Gardening

Walk into any plant shop and you’ll see large tropical plants with dramatic split leaves labeled “split leaf philodendron.” Except many of them aren’t philodendrons at all, they’re Monsteras. The names get used interchangeably, garden centers mislabel plants constantly, and even experienced gardeners mix them up. Here’s the confusion: the plant commonly called “split leaf …

You’re standing in your garden, fighting with a kinked hose that won’t straighten, dragging excessive weight across your beds, or dealing with a spray nozzle that either blasts plants with too much pressure or dribbles pathetically. Watering takes twice as long as it should, and you end up frustrated every time. The problem isn’t you, …

Greenhouses look like the pinnacle of serious gardening. A dedicated structure for growing, protected from weather, extending your season by months. When you see one in a neighbor’s yard or on social media, it’s easy to think “I need that.” But greenhouses are expensive, require maintenance, and solve specific problems. For many gardeners, they’re an …

Longevity spinach isn’t actually spinach. It’s a tropical perennial leafy green (Gynura procumbens) that produces edible leaves year-round in warm climates and thrives in conditions where regular spinach fails miserably heat, humidity, and full summer sun. If you live in a hot climate (Zones 8-11) and struggle to grow greens during summer when lettuce bolts …

Palm trees define Florida landscapes. Whether you’re in Miami, Tampa, or Jacksonville, palms create that tropical feel that makes Florida gardens distinctive. But not all palms work in all parts of Florida, and choosing the wrong variety for your location or conditions leads to struggling trees, constant maintenance, or outright failure. New Florida homeowners often …

Kale is one of the most reliable vegetables you can grow cold-hardy, nutritious, and productive over a long season. But like all plants, it grows better with the right neighbors and struggles with the wrong ones. Companion planting isn’t magic. It’s about understanding which plants complement each other through pest management, space efficiency, nutrient use, …

Raised beds look beautiful in photos. They’re neat, organized, and seem like the “right way” to garden. But they’re also expensive to build, fill with soil, and maintain. Ground planting costs almost nothing upfront but might require years of soil improvement and more ongoing work. New gardeners face this decision early and often choose based …

Every spring, gardeners walk into seed displays or browse online catalogs and make the same expensive mistake: they buy way too many seeds based on emotion instead of math. You see “Heirloom Tomato Collection, 12 Varieties!” and think that sounds amazing. You grab three different types of lettuce because you can’t decide which one you …

Starting seeds indoors has become synonymous with “serious gardening.” Social media is full of elaborate seed-starting setups with grow lights, heat mats, and shelving systems. New gardeners see this and assume they need to do the same thing to have a successful garden. Here’s the truth: most plants don’t need to be started indoors. Some …

Seed packets are packed with information, some of it useful, most of it marketing. New gardeners either ignore the packet entirely or get overwhelmed by the details and make poor decisions. Here’s what you actually need to pay attention to: six specific numbers that determine whether those seeds will succeed in your garden or waste …

You don’t need a $50 soil test kit or a lab analysis to learn the most important things about your garden soil. Before you spend any money, you can gather critical information using nothing but your hands, a shovel, and some basic observation. Professional soil tests have their place, but they’re overkill for most beginners …

You can buy the most expensive seeds, follow perfect watering schedules, and give your plants ideal sunlight. But if your soil is terrible, your garden will struggle. Period. Soil is the foundation of everything. It’s where plants get water, nutrients, oxygen, and structural support. Good soil makes mediocre gardeners look skilled. Bad soil makes skilled …

Most people think about gardening when the weather warms up and garden centers fill with plants. By then, experienced gardeners have already been planning for months. They’ve ordered seeds, mapped out their beds, and made decisions about what to grow based on last year’s results. December isn’t too early to think about your garden, it’s …

Your garden didn’t work out the way you hoped. Maybe the tomatoes produced three sad fruits total. Maybe half your plants died and you’re not sure why. Maybe the whole thing got away from you by mid-July and you just stopped trying. Before you conclude you’re bad at gardening, let’s look at what actually went …

Every plant tag at the garden center tells you the same thing: how much sun the plant needs. “Full Sun.” “Partial Shade.” “Full Shade.” Simple enough, right? Except new gardeners consistently get this wrong. They plant sun-loving tomatoes in spots that get “plenty of light” but produce disappointing harvests. They put shade plants in afternoon …

Everyone wants a garden until they’re standing in their yard on a July afternoon, sweating through their shirt, wondering why they thought this was a good idea. The problem isn’t gardening itself, it’s starting a garden that doesn’t match your actual life. Most gardening advice skips the most important step: figuring out if you’re actually …

If you’ve spent any time looking at seed packets or plant tags, you’ve seen those cryptic zone numbers: “Zones 3-9” or “Hardy to Zone 5.” And if you’re like most new gardeners, you’ve either ignored them completely or gotten overwhelmed trying to figure out what they actually mean for your garden. Here’s the truth: garden …

Starting a garden feels exciting until you’re standing in the garden center, overwhelmed by choices, or watching your first plants struggle for reasons you can’t figure out. We’ve talked to hundreds of gardeners, and the same regrets come up again and again. Here are the five things experienced gardeners wish someone had told them on …

Winter transforms gardens into quieter spaces, but certain grasses refuse to fade into brown dormancy. Ornamental grasses stand tall through snow and ice, their seed heads and foliage creating movement, texture, and architectural interest when most plants have disappeared. Meanwhile, understanding cool-season lawn grasses and their winter needs determines whether your turf emerges healthy in …

Coleus plants bring tropical vibrancy to summer gardens with their spectacular foliage in every imaginable color combination. When temperatures drop, most gardeners treat these beauties as disposable annuals, tossing them on the compost heap at season’s end. Yet coleus are actually tender perennials that live for years when protected from frost. Understanding how to overwinter …