Author: Lillian Vaughn

Picking crisp apples from your own tree can sound like something reserved for colder states. Plenty of warm-climate homeowners try anyway and end up with trees that leaf out nicely but rarely bloom. The problem usually has less to do with care than with which apple went in the ground. Most familiar grocery store varieties…

Ginkgo trees hold their color longer than almost anything else in the yard, staying bright gold while nearby maples and oaks thin out. For a week or so, that glowing canopy seems like it will never let go. Then one morning the branches are nearly bare, with a thick yellow carpet spread underneath. Snap a…

Turnip seeds scattered thickly across a Georgia bed in September tend to come up fast and crowded, sometimes almost shoulder to shoulder. All those seedlings look promising at first, filling the row with bright green leaves. Underground, though, the roots are already competing for space they will need later. Left alone, many of them stay…

Most rosemary plants spend their lives getting snipped a few sprigs at a time for the kitchen. That leaves much of what this shrub can do in the yard untouched. Established rosemary is tough, evergreen, and surprisingly useful in parts of the landscape that challenge other plants. Its fragrant foliage tends to discourage deer, making…

Henbit and annual bluegrass seem to appear out of nowhere in March, filling thin spots before the lawn greens up. Their seeds actually start sprouting months earlier, once fall soil begins to cool down. Such timing explains why spring weed control sometimes feels like it starts a step too late. A pre-emergent applied in fall…

Stink bugs can become a frustrating sight in your yard during fall, especially when they begin gathering near the house. Your choice of garden plants can make a difference by supporting insects that naturally feed on common pests. Several Georgia native flowers attract beneficial wasps, flies, and other insects that contribute to a healthier garden…

Frost on the windshield the morning after a forecast low of 36 degrees can seem like the weather report got it wrong. Official temperatures are usually measured several feet above the ground, where the air stays a little warmer. Down at grass level, surfaces can cool well below that reading on clear, calm nights. Heat…

Limp, wrinkled segments drooping over the pot can make a Christmas cactus look like it is giving up. Many owners water more, which may be the opposite of what it needs. Wilting can come from too much water as easily as too little, and in Georgia homes the two often look alike. Soggy soil can…

Cooler afternoons can bring an unwelcome change around your home when clusters of insects begin collecting on sunny walls and windows. Fall sends one unwanted visitor searching for protected places where it can spend the colder months. Warm walls, window frames, and other sheltered surfaces can become gathering spots as temperatures begin dropping. Once these…

Sweet fragrance drifting through your yard can seem like one of fall’s nicest surprises, but the shrub behind it deserves a closer look. Small, strongly scented flowers can fill the air while staying almost hidden among dense evergreen leaves. That pleasant scent can make the plant seem harmless, even as it spreads beyond the place…

A bare spot beside your walkway can become more inviting next spring when the right bulbs are tucked into the soil this fall. Fragrant hyacinths are worth considering when you want flowers that greet you near a path. Many varieties can return for years with proper care. Fall gives the bulbs the cool period they…

A flash of red around a lizard’s head can look alarming when it darts across a porch, wall, or garden edge. Some Georgians call these lizards scorpions, but the nickname gives the wrong impression. They are not venomous and cannot sting you. The name often refers to male broad headed skinks, which can develop reddish…

Opening a storage box in spring and finding mushy, moldy dahlia tubers is a hard way to lose a favorite variety. Many gardeners dig their dahlias in fall to protect them from cold and wet soil. Basements seem like the safest place to keep them, especially in north Georgia. Damp air and poor airflow can…

Big, hairy spiders darting across the kitchen floor at night can send anyone reaching for a shoe. Their size alone makes them seem far more dangerous than they really are. Wolf spiders can appear inside Georgia homes during fall, often entering through gaps while wandering in search of prey or mates. These spiders do not…

Finding a slow, drowsy wasp crawling across the living room window is a surprisingly common fall experience in Georgia. Many homeowners assume a nest must be hiding somewhere inside the walls. Paper wasps found indoors in fall are not usually trying to build a nest there, though. Most of the ones you find inside are…

Small, cone-shaped holes scattered across the lawn some mornings can point to a visitor that shows up after dark. Its black and white stripes are easy to recognize, but plenty of homeowners never actually see it. Most of its digging for grubs happens late at night. Fall tends to bring more of that activity, since…

Periwinkle can cover a shady patch quickly, but that easy growth comes with a problem once the vines start moving beyond the bed. This familiar ground cover can spread into nearby natural areas and form dense mats. Replacing it gives you room to choose plants better suited to local landscapes. Native options can handle shade…

Spotting an opossum shuffling through your yard after dark may seem unwelcome, but this visitor can quietly help with several backyard problems. Opossums are opportunistic eaters that feed on insects, snails, slugs, fallen fruit, and other available food. That varied diet can make their nightly visits useful around gardens. In Georgia, they may wander through…

Brown, shield-shaped bugs clustering on porch screens and siding are a familiar sight once nights start cooling off. Stink bugs gather on sunny walls while searching for a sheltered spot to spend winter. A few often sneak inside, and swatting one releases a smell that lingers. Sprays and traps help some, but many homeowners would…

Southern toads tend to show up on the patio after dark, sitting still near the porch light. Plenty of homeowners shoo them away without a second thought. Those lumpy brown visitors are common across much of Georgia, and they do more work than their slow, clumsy movements suggest. One toad can eat a surprising number…

Fresh holes appearing overnight can make a lawn look torn up, and the visitor responsible may be easier to spot now. As cooler weather settles into Georgia, armadillos may spend more time foraging during daylight hours. That gives you a better chance of catching one in action. Their search for insects and soil creatures can…

A sudden thump against your window can stop you cold, especially when a bird leaves a few feathers behind. During fall migration, birds move through Georgia each fall, and many travel after sunset. That movement can make familiar homes difficult to navigate. Windows often reflect open sky, nearby trees, or shrubs so clearly that birds…

An overgrown azalea by the front steps can make fall feel like the right time for a trim. With the weather cooler and the blooms long gone, cutting it back seems like a way to get ahead. The problem is that many spring shrubs have already set next year’s buds. Those buds are tucked along…

Spreading fresh mulch usually feels like the easy part of fall yard work. You grab a handful, toss it around the shrubs, and move on without much thought. That habit can lead to a painful surprise if a certain ant has already moved into your garden beds. This one does not build the tall mounds…

Once the heat breaks, most homeowners put the hose away and assume their new trees can handle things from here. That feels reasonable, since the leaves stop wilting and the soil no longer bakes by midafternoon. Underground, though, a young tree is still working to spread its roots. Those roots keep growing well after the…

A mimosa in full bloom is hard to ignore, which is why so many end up planted beside homes and driveways. The trouble tends to start after those pink flowers drop. By late summer, the branches are loaded with flat pods that later scatter everywhere. Each of those pods carries seeds that sprout easily almost…

Kudzu creeping over a back fence can look harmless in late summer, like another patch of green at the yard’s edge. Give it time, though, and it can smother shrubs and small trees. That fast growth is why so many homeowners feel like they are always one step behind. Your timing matters as much as…

A red tip photinia hedge covered in dark red spots can look a little worse every time you walk by. Those spots come from a fungal disease that has hit these hedges hard across much of Georgia. Once it settles in, leaves drop early and the hedge thins from the inside out. Spraying can slow…

Finding a small brown scorpion in the bathtub can make you rethink every corner of your house. In north Georgia especially, that surprise is more common than many newcomers expect. Southern devil scorpions are native, shy, and usually smaller than your thumb. Their sting is often compared to a bee sting, though that is little…

Blowing leaves against the house might seem like a quick way to clear the lawn without hauling it away. The trouble is that a damp pile pressed against your foundation makes a comfortable home for roaches. It holds moisture, stays dark, and gives them something to eat as the leaves break down. Once they settle…

If your tomato leaves curled into tight, twisted cups this summer, you probably blamed the heat or a virus. That guess makes sense, since both can cause odd growth in a Georgia garden. The real cause, though, often goes back to something you did to the bed months earlier. Fall is when many of us…

That butterfly bush by your mailbox probably pulled in more swallowtails this summer than anything else in your yard. So it feels strange to hear that it may not support those insects as completely as native host plants do. The problem is that butterfly bush feeds adult butterflies but gives their caterpillars nothing to eat….