Beginner-friendly gardening guides from Laura Bennett — a backyard gardener in Asheville, North Carolina (USDA Zone 7a) who’s been growing food and cut flowers for nine years. Her 14-raised-bed garden, cut-flower patch, and dahlia collection are where every guide starts. You’ll find seasonal planting calendars for Zones 5–9, step-by-step guides for raised beds and container gardens, dahlia and hydrangea care, companion planting, no-dig methods, pest control without chemicals, and the mistakes Laura made so you don’t have to. If a technique survives a North Carolina summer and a wet spring in her own beds, it makes it onto HomeGlowHacks. Browse the latest gardening articles below.
My first garden was ten feet wide and six feet deep, and I was determined to grow everything. Tomatoes, beans, cucumbers, peas, squash — I crammed it all in shoulder to shoulder. By July the whole thing was a tangled mess. Cucumbers sprawled into the tomatoes, bean vines strangled the pea plants, and I could … Read more
Basil is the herb that every cook needs and every gardener should grow. A single basil plant can produce enough fresh leaves for weekly pasta, salads, and homemade pesto all summer long — and it is one of the simplest herbs to grow whether you have a full garden, a sunny windowsill, or just a … Read more
Homegrown garlic is one of those things that, once you try it, makes you question everything you thought you knew about garlic. Store-bought garlic is fine for cooking, but it has been sitting in a warehouse for months, shipped from thousands of miles away, and often treated with chemicals to prevent sprouting. Freshly harvested garlic … Read more
There is something almost magical about walking past a lavender hedge in full bloom — the scent stops you in your tracks and the sight of those purple spikes swaying in the breeze is the kind of thing that makes you fall in love with gardening all over again. Lavender is one of my absolute … Read more
My first tomato plant lived in a five-dollar bucket on a third-floor fire escape. It got battered by wind, baked by afternoon sun reflecting off brick, and I watered it with a kitchen pitcher because I did not own a hose. That plant produced 47 cherry tomatoes. I counted every single one because I could … Read more
What if the most beautiful yard on your street also happened to feed your family? That is exactly what edible landscaping is about — replacing purely ornamental plants with food-producing ones that look just as gorgeous. I started tucking herbs and berry bushes into my flower beds years ago, and now half my front yard … Read more
I spent years planting flowers I thought butterflies would love, and for years I watched them fly right past my garden to land on the weedy patch of clover by the mailbox. It was humbling, but it taught me something important: butterflies do not care about pretty. They care about food, shelter, and the right … Read more
There is something deeply satisfying about picking a crisp apple from a tree in your own backyard. And contrary to what many people think, you do not need acres of land or years of experience to grow apples. Modern dwarf and semi-dwarf varieties are bred for small spaces and can produce fruit in as little … Read more
Sunflowers are pure garden joy. They grow fast, they are almost impossible to kill, and there is nothing quite like watching a tiny seed transform into a towering plant with a dinner-plate-sized flower that literally follows the sun across the sky. If you have never grown anything before, start with sunflowers — they will make … Read more
If you have never grown zucchini before, let me warn you in the most delightful way possible: you are about to have more squash than you know what to do with. Zucchini and summer squash are the overachievers of the vegetable garden, and they reward even the most inexperienced gardener with an almost embarrassing abundance … Read more
