I have a colleague who spends the summer months along the rugged coast of Maine, and returns to life in North Carolina around this time of year. My family likes to "summer" along the North Carolina beaches and mountains. And I have a Christmas Cactus and some Peace Lilies that summer on the front porch.

Last week, Rah-Rah Rita posed a good question: when should we bring in our Christmas Cactus for the cooler weather?

Our houseplants like to get out in the sun, stretch their leaves and soak in the Vitamin D and warmth just like we do. The heat and humidity of our Carolina summers is good for them, particularly when placed on a covered porch or deck. And, likewise, they're also ready to head back indoors when the evening temperatures begin to dip below 50⁰. So over the next few weeks, it's time to move your houseplants back to their warmer indoor abode. In the back of my mind, I have a three-step approach that I follow each fall:

1. Adjust...

Dear Gardening Gloves:

I know mums are a traditional fall flower, but I was wondering about the best way to plant them. Should I plant them in the ground in my garden, or put them in pots on the porch?

- Chermaine, Knightdale

~~~

Hey Chermaine, great question! I think where you plant your mums is entirely based on personal preference. I love the way mums look along a curved flower bed, or in groups in natural areas beneath pine trees. But, for me, one thing I do not enjoy is scrubby mums that are overgrown and unshapely. So I tend to put them in pots on my porch steps, on the back deck, or dotted throughout my garden (pots and all). Lavender mums are my absolute favorite, but I have always enjoyed burgundy plants, too.

One trick I've learned through the years for plants whose roots I don't want to spread, like mums and mint, is to put the whole two- or three-gallon plastic bucket down into the hole I dig in the earth. The buckets are unseen, the...

Lovers of nature, unite! The weather is perfect this time of year for a hike ... so lace up your boots, grab your kids and your dogs, and hit the trails.

Last weekend we had our first fall family hike at Harris Lake County Park. The park is located near Progress Energy's Sharon Harris reservoir, but it's one of the Wake County Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces. Convenient to us in western Wake County, it's one of my family's favorite places to hike, picnic and ride the trails. The trails are peppered with an interesting array of flora, and I like to quiz my 11 year old on the names of the trees and plants we see as we amble along. His memory is pretty good, though his favorite tree to point out is the sassafras--mostly because he loves root beer. But his specialty is the rocks.

Another favorite hike in the Triangle is at Crabtree Lake, and we enter on the Aviation Parkway side. When we're in...

You don’t need acres and acres to plant a sustainable vegetable garden for your family. In fact, if you’ve got a patch of sun in your postage size yard, or space for a terracotta pot on your porch or your apartment stoop, you’ve got space for a garden. 

As my own gardens have grown in and become more shady, it was hard to find a spot this summer for our beloved tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers. But I shifted things around on the back deck and found a home for three varieties of tomatoes and peppers in basic pots. Like the Obama’s, who have renewed the interest in backyard victory gardens in countless families across the nation, my family supports the idea of growing food locally and naturally (and for yourselves). 

At my office in downtown Raleigh, a fellow tenant has planted a beautiful garden in the small greenway...

Dear Miss Fifi:

Our newly acquired, one year old Husky mix is killing our wallet and our house! We have bruises all over from the constant biting/nipping, and he's tearing up everything he can get his teeth on. We've tried the Kong—but it doesn't work. Peanut butter, cheese, cookie filled—doesn't matter. He has plenty of toys and we play with him and walk him, but it never seems to be enough. He's tearing up the backyard. Digging everything, including a newly planted tree with fresh soil and mulch. I know I need obedience training, but are the basics enough? Will that kill the biting/ digging/tearing up stuff?

- Jennifer

~~~

Dear Jennifer:

Whoa ... uh, I mean woof. That sounds like one serious handful of a Huskie you've got there. I believe obedience training will be a huge asset to you and your pup, and it will most definitely go a long way toward curbing his urge to chew. Will it totally stop the...