How to Use Cotton Balls to Keep Pests Away This Fall

In my vegetable garden, a winter greenhouse has become the heart of my cold season garden, providing me with homegrown vegetables and herbs from December through March. This unheated structure, which is also featured in my book, Growing Under Cover: Techniques for a More Productive, Weather-Resistant, Pest-Free Vegetable Garden, captures solar energy and shelters a wide variety of cold tolerant crops like kale, carrots, leeks, scallions, carrots, and spinach.In this article you’ll learn about the types of winter greenhouses, get my tips selecting which one is best for you, and discover my top crops to harvest in winter. Why use a winter greenhouse A greenhouse has so many uses in a vegetable garden. It allows me to extend the fall harvest, start s

Dane Tashima

Fiddle-leaf fig plants (Ficus lyrata) are loved for their large, green, glossy foliage, which makes them beautiful houseplants. However, caring for this plant can sometimes be tricky, mainly in fall and around the onset of winter when many gardeners notice their plant starts dropping leaves.

Chrysanthemums or mums are a must-have for autumn décor. They are perfect for pairing with pumpkins and gourds, and steal the spotlight with an explosion of blooms in fiery red, orange, and yellow hues that echo the autumn foliage. You’ll also find vibrant pink, lavender, and even white mums to dress up containers and gardens. Mums are easy to care for but require regular watering to keep them flowering for many weeks. How much water plants need and how often you should water mums varies depending on where the plant is growing. Follow these simple tips to determine when to water mums and keep them looking their best all season.

As fall begins, many turfgrasses show signs of common diseases. “These fungi are always present, but disease occurs when the environmental conditions are ideal for its development,” says Clint Waltz, PhD, turfgrass specialist, Turfgrass and Education Center at the University of Georgia. “That means an extended period of humidity and temperatures in the 60s to 80s.”

Even if you aren't fortunate enough to live next to a meadow of wildflowers, you can still capture their untamed beauty in a container or garden this summer by planting cosmos. Cosmos come in various colors, from burgundy to pink to white. Mix them up for a more natural look, like a wildflower meadow. Bonus: this colorful flower, native to tropical America, attracts birds and butterflies with its cheery blooms. Because of their wildflower characteristics, cosmo flowers are considered invasive in some environments. Cosmos are prime not only for containers but for creating a mass of color in borders or backgrounds or as a filler among shrubs.

When you picture the perfect fall-styled front porch, it’s safe to assume there are a few staples: a few pumpkins, gourds, and some potted mums.

While mums are particularly popular during the fall season for their lasting power and bright multi-colored blooms, they aren't the only stars of the show for this upcoming season.

Looking for something unusual to grow in the garden? Look no further than chocolate cosmos, a tuberous perennial with velvety blooms and a decadent fragrance. With showy wine-red blossoms that perfume the garden with the distinctive aromas of chocolate and vanilla from mid-summer through fall, chocolate cosmos entices butterflies and curious gardeners alike. The blooms make fragrant cutting for the vase and plants perform beautifully in containers, where their scent can be enjoyed on patios and balconies. Bring the beauty and aroma of chocolate cosmos to your own garden by learning how to grow and care for these unique bloomers.

When the temperatures start dropping and you need an extra blanket for your bed, it's a sign that fall is coming! But with cooler days ahead comes the start of school and more transitions.

How to Establish a Monarch Waystation in Your Garden Help monarch butterflies by providing essential nectar and host plants in your own Monarch Waystation. The amazing monarch butterfly journey

You probably have a bunch of unused plastic containers lying around in miscellaneous drawers around your home and trust us, we totally have been there. It's hard to find space for these containers, and even harder to figure out what the heck to do with them.