Gardening Tips + Tricks
Find step-by-step tutorials, practical ideas, and DIY inspiration for your edible and ornamental garden. Learn how to plant a victory garden in raised beds and containers, grow organic vegetables and herbs, build trellises for tomatoes and other climbing plants, manage garden pests like aphids and fig beetles, attract bees, butterflies, and other pollinators, and care for your garden tools. Beginner gardeners are welcome!
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How to Keep Your Fiddle Leaf Fig Alive and Healthy (Ficus Lyrata)
Ficus lyrata—otherwise known as the famous fiddle leaf fig—has a reputation for being a bit of a diva and rather tricky to grow. But with the right care and particular attention to watering, this sophisticated tree can absolutely thrive in your home (even if you don’t live in the tropics).
How to Plant Bare-Root Perennials in Pots
Bare-root plants have many advantages over their container-grown versions: they’re less expensive to buy, quicker to establish in a garden, and often come in more varieties than what’s available locally. Don’t be intimidated by what looks like a stick or a tangle of roots; potting up a bare-root perennial is a really simple process that helps your plant get off to a great start.
How to Grow a Beautiful Ficus Altissima
Maybe you’ve seen and admired the long thick “strangler” roots of the majestic Ficus altissima in your travels, but did you know this towering tree (also known as a false banyan) can be kept as a houseplant? With the right care, Ficus altissima can grow into a large and elegant indoor tree (even if you don’t live in the tropics).
How to Grow a Gorgeous Guzmania Bromeliad
If you love weird and wonderful houseplants, a Guzmania bromeliad is right up your alley. This colorful tropical can flower for months, and once the show’s over, it’s easily divided into new plants that give off all the island vibes. Here’s how you can care for your Guzmania while it’s blooming and what to do when it’s done.
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An Easy Way to Calculate How Much Soil You Need for a Garden Bed
If you have a raised garden bed that you need to fill, here’s an easy way to calculate exactly how much soil (or compost or mulch) to get. These simple soil calculators also work for round beds or triangular beds! (And if you have other shapes to fill, I’ve got some tips to help with that too.)
How to Grow Hardy Hibiscus—Even in Cold Climates
Even if you don’t live in the tropics, you can still grow a gorgeous hardy Hibiscus plant year-round! These cold-hardy perennials are prolific bloomers and offer all the beauty and drama of their warm-weather cousins (and then some!) but are tough enough to overwinter outside down to zone 5.
How to Plant Bare-Root Perennials in Pots
Bare-root plants have many advantages over their container-grown versions: they’re less expensive to buy, quicker to establish in a garden, and often come in more varieties than what’s available locally. Don’t be intimidated by what looks like a stick or a tangle of roots; potting up a bare-root perennial is a really simple process that helps your plant get off to a great start.
What's That White Mold in My Soil?!
Did you dig around in your soil one day and find a bunch of white mold growing in it? Eeek! Not to worry—that white mold is actually a good sign that you’re doing something right. Mycorrhiza is a beneficial fungus that helps boost plant growth and improve the soil, and there are ways you can spread more of it throughout your garden.
How to Grow Hardy Hibiscus—Even in Cold Climates
Even if you don’t live in the tropics, you can still grow a gorgeous hardy Hibiscus plant year-round! These cold-hardy perennials are prolific bloomers and offer all the beauty and drama of their warm-weather cousins (and then some!) but are tough enough to overwinter outside down to zone 5.
When and How to Divide Perennials for a Healthier Garden
If your garden is starting to look a bit crowded or unkempt, and it’s been a few years since you planted those perennials, it may be time to divide them. Not all perennials should be (or need to be) divided, however, and when you divide your plants is just as important as how. This guide will take you through it step-by-step!
How to Grow Hardy Hibiscus—Even in Cold Climates
Even if you don’t live in the tropics, you can still grow a gorgeous hardy Hibiscus plant year-round! These cold-hardy perennials are prolific bloomers and offer all the beauty and drama of their warm-weather cousins (and then some!) but are tough enough to overwinter outside down to zone 5.
How to Freeze Parsley, Cilantro, Chives and Other Herbs
If you grow an abundance of fresh herbs in the garden in summer, here’s a quick and easy way to preserve them to enjoy all year long… all without hanging them up to dry! Put your freezer to work to keep the flavors fresh. These are my three favorite ways to freeze all kinds of herbs, from basil and parsley to rosemary and chives.
How to Grow a Healthy Weeping Fig (Ficus Benjamina)
The small, pointy leaves and slender, arching stems of Ficus benjamina give this tree its elegant “weeping” appearance. It’s also a tropical that isn’t as fussy about humidity as other tropical houseplants, so you can grow and care for a weeping fig in drier climates. Here’s what you should know to keep your weeping fig happy and healthy.
Hoverflies Are Your Secret Weapon Against Aphids and Other Pests
Ladybugs get all the glory when it comes to natural pest control, but somewhere out there, ravenous hoverflies are working overtime to destroy aphids and other pests on your plants. These beneficial (yet often overlooked) flies are not only efficient predators, but important pollinators too. This is how you can get more of them into your garden.
