Give a tree a hug and celebrate Arbor Day on the last Friday in April.

It's finally here! Your first red tomato. You reach in, twist it off the vine and have a look. And there it is - a big black spot on the bottom of the tomato.

Don’t let a tight budget stop you from starting seeds indoors. Get creative and involve the whole family in the process.

You decided to save money or perhaps try something new and ordered bare root plants from a catalog or through the internet. Now you are wondering what to do with them once they arrive.

Celebrate Arbor Day by planting new trees or caring for your established ones in your landscape and community.

The grass is up and growing and the roar of lawn mowers can be heard throughout the neighborhood. Minimize the negative impact of your gas mower on the environment with a few easy tricks.

Piles of plastic pots fill the sheds and garages of gardeners across the country. Don’t throw these in the trash. Rather look for ways to reduce, reuse, and recycle plant pots.

UGH! Oh gross! Both commonly heard right after an earwig is spotted.

Start this year’s garden pest control with a stroll through the landscape.

Add more planting space to your landscape by converting a portion of your lawn to a flower or vegetable garden.

Avoid dulling your mower blades and more importantly damaging your trees by creatively dealing with the surface roots.

It’s foamy, slimy and rather disgusting to look at. And nothing describes it better than its common name – dog vomit mold fungus.

Enjoy the beauty and fragrance of roses without all the work. Many of us have switched to hardier more pest resistant shrub roses for just this reason. But now, thanks to the Earth-Kind rose designation, growing roses will be easier for all.

You can have a beautiful landscape and be kind to the environment by adopting an Earth-Kind landscape philosophy.

The hot dry air in our homes during winter is tough on us and our houseplants, but it’s great for insects. You may need to lend a hand this winter to keep your plants looking good.

Check plants regularly for signs of insects. You may want to break out the hand lens or recruit a younger gardener with better eyesight.

Leafless crabapple trees are a common sight in summers following a cool wet spring. Start now to eliminate the problem next season.

Spring is the time to prevent crabgrass problems in the lawn. .

The best defense against this and other lawn weeds is proper care. Grow your grass tall. Keeping it 3 to 3 ½ inches tall encourages deep roots that are more drought-tolerant and better able to fend off pests and outcompete the weeds.

Proper watering and fertilization will further reduce weed problems. Even one fertilization a year, can greatly improve your lawn’s health and reduce weed problems.

UGH! Oh gross! Commonly heard right after an earwig is spotted.

Every garden season is filled with beautiful or tasty surprises and a few challenges. You can prevent or reduce challenges and damage caused by insect pests and still be kind to the environment.

A healthy lawn is your best defense against weeds. So if you want to reduce the problem - long term- you need to learn a bit more about the weeds.

If your indoor plants have cottony masses on the leaves and stems, it is time to break out the rubbing alcohol and cotton swabs.

Don’t let mosquitoes prevent you from enjoying your garden this summer. A fan and a bit of outdoor housekeeping will help you manage these pests.

So it seems your perennial garden is filled with more weeds than flowers. Now is a great time to reclaim your garden by getting the weeds under control.

Don’t panic when you find your zinnias, lilac, bee balm or phlox leaves are covered with a white powdery substance. This fungal disease, known as powdery mildew, is often a yearly problem on a variety of plants.

Get the most flavor and nutritional value from your garden-fresh vegetables with proper harvesting, storage and preparation.

Yellowing, speckled leaves and small spider webs are sure signs spider mites have taken up residence in your plants.

Does this sound familiar? You brush your hand over your plants and a cloud of white fly-like insects disperse in the air. It is not a good thing.

Give egg shells and empty egg cartons a second life in your garden. Use them for starting plants from seeds.

If each year you find yourself trying to squeeze more plants into less space, it may just be time to expand one or more of your planting beds.

Falling leaves make a great mulch in the woods, but can spell death for groundcovers and the lawn. Make clean up easy for you and good for the environment.

Plants are the easiest way to bring birds into your landscape, but you may want to increase the number and diversity of winged visitors by supplementing with a few feeders.

Improve your garden’s beauty, increase your enjoyment, and reduce stress five minutes at a time.

Don’t end up with a driveway full of excess topsoil and mulch waiting for friends and family to haul away the surplus for their gardens. Do a bit of math in advance and order just the amount needed.

Get rid of the fence dividing you and your neighbors’ yard. Instead create a beautiful garden you both can enjoy.

Invite the birds into your landscape for added color, motion, and interest while creating a focal point in one of your gardens. Plant a green roof birdfeeder.

Have you noticed those beautiful white butterflies flitting across your garden? Lovely to look at, but what they leave behind is a problem for gardeners.

Put your creativity to work and get your favorite youngster excited about gardening.

Give your garbage disposal and wallet a rest. Convert kitchen scraps into a nutritious soil additive for your garden while raising bait for your next fishing trip. All you need is a container with drainage holes, shredded paper, red worms and of course kitchen scraps.

So you decided to brighten the winter landscape with a few lights.

Take advantage of weekends, holidays and school vacations to get the children in your life involved with vegetable gardening.

A break in the cold winter temperatures can be a welcome reprieve for gardeners, but not such a good thing for our spring flowering bulbs.

Improve the health and longevity of your trees and shrubs with a bit of preventative care.

Summers are filled with barbeques, vacations, and caring for our landscapes. Mulching is one way to save time and effort over a season or two, giving you more time for fun.

Save time and energy and keep your landscape looking its best with mulch.

Don’t let cold soil and late spring frost delay the start to your garden season.

Procrastination is a good thing when it comes to cleaning up your landscape in fall.

Try a bit of preventative care in this year’s garden. You’ll increase your landscape’s beauty and productivity with less work on your part.

Keep your plants looking good and be kind to the environment despite the risk of disease problems.

Don’t drag that Christmas tree to the curb. Give it a second life in your landscape.

Cut trees make great windbreaks in the landscape. Strategically place discarded Christmas trees on the windward side of rhododendron, boxwood and other broadleaf evergreens to reduce problems with winter burn.

Put coffee grounds and filters to work improving your garden’s beauty and productivity.

Whether you’ve gone organic or use traditional fertilizers and pest management products you need to store them properly for safety’s sake and their longevity.

Save money and be kind to your garden and the environment by capturing rainwater and putting it to work in your landscape.

Your geraniums are at their peak bloom and you heard somewhere you could store them overwinter – but how?

You’ve enjoyed their blooms all summer and now you would like to preserve your hibiscus, mandevilla, bougainvillea, or other tropical plant for next season.

Save money and be kind to your garden and the environment by capturing rainwater and putting it to work in your landscape.

The holidays are here and for many that means, it’s time to head out to the Christmas tree lot. Selection is the first step to insuring a beautiful tree throughout the holiday season

All your hard work is paying off with an abundant harvest. Then, one day you notice your squash plants are wilted and near death.

Extend the gardening fun and save money by starting your plants from seed.

Break out the broom and sweep your way to cleaner drinking water.

Mulch your garden beds with shredded leaves, evergreen needles, or other organic matter. It conserves moisture while suppressing weeds and improving the soil.

Save energy, care for new trees, and conserve water in one easy step.

Use water wisely in your landscape to save you time, improve plant health and reduce your water bill.

Save time, energy, and conserve water while caring for your new trees.

No matter the time of the season, weeds seem to grow and thrive. Keeping them under control will give you a healthier, more productive and attractive garden.

Make this the fall you protect your evergreens before winter winds and snowloads cause your arborvitae to split and rhododendrons to wither.

Help your roses through the winter and be rewarded with beautiful blooms next season.

Save yourself time, money and frustration by properly storing your mower for winter.