If you planted fruit trees dreaming of harvesting juicy pears, pie-ready apples, and sweet summer peaches fresh from your own backyard, then trees that grow and bloom without producing bountiful fruit are a maddening puzzle. However, most of the reasons fruit trees don't produce fruit are easy to anticipate—and simple...

Why Your Fruit Trees Aren't Bearing Fruit—and How to Fix It

By the time August rolls around, most of the summer bloomers are winding down and feeling the heat. Very soon, autumn will be upon us, and once again, we will look toward preparing the garden for spring. But, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. There are still some lovely fall-blooming flowers you can plant in August. These flowers will keep your garden blooming until frosts.

15 Fall-Blooming Flowers to Plant in August

When it comes to planting, many gardeners focus on selecting the right soil and choosing the perfect plants. However, an often overlooked but essential aspect of successful container gardening is ensuring proper drainage. Adding pinecones to the bottom of your planter is a simple and effective method to enhance drainage,...

Here’s Why You Need to Add Pinecones to the Bottom of Your Planter

While lush green grass is popular, it can be difficult to maintain—especially if your yard doesn't get a lot of sun. If you're tired of looking at bald patches in your landscape where grass won't grow, there are plenty of lawn alternatives that thrive in partial to full shade. From options with grass-like foliage to flowering ground covers, you don't need access to sunlight to create the landscape of your dreams. Ahead, we're sharing the best grass alternatives that experts say will flourish in shady lawns.

14 Grass Alternatives That Thrive in Shady Yards

For many home gardeners, raised garden beds are a wonderful solution to their yard woes. Raised beds can help you incorporate the exact right soil for your picky plants or extend the amount of garden space you have. But not every plant will do great in a raised bed. Some...

10 Plants You Should Never Grow in a Raised Bed

As summer starts to wind down, August becomes a critical month for preparing your tomato plants for a bountiful September harvest. Tomatoes, native to western South America and Central America, thrive in warm weather but require specific care to maximize fruit production as the season progresses. By giving your tomatoes the right attention now, you can ensure they produce a generous, delicious crop next month.

Do This To Your Tomatoes In August For A Huge September Harvest

Dead patches of grass are signs that something is wrong. Get to the root cause for an inviting and healthy lawn. A thriving lawn is easy to spot from down the street, thanks to its uniform dark green appearance. Unfortunately, brown spots on a lawn also stick out amid all the green. There are several things that can cause dead patches of turf, such as pests, diseases, and overdoing fertilizer. However, lawns can usually recover with simple care. Use this guide to figure out the cause of brown patches on your lawn and get solutions for fixing the problem.

Brown Spots on Your Lawn? 7 Causes and How to Fix Them

Hibiscus are ideal plants to add to your garden. Their vibrant, colorful blossoms add excitement and curb appeal while also attracting hummingbirds, butterflies, bees, and other helpful pollinators. And hibiscus is an easy plant to propagate, meaning you can multiple your plants at no cost. There are more than 200...

How to Propagate Hibiscus by Cuttings and by Seed While It's Still Warm Out

Tomato hornworms, Manduca quinquemaculata, are large green caterpillars that devour tomato plants along with other nightshades including peppers, potatoes, and eggplant. They can also be a little intimidating, as garden pests go, due to their large size. A tomato hornworm can grow up to 5 inches long and as fat as your index finger. They have V-shaped, yellowish-white markings and a black 'horn' or spur on their posterior segment.

Should You Kill Tomato Hornworms? Why Pros Say They Can Help Your Garden Thrive

On a summer night, look up and you may see bats zipping across the sky. Having inspired tales of vampires, superheroes, and more, some people fear the winged creatures. But bats offer so much more to their surrounding environment than folklore gives them credit for. Like birds, bats play an important role as pollinators for plants and provide a great natural pest control solution in the garden. With this new perspective, you may be wondering how you can attract more bats to your yard. Luckily, there are many effective ways of doing so.

How to Attract Bats to Your Yard—and Why You Want To

Hibiscus plants boast some of the largest and most colorful blooms among their perennial peers. The ultimate goal is flowers when you grow and care for one of these shrubs. We want as many as possible, for as long as possible. So when they fall off sooner than we expected, the disappointment is real.

Why is My Hibiscus Dropping Flowers?

Trees have so much to offer. They are showy and provide structure and interest all year long. Trees are easy to grow and long-lived. Trees provide shade and important habitat for birds, pollinators, and other wildlife. Some trees are especially valued for their showy flowers, evergreen leaves, or colorful fall foliage.

17 Low-Maintenance Trees For Your Landscape

Livingetc

Bring home one of these exotic shrubs for a picturesque and tranquil outdoor garden feel

5 Types Of Olive Trees You Should Plant In Your Backyard for a Mediterranean Oasis

Late summer and early fall are the prime times to plant grass seed. The lawn may be a little worn from summer fun or heat, moisture, pest, or disease issues that take their toll. You may be ready to reimagine the turf, reshaping and refreshing existing zones. Whether filling in...

When and How to Plant Grass Seed

Grow these plants with colorful tubular flowers for hummingbirds and watch these tiny pollinators flock to your garden. Add some blue to those shady spots with this vigorous eastern native plant. Grow in moist, rich soil and combine with daffodils for a striking spring display. Add hostas and other shade-loving perennials to mask the fading foliage later in the season.

Top 10 Tubular Flowers for Hummingbirds

Real Simple

Choose from both natural and chemical ways to rid your yard of weeds.

How to Prevent Weeds From Growing in Your Yard

South Carolina State

Community Voices represent independent, third-party users who have joined our contributor program but not yet verified their accounts. Community Voices are expected, like all users, to adhere to our Community Standards.

community_voice

Colleton County, SC

Explore Beaufort SC

Some beachgoers were in for a surprise this week when a bizarre looking prehistoric fish washed ashore in Colleton County along Edisto Beach at Edisto Beach State Park. It turned out to be an atlantic sturgeon.

Rare Atlantic sturgeon washes ashore on South Carolina beach

Homes & Gardens

Get lots of new plants for free by taking semi-ripe cuttings in summer

7 plants to propagate in August – summer cuttings to take this month

Birds are great for your yard. Not only are they beautiful and offer charming melodies for your sensory garden, but they also provide plenty of benefits for the environment. Among other ecological services they offer, birds feast on bugs and control the insect population, and they spread seeds, helping to support plant diversity.

Want More Birds In Your Yard? Grow These Plants and Trees

Timing is essential when it comes to planting roses. If a rose bush is planted at the wrong time of year and in a less-than-optimal location, it may struggle to grow and thrive. Likewise, planting roses during extreme weather conditions can stress the bush, making it more difficult for it to get established. But the good news is that setting your roses up for success is easy as long as you know when (and when not) to plant roses.

When to Plant Roses for Beautiful, Healthy Blooms

NewsBreak

How to Identify and Manage Willow Galls

Willow trees, Salix spp., are deciduous trees suitable for cultivation in USDA Hardiness Zones 4 to 9. They make imposing landscape specimens with heights from 20...

How to Identify and Manage Willow Galls

Comments / 0