Check out all our blog posts on Outdoor gardening.
Most herbs fit neatly into a square foot grid once you match each one to its mature size. Plant 1 large basil, oregano, sage or rosemary per square, 4 compact basil, parsley or thyme, 9 cilantro, and 9 to 16 chives, and keep mint out of the bed entirely. Put perennials on the edges and … Read more >>
The best plants for square foot gardening are compact, fast crops that fit a set count per 1-foot square: leaf lettuce (4), spinach (9), radishes and carrots (16), bush beans (9), peppers (1), and trellised tomatoes (1). These crops reward a small raised bed because they grow up or stay tight, and many can be … Read more >>
Few things beat watching a hummingbird hover at a basket of bright flowers right outside your window. The good news is that you don’t need a big yard to bring them in. The right hanging plants that attract hummingbirds can turn a porch, patio, or balcony into a regular feeding stop. In this guide, I’ll … Read more >>
Strawberries are one of the fastest rewards in the home garden, but the wait can still feel long when you’re staring at green berries. From strawberry flower to fruit, most berries take about 4 to 6 weeks, and warm weather speeds things up. The bigger question is how long after planting you’ll get that first … Read more >>
Yes, lemongrass comes back every year, but only where winters stay frost-free or where you protect it from cold. Lemongrass returns on its own outdoors in USDA zones 10 and 11, often survives zone 9 with mulch and frost cover, and comes back in zones 8 and colder only if you overwinter it indoors or … Read more >>
Lemongrass needs two kinds of cutting each year: light tidying in summer and one hard cutback in late winter or early spring. To trim lemongrass, pull or snip off brown leaves as they show up, and once a year, just before new growth starts, cut the whole clump down to about 6 to 12 inches … Read more >>
An overwatered areca palm shows yellow lower fronds, limp drooping growth, and soil that stays soggy for days. When soil stays that wet, the roots can’t get air, and they start to rot. To fix areca palm overwatering, stop watering, empty any standing water, check the roots, trim off any mushy brown ones, and repot … Read more >>
You can grow a lotus in a bowl if you start with a true bowl or micro lotus, a watertight container 10 to 15 inches wide, heavy clay soil, and at least six hours of direct sun. To grow a lotus flower in a bowl, plant a dwarf bowl lotus tuber in 3 to 4 … Read more >>
If you’ve found little gray roly-polies curled up under your mulch, you’re not alone. Most of the time they’re harmless. But when their numbers climb, they can chew through seedlings overnight and hollow out your best strawberries. The good news is that you can get rid of pill bugs in the garden without harsh sprays. … Read more >>
A money plant and a money tree are two different plants. In the US, “money tree” almost always means Pachira aquatica, an upright tree with a braided trunk and leaves shaped like an open hand. “Money plant” most often means golden pothos (Epipremnum aureum), a trailing vine with heart-shaped leaves. The mix-up causes trouble because … Read more >>