immediate future. But if the immediate future calls for rain, you might find yourself wondering if you can cut the grass when it is still wet.

When using a gas lawnmower, you become accustomed to the loud revving the engine makes. However, what happens if you notice a sound that isn’t supposed to be there? In some cases, you might hear a loud, clanking sound while mowing. If you do, it could indicate one of a few different problems.

Houseplants are an asset in any home. You can easily move them to ensure they get enough light, and the pots bring color and design into the home. To ensure your potted plants thrive for years, they must periodically be transplanted into larger pots. To ensure you never wait too long to repot your plants, there are several warning signs you should know.

Nurturing a garden in a desert climate is a unique undertaking. Helping plants thrive in desert conditions is challenging, but it can also be very rewarding. If you live in this type of environment and are on the fence about starting a garden in your yard, you’ll first want to weigh the pros and cons.

When you think of plants that cause bad allergic reactions, there is a good chance the first plant you think of is poison ivy. Poison ivy exists in many wooded areas, popping up in late spring, and continuing to grow until the first frost.

A greenhouse is the best bet for many plant enthusiasts to keep their green friends alive during the winter. A greenhouse promises that it creates a bubble of sorts for plants to thrive despite the outside temperature. So, how warm will a greenhouse stay in the winter?

Some people think that soil health only affects the way their plants grow and look. However, soil health can affect everything from your yard’s grading to your home’s structural integrity. That’s why it’s important to know what signs to look for if you’re worried about soil erosion.

If you suffer from seasonal allergies, you may feel like there’s nothing you can do to escape the miserable symptoms that plague you every spring through fall. While some pollen can travel hundreds of miles and is unavoidable, you may find that your allergy triggers are much closer. In fact, some plants and trees in your yard could be causing the worst of your allergy symptoms.

There are countless amazing landscapers out there, but there as just as many shady ones, too. You can avoid giving them a dime if you know which red flags to look for, such as:

Houseplants are more popular than ever, and they give homeowners the chance to create an indoor oasis. We all know that houseplants add character to a home, but many people use them for potential health benefits. So, do houseplants improve indoor air quality?

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.

The sponge gourd is a very unique and fast-growing gourd species. It grows thin and long like their relatives, the squash. It loves warm and tropical climates and requires full sun. While these gourds at first are edible, they eventually become very fibrous, and turn into a natural loofah. 

One of the most common reasons for a lawn to look unhealthy is due to too little or too much water. Grass, just like every other plant, requires water. Remember that rain alone is often not enough water to keep your lawn thriving, especially in the warmer months.

Taking care of your property can be rewarding but also frustrating. Every homeowner wants their property to be spectacular and be the talk of the town. However, overgrown grass, littered gutters, accumulated dirt on the roof, and other things paint a terrible picture of your property. The Husqvarna riding mower can help you take care of the lawn, but there are times when the blades won’t turn on.

You are allowed to grow vegetables in an apartment unless your lease says otherwise. It’s rare for a landlord to specify that you can’t grow plants in an apartment. However, you should check your lease agreement to make sure before you start to grow vegetables. 

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.

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. 

Few flowers symbolize the dawn of spring more than daffodils. These yellow and orange blossoms are everywhere as soon as winter passes. One reason these spring blooms are so synonymous with the change in seasons is that they are some of the first flowers to sprout from the earth after the ground thaws.

Produce gardens are a fantastic way to have fresh and delicious food at your fingertips all summer long. You can plant dozens of different fruits and vegetables, and tomatoes are one of the most popular and bountiful varieties you can grow. If you end up with more tomatoes than you can eat, you’ll want to find various ways to use them before they spoil.

Mulch is an essential component as far as creating a healthy and beautiful landscape is concerned. But, with numerous types of mulch at your disposal, there’s a lot to consider when choosing one that suits you best. Pine bark and cypress are two of the most popular mulch types, and each has its benefits and drawbacks.

Snake plants can grow just about anywhere with a bit of sun and pleasant temperatures. They require practically no maintenance, and can even grow hydroponically, with no soil at all. This makes them great for a bathroom, as they won’t leave soil residue like other plants.

When your lawn needs leveling and you are short of cash, you can take charge of matters and build your own leveling drag. There is no need to spend hundreds of dollars on a harrow or thousands of dollars on a garden tractor. In fact, you easily build a leveling drag that you’ll be able to pull yourself.

How big are the pots that your houseplants are in? Plants must have the correct-sized pot whether you put them inside or outside. For example, a plant with big, deep roots simply cannot thrive in a small pot.