How To Get Rid Of Mealybugs, According To An Expert

Ever wish you had more room to grow? We’ve got a secret to instantly increase your square footage, and we’re growing up, my friends. No matter if you’re planting an expansive backyard plot or just have room for a few clusters of balcony pots, vertical vegetable gardening is the easiest way to maximize your growing while also being a space saver, and increasing yields—not to mention it brings some interesting aesthetic appeal to your outdoor space. The perfect solution for every garden? We think so. Read on for our ultimate guide to vertical vegetable gardens and start thinking up!

Image: Hampton Court Flower Festival. Credit: RHS

Growing vines is a fun way to add foliage and colorful flowers to archways, fences, posts, and trellises in your yard. Vines add depth, dimension, and texture to a landscape and create a visually appealing space. Choosing fast-growing vines means enjoying the beauty of the season quickly and often longer, whether it's the pretty leaves, blooms, or both. Plus, many vines attract important pollinators, such as butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds. Garden experts recommend their favorite vines to grow that will quickly transform your garden.

This year Chelsea Flower Show was full of interesting trees and shrubs with lots of dreamy woodland-edge planting in dappled light underneath leafy canopies. Native trees such as hawthorns, hazels and silver birch were the favoured choices in many of the show gardens, with a mixture of native and non-native ornamental plants selected for resilience and sustainability. In Ula Maria’s Forest Bathing Garden, white foxgloves, cow parsley and other umbellifers like Baltic parsley (Cenolophium denudatum) and valerian (Valeriana officinalis) were mixed with the simple shade-loving grass Melica altissima ‘Alba’ while Tom Stuart-Smith showcased intricate tapestries of interesting foliage in different shapes and textures. In other gardens, orange was a popular colour in many shades, from deep rusty orange irises to pale orange geums, especially in Ann Marie-Powell’s exuberant Octavia Hill Garden. As always, the Grand Pavilion is the ideal place to discover new and interesting plants showcased by some of the country’s leading nurseries.

To kids, dandelions provide endless hours of seed-blowing entertainment. To adults, they represent endless hours of weeding. To get ahead of these stubborn weeds, take a cue from the kid inside of you and focus on the seeds. Dandelions have a deep tap root and can live for many years, making them challenging to control once established. The most effective management strategies focus on prevention and removal of young plants. Here’s how to get rid of dandelions and get back to enjoying the landscape.

Spring has officially sprung, which means one thing: Pool season is so close, we can practically smell the chlorine. But before you slather on the SPF and do your inaugural cannonball, why not turn your watering hole into a well-designed outdoor destination? Chic umbrellas and cozy chaise lounges might be two easy ways to dress up your backyard, but if you want to take your setup to the next level, some people are using bright tiles and paints to transform their pool floors into maximalist moments.

Heads up: It’s probably time to revisit your junk drawer. Not to grab your go-to tube of lip balm or a piece of gum, but to finally organize it. 

It’s always tomato girl summer in my garden. I purposefully lean down and focus on what I grow in my spring garden beds to prepare and make room for the eight to 12 tomato plants that are a combination of favorites started from seed and new varieties picked up at the local farm’s heirloom tomato pop-up. It’s definitely taken me many years to perfect my gameplan, but over time I listened to my space and learned what worked best for me. I think that’s what is most important here: to understand that not every garden guide is a strict must-follow. Think of this as just a few new ideas or suggestions in the pursuit of full harvest baskets this summer. From seed starting in soil blocks to homemade trellising that will maximize your yield—I hope you feel inspired to try something new. Happy tomato growing my friends. Here’s to a bountiful season ahead!

The plant peeps of TikTok have been losing their minds over Costco’s plant offerings, and while scoring an 8-foot statement palm for less than $30 seems like a total green thumb win, you might want to slow your stroll and examine what you’re purchasing before heading to the checkout line. Due to the high volume of plants coming into these types of big box stores, they might not be getting the specialized care that they need—besides, who actually thrives under fluorescent lighting anyways? So I’m encouraging you to look under the hood—I mean, brown paper sleeve—before taking anything back home (this rule applies no matter where you shop btw).

Geese are beautiful in their natural setting. But they’re not so great when congregating on your lawn, damaging your turf, honking loudly, and leaving behind droppings. “Geese can be destructive,” says Robert Pierce, PhD, state extension fisheries and wildlife specialist at theUniversity of Missouri. “Once they have a nest, it’s difficult to get them to leave. It’s easier to move them off your property in the winter before they start breeding.”

Growing perennial vegetables can mean longer harvest periods, less maintenance once established, and even improved soil structure. But selecting the best ones for your grow zone and conditions is key.

After all that hard work, a bad harvest can spoil your mood. Not anymore, though; with these tips and tricks on pruning cucumbers for a juicy harvest, you’ll have plenty of these veggies, and that too, really good ones!