Lawns, pruning, soil, compost, watering, plant health, pests and weeds.
Quick answer: Most garden damage comes down to aphids, slugs, spider mites, or a fungal disease like powdery mildew — plus deer, voles, and rabbits in many yards. Check where the damage sits and what it looks like: ragged holes, sticky leaves, silvery trails, or a plant that vanishes overnight all point to different culprits.…
Quick answer: Start by blasting aphids off with a strong jet of water or crushing them by hand — that’s often enough for a light infestation. If they keep coming back, spray a mild soap solution (about 1–2 teaspoons of plain dish soap per litre/quart of water) on the undersides of leaves every 2–3 days…
Quick answer: Deer generally avoid plants with strong fragrance, fuzzy or leathery leaves, bitter sap, or toxic compounds — think lavender, catmint, foxglove, lamb’s ear, barberry, and most bulbs in the daffodil family. Below are 30 such plants across perennials, bulbs, shrubs, herbs, and groundcovers, plus four plants that get recommended as deer-resistant despite being…
Quick answer: Dig out the entire root system with a fork, or smother the area under a membrane or cardboard for a full growing season. Expect 1–3 seasons for a well-established patch. Never rotavate or till ground elder — every chopped-up root fragment can grow into a new plant.
Quick answer: Powdery mildew shows up as a white, powdery coating on leaves, stems and buds, and it’s most common from midsummer through early fall, when days are warm and dry but nights stay humid. Cut off the worst-affected leaves, spray the rest weekly with 1 tablespoon of baking soda plus 1 teaspoon of horticultural…
Quick answer: Late blight shows up as dark, water-soaked patches on leaves and stems that expand within a day or two, often with a thin white fuzz of spores on the underside in humid weather. It’s most common from midsummer through early fall, right after cool, wet stretches. Remove and destroy infected parts immediately, keep…
Quick answer: There’s no single bag of soil that works for everything. Vegetables and raised beds need nutrient-rich soil with good structure, containers need a lighter, free-draining mix, and acid-loving plants like blueberries and rhododendrons need a low pH. Bagged garden soil or topsoil works for most in-ground beds, but vegetables, roses and acid-loving plants…
Quick answer: Prune apple trees during dormancy, from late autumn through early spring, ideally on a dry day above roughly 20°F (-6°C) so the wood isn’t brittle. Build an open, bowl-shaped crown by removing branches that grow inward or cross each other, cutting vigorous upright water sprouts back by about a third, and always cutting…
Quick answer: The summer pruning window runs roughly from midsummer through early autumn, once a tree or shrub’s most vigorous spring growth has slowed but while it still has enough of the growing season left to heal the cut. It suits deciduous ”bleeders” like maples, birches and dogwoods, most established shade trees, hedges, and stone…
Quick answer: Scarify a lawn once a year, ideally in mid-spring or late summer to early fall, when the soil is moist but not soggy and the grass is actively growing. Set the blades 3–5 mm (about 1/8 inch) into the turf for light thatch, up to 8 mm (1/3 inch) for heavy moss. Aerate…