Bogdan Kurylo / Getty Images Key Points Gardening just 30 minutes a day can improve heart health, boost bone strength, and help prevent serious diseases. Spending time in green spaces or simply gazing at plants for 20 minutes or more can help lower stress, calm your mind, and improve your mood. Gardening can also help…
A clump of blanketflower, or Gaillardia pulchella, blooms at Cape Lookout. Photo: Heather Brameyer As with any interest or hobby, gardening has its own vernacular. Plants have unique names, sometimes specific to localities, such as the shrub we around this part of the coast call “myrkle,” otherwise known as Southern wax myrtle. That’s where the…
It’s important to fertilize, stake and prune dahlias to keep them happy and blooming. The Olympian The last week of June is the time to set your flowers up for continued color by fertilizing and remembering to dead head and pinch back annuals such as petunias, geraniums and marigolds. A good rule of green thumb…
How to keep you and your loved ones safe in excessive heat Check out this video to learn tips for sunscreen application, how to keep children safe and the location of seven Coachella Valley cooling centers. Summer heat in the Coachella Valley can be challenging for gardeners, but certain plants can thrive with proper care….
Susana Gonzalez/Bloomberg Kristiane Koontz recently used ChatGPT 4.0 to plan her summer vegetable and herb garden. “My prompt was fairly detailed, telling it my climate, micro climate and soils and asking it to select varieties of vegetables and herbs that would do well where I am,” said Koontz, executive vice president and director of treasury…
Eileen Ward | Columnist The regulatory method of integrated pest management includes preventing entry and establishment of foreign pests. The first line of defense is to identify and then suppress new pests as they are first discovered in limited areas. If suppression is not achieved, you then turn to containing and eradicating the pest. The…
Some plants need more attention than others. Many shrubs, for example, don’t need much care at all, and in fact thrive when ignored. Of course, this period of neglect only starts after the shrub is established—typically following two to three years of consistent watering. These low-maintenance plants are perfect for putting color and texture in…
The smell of banana oat cookies, savory herb popcorn, and tomato and herb bruschetta wafted through the air as Mayor Sharon Tucker and other program leaders celebrated the Plant, Pick & Plate program Friday. The celebration marked the start of the free initiative designed to combat childhood obesity and instill environmental consciousness at Johnnie Mae…
