The best garden forks in 2024

All Natives!

Hey GPODers! Today we’re back in the flower-filled garden of Heidi Weirether. We first saw her garden a little earlier on in the summer (you check check out that post here: Heidi’s Colorful Garden in Fairfield County) and it’s incredible to see how much has changed in a month’s time! As with much of the northeast this year, Heidi is experiencing incredible hydrangea blooms—but that is just the tip of the floral iceberg in her sensational garden:

A verdant garden in Corfu with views all the way to Albania

Whether you're living in your forever home or not, the hope is that any home improvement project you tackle will give you a return on your investment.

Gardens are abuzz and harvest baskets are full. Here’s how to soak up the last of the season while prepping for the next.

Social media serves me a lot of skincare products, A LOT of them. While I’m mostly to blame for clicking on ads that ultimately adjust my algorithmic fate, I usually scroll past most magic potions and am very critical when it comes to actually adding anything to my cart. Personal discernment aside, I’ve definitely done my fair share of experimentation and testing, homing in on the best products and gadgets worth splurging on for better, healthier-looking skin. 

Movies and TV shows have inspired interior design choices for a long time. Who doesn’t want their home to look like a Nancy Meyers film come to life? Wes Anderson’s playful and colorful film sets have inspired people to bring that iconic, quirky look home. And I’m sure purple living rooms have become more commonplace thanks to Friends.

There's perhaps no flower that's inspired more poetry, art, and prose than a rose. From formal rose gardens surrounded by boxwood hedges to cottage gardens overflowing with roses, foxglove, and native flowers, these layered blooms are held up as the star of the garden. They're carefully pruned into formal arrangements and allowed to climb and cascade over charming trellises.

When the South begins to alight in tulips, you know spring is well on its way. But before those glorious blooms start to burst forth from the earth, there are a few things to keep in mind. From the best time to plant in the South to how to care for your bulbs once in ground, these are the tulip tips you need to know for springtime success.

Tested by Jason Reeves

Let’s face it: Mulching isn’t a glamorous job. It’s dusty, dirty, and can be downright backbreaking. But despite all the effort involved in the task, mulching your vegetable garden properly at the start of the growing season pays big dividends as the weeks progress. With a 2- to 3-inch-thick layer of mulch in place, trips to the shed for a hoe, cultivator, or hand weeder become few and far between; the hose stays coiled on its reel; veggie roots remain insulated from temperature extremes; and soil-borne fungal spores stay far away from plant leaves. There’s no doubt that the benefits of mulch are many, but the truth is that not all mulches perform the same.

Some planting combinations are designed to be stable and static, with reliable perennials that work well together and stay largely in proportion for years. Other schemes are more dynamic, changing dramatically year by year as plants self-seed and move around, perhaps making use of annuals and biennials to add interest.