Turf grass is the groundcover of choice for many property owners, mainly for its rich, carpet-like appearance. But grass is thirsty, demands frequent maintenance and provides little wildlife appeal.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Home-grown tomatoes are NOT the best-tasting ones. Not necessarily, that is.

Smart phones that respond to signals from plants? Laptops that coordinate irrigation at dozens of vineyards? Remote weather stations programmed to text frost alerts?

There are two plants whose behavior makes me think back to when my daughter was a teenager.

Felder Rushing is not a man to be hurried. This former county extension agent turned folklorist, author and lecturer is an advocate of slow gardening — emphasizing the process over the product.

The cheery blue color of dayflowers — so named because each flower lasts but a day — does nothing to dispel some pity I feel for them.

Many of us dispatch our used paper to a bin, the first step on the way to Recycle Land. These household accumulations of paper and cardboard are just one more thing to get rid of.

Grass isn't always the best groundcovers for a yard: It's thirsty at a time when water is becoming scarce; it attracts fewer pollinators; it requires expensive chemicals to maintain, and it must be disposed of if you bag as you mow.

Take a look at new shoots growing on a favorite shrub or vine and you'll see that the bases of these shoots may be beginning to toughen up, their once soft, green outer layer turning brown and woody.

Moth-wing light fixtures? Thunderhead wallpaper? If you're an armchair naturalist, you'll love one of this year's big home decor trends.

Culinary herbs are among the hottest trends in gardening. They also are popular among families who preserve fresh foods for later use.

Fruit trees that were so full of blossoms this spring that they looked like giant snowballs foretell a heavy crop of fruit later this year.

Smart irrigation is becoming a hot landscaping specialty as groundwater aquifers are increasingly sucked dry.

Along with the sunscreen, book, toys and snacks we haul to our waterside of choice this summer, we need a beach towel or two.

Plants need water to keep cool, pump minerals up to their leaves and grow. And in many regions and many seasons, they can fend for themselves getting water.

Tomato seedlings that were planted neatly near garden stakes are already beginning to take matters into their own hands, and if allowed to grow willy nilly will turn into a tangled mass of vines with tomato fruits — many of them rotting — hidden in a dark jungle of stems.