Outdoors Gardening

Whether you simply love gardening or want to reap the benefits of indoor plants, adding greenery to your space is a popular design choice. But if you’re starting from scratch, you might want some ideas on how to make indoor plants grow faster. After all, nobody likes waiting, so if you can speed up the process, you’re all for it.

Lavender is an enduring herb that’s easy to grow if you provide enough sunlight. Plant lavender in an unobstructed area where it can get up to 8 hours of sunlight each day. That said, lavender can handle partial shade in hot climates, as that stops the soil from drying out.

Running a greenhouse is expensive, but it doesn’t have to cost a fortune if you’re careful. The trick is to look at each aspect of your greenhouse to find an opportunity to cut costs and boost efficiency. Luckily, we assembled a list of the best budget-friendly greenhouse tips to help you save money.

If you have many leatherjackets in your yard, it’s likely because of the big local crane fly population. Crane flies lay larvae that people refer to as leatherjackets. They typically spawn the larvae near areas with lots of soil, and it goes on to wreak havoc.

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.

Upgrading to a new garden hose can make yard work so much easier. Less easy, however, is figuring out what to do with your old garden hose. It takes up so much space and isn’t very useful once you get a new one. So, can your garden hoses be recycled?

Many people plant thier gardens in the spring, but that’s not the only option. You can plant many flowers during the summer, but timing is important. Is it too late to plant flowers in July?

I’m blue, da ba dee da ba die… Well, not quite. I’m a fan of blue. My hair is blue, ya know. I like blue decorative items, too. When it comes to finding garden decor that is blue, things get dicey. Not many flowers are blue, at least…not naturally. Want to find out what the most popular blue flowers are?

Squirrels are cute critters that can be surprisingly determined. When that determination is focused on tearing up your flower pots, it can feel like a nightmare. Squirrels can seriously damage your potted flowers to the point where the life of the flower may hang in the balance.

Nothing worth doing is easy, and that includes gardening, which has a big learning curve. Gardening takes a lot of hard work, time, research, and practice. Even seasoned gardeners can make one of many common gardening mistakes.

Wasps are lean, mean, and ready to sting you and ruin your time in the garden. They wreak havoc on countless homeowners during the spring and summer. The average homeowner would do anything to keep wasps away. Understandably, many people struggle with how to get rid of wasps.

Picture it: you buy a new home or a plot of land, and it’s time to make your own. Adding a beautiful paver patio or walkway is the perfect addition to any yard or garden. There are several different ways to get the job done. 

Do you know your neighbor well? If so, it’s worth simply telling them that you wish they would cut their grass. Granted, this can be uncomfortable if you have no relationship, but it’s worth it if the tall grass is a problem.

The smell of fresh mulch is almost as satisfying as the many benefits it offers. Applying mulch to soil beds is the best gift you can give your garden, but timing is everything. So, when is the best time to mulch your yard?

You have finally decided to bite the bullet and install that long-awaited irrigation system in your lawn. You are ready to order your materials and the supply house salesman throws you a curve. Do you want SDR21 or Schedule 40 pipe?  What is the difference, and how do you tell?

When winter gives way to spring, it’s time to clean up the outside for garden and barbecue get-togethers.  As you begin mowing unruly patches of grass, dead leaves, and the occasional twig, your lawnmower simply stops.  

Many homeowners mistakenly give up on planting new flowers when summer comes to an end. You can plant flowers as late as September and even October. Follow along if you struggle with what to plant in September.

Whether you’re trying to hide an ugly fence line or want to add beauty to your landscape, there are a ton of good things to plant along your fence. Planting the right things along your fence line requires planning and forethought. Simply throwing some trees or plants into the ground isn’t going to be enough.

The first major safety question you need to ask yourself when you notice a tick on your body is how long the tick has been there. This is an important for two reasons. First, the longer a tick has been in your skin, the more embedded and stubborn it is likely to be. 

One of the most underrated fast-growing flowers on the planet is the nasturtium. These reddish orange blooming flowers can be planted indoors from seed in late winter, and bloom in the spring. If you live in a warmer climate, they will grow back every year. 

It’s easy to fall behind on picking up dog waste in your yard, especially after a long day at work. However, animal waste can attract botflies to your yard. They are drawn to many types of decaying organic matter, and that includes dog waste. 

Lawnmowers rely on numerous components working in unison in order to deliver the performance expected of them. If even one of those components is not working properly, you may encounter issues while trying to maintain your yard.

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?

You can’t permanently get rid of poison ivy in your yard until you know where it all is. That’s because the poison ivy you see each day may not be all that’s on your property. Some homeowners mistakenly smother and kill poison ivy in certain areas and miss it in other parts of their yards. 

Nothing beats fresh herbs when you are looking for a way to boost the flavor and freshness of a dish. Herbs from your garden are arguably the freshest ingredients of all, but for those living in a seasonal climate, an herb garden has a shelf life. While you can’t always grow fresh herbs throughout the year, there is no reason why you shouldn’t be able to dry and preserve your delicious home-grown ingredients for later use.

Electric companies charge higher rates during peak times. In most places, peak usage times run between 5 P.M. and 8 P.M. You can lower your electric bill if you turn off the grow lights for your indoor garden during this time.

It is sometimes nothing more than an eyesore, and sometimes it is much more. Regardless of how it is perceived though, that hole in the yard or glaringly uneven area in the lawn is a problem. The simple answer, of course, is to fill the hole or build up the low spot. That is where the real question also arises. Namely, those questions typically sound like what can or should be used to fill that hole in the yard? Can sand, topsoil, fill dirt, or potting soil be used?

There are tons of different types of bonsai trees. Just about any tree can be altered into a bonsai form. Therefore, there is not a universal growing condition that bonsais enjoy. There are, however, a few challenges to growing bonsai indoors.

You can tell your compost is ready when it shrinks and becomes brittle. However, parts of the compost pile may not be done, such as sticks. That said, you can tell the majority of your compost is finished when it’s brittle and smells quite earthy.

Lawn mowers are considered by many as simple machines, but that does not mean they are always easy to fix. If you have a lawn mower that runs for a minute then stops, you are probably wondering why that is happening and how you can solve the problem.

More and more homeowners have expressed interest in having a greenhouse, and it’s with good reason. That's because a greenhouse lets them grow plants for much longer than they would outdoors in most climates. So, how long does a greenhouse extend a growing season?

A bobcat may look cute in online pictures, but there’s nothing cute about finding one in your yard. That’s because bobcats are fierce predators, and they can easily harm you or your pets. You’re not alone if you’ve ever wondered how to keep bobcats out of your yard.

No homeowner is prepared for the day a tree falls on their roof. Not only is it a terrifying experience, but it’s also the first step in a long and expensive process that involves many phone calls and repairs. Understandably, you’ll want to know what to do if a tree falls on your roof.

If you are looking for an easy-to-grow edible flower to add to anything from pizza to salad, look no further than the nasturtium. This vine-like flower species grows quickly, and produces lots of blooms.

If you’ve ever done any planting or gardening, you’ve likely had to purchase plant pots. You might have also noticed that plant pots are extremely expensive if you want new, quality plant pots. However, plant pots are merely containers to hold a plant when you think about it. Why, then, are plant pots so costly?

Ivy is a type of plant that grows best for ground cover or climbing up structures such as buildings or trees. They are a fast-growing plant that grows great in both indoor and outdoor settings. You can plant your ivy to grow up structures or cover arbors in your garden. To use as an indoor houseplant, you can place it in a decorative basket and add it to a beautiful shelving unit as a piece of decor.

Clay pots make excellent vessels for many garden plants. They are great at controlling moisture and have an earthy and organic look that fits with nearly any garden aesthetic. If you want these pots to last for many years, you need to care for them. 

The sight of ants in your yard or home can understandably be discomforting. Not only are ant hills ugly, but they can indicate that you have an upcoming ant problem on your hands. Many homeowners have asked themselves the question: why are there so many ant hills in my yard?

With a name like burning bush, it’s no surprise this stunning plant has beautiful colors in autumn. These plants have plentiful blueish-green leaves in the spring and summer months. In the fall, however, they turn bright orange to deep red.

Bringing new plants home is exciting, but it can also be stressful if you know a lot about gardening. Sneaky pests love hanging out in plant nurseries and hiding in the new purchases of unsuspecting customers. That’s why you must learn how to quarantine new plants.

As the weather gets warmer, you’ll have to start mowing your lawn more frequently. Over time, wear and tear will cause the blades to wear down, which means that you have to replace them. However, one question that comes up during replacement is, “how do I know that the lawnmower blade is facing up?”

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.

Spider mites can wreak havoc on plants and even kill them. They can quickly turn your idyllic garden into a nightmare that is hard to recover from. Many homeowners struggle with how to get rid of spider mites.

Creating gardens and landscaping near protected wetlands is a unique challenge. Wetlands are fragile ecosystems, and there are often regulations that dictate what you can and can’t plant and install nearby. While restrictions may exist, there are many fun and interesting ways to create lush gardens and stunning landscaping in a yard bordering these natural habitats.

There are dozens of different types of Christmas trees that are grown in nearly every climate around the world. With all this variety, it’s no surprise that there is not a simple answer to the question, “How long does it take to grow a Christmas tree?” Instead, there are averages, and approximate time frames based on what most people look for in a Christmas tree.

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.

By keeping your fig trees properly pruned, you will allow them to produce sweeter, more flavorful figs. Pruning enables the hormones and sugars to make their way all the way up the branches and into the fruits. While the process isn’t entirely complicated, many home gardeners are at a loss as to how to prune a fig tree.

With the appropriate care, roses can easily be the crowning glory of any garden. But as most gardeners will tell you, coaxing a rose bush to full bloom is a delicate task. And getting a rose bush to thrive year-round is another matter, whether you have knockout, climbing, or hybrid tea roses. But if you respect the process, caring for your rose bush can be as rewarding as it is demanding.

The secret to growing a healthy and vibrant rose bush lies in understanding your plant’s needs. For starters, all plants require regular watering, fertilizing, and pruning. Since rose bushes bloom in the summer, the more intensive pruning will usually occur in the spring. For summer pruning, you will only need to lightly “deadhead,” remove dead wood, and form the bush.

To prune roses in the summer, first find a healthy shoot that has already bloomed. Identify the five-leaf cluster, which tells us where the cane is thick enough to support another stem. With your pruning shears, cut just above the five-leaf cluster, keeping it intact. Although rose varieties differ, you can expect your rose bush to be in full bloom 3-4 weeks after a light summer pruning.

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.

A greenhouses gives homeowners the chance to nurture plants and let them thrive year-round. The prospect of building a greenhouse is enough to get any green-thumbed homeowner excited. So, how much does it cost to build a greenhouse?

If you’re a seasoned gardener, you’ve likely come across diatomaceous earth at least once in your planting endeavors. This powdery substance is composed of tiny aquatic fossils of creatures called diatoms. It might seem strange to sprinkle marine fossils in your garden soil, but you’ll be surprised by how many ways this natural material can help your garden thrive.

Keeping a tree stump in the yard can be a physical hazard and just get in the way. Decaying stumps also attract termites and ants, and then they migrate to gardens and the house.

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.

The most common way to kill a succulent is by overwatering. Plants need water, but succulents are relatives of the cactus family, and they don’t like too much of it. Before watering a succulent, you must ensure the soil is fully dry.

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.

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. 

For many people, catnip is a meme-worthy substance that we see on viral cat videos on Instagram and TikTok. However, avid gardeners know that catnip is a well-rounded plant with many benefits, although it may attract unwanted guests. So, will growing catnip attract cats?

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.

Does the sound of running water help you relax? If so, you’re not alone, and that’s why so many people put fountains in their yards and gardens. Fountains and ponds can work wonders to help you relax and enjoy a nice escape without leaving home. 

When you own a good amount of land, the upkeep can be a little more comprehensive. Mowing a larger lawn can become a little overwhelming with just a push mower at your disposal. Thankfully, there are riding lawn mowers that can make the job a bit easier.