Lorna Kring 
Fresh pears are sweet, juicy, and delicious. But most varieties need to be picked green and ripened off the tree before they can be enjoyed. With the right environment your crop can be stored for several months to extend the goodness. Learn on how to store, handle, and ripen pears in this guide. Read more now.
European pear trees provide showy spring blossoms, beautiful fall colors, as well as delicious fruit with a soft, buttery texture and a sweet flavor. There are a number of different cultivars available for home gardeners. Learn about 11 of the best common pear varieties to grow in this guide. Read more now.
Are you wondering what to do with your end-of-season surplus of green and ripe red tomatoes? Some can be kept in boxed storage to continue to ripen and enjoy fresh. But for a bumper harvest, long-term preservation is often needed. Find all the details on how to store your homegrown tomatoes right here. Read more now.
Garlic is a kitchen must-have. And you can enjoy the rich flavor of your own harvest year-round with one, or all, of our storage methods. Use a traditional braid to hang bulbs from the rafters, or try them dehydrated, frozen, or even pickled. Find out how to cure and store garlic from the garden now. Read more.
When your herb garden produces more than you can use fresh, freezing is a great way to preserve their flavor, fragrance, and nutrition. It’s fast, easy, and there’s no specialized equipment needed. Plus, it’s a smart way to reduce food waste. Learn about five of the best ways to freeze herbs in this guide. Read more now.
If you enjoy splitting your own wood for the fireplace or backyard fire pit, join us in an exploration of the best tool for the job: the splitting maul. Different in design and function from an axe, this is a tool meant to divide wood along the grain with the least amount of effort. Read along as we take a closer look at the features that make this tool so effective, and discover our favorites for the task.
Grape hyacinth bulbs add bright splashes of color to the early spring garden, and a sweet fragrance. Easy and dependable, they’re striking in beds, containers, and naturalized settings and multiply readily so you can quickly expand your collection. Learn all about grape hyacinth propagation for bulbs and seeds now.
Midsummer’s heat can be tough on leafy green production, with many types developing a bitter flavor when they bolt in hot temperatures. But you can still enjoy a steady harvest of tender leaves with a late crop of cool season Swiss chard. Read more to learn all about how to grow your own for delicious fall harvests.
Growing your own tomatoes is fun and rewarding for both the novice and experienced gardener. Saving the pips from your harvest is a smart and easy way to economize and ensure you get the plants that perform best in your garden. Join us and learn about the four methods to save tomato seed. Read more now.
A bountiful harvest of tasty homegrown tomatoes is a treat that shouldn’t be missed. But sometimes plants need a helping hand. Don’t let bad weather or a lack of pollinators thwart your green thumb. Learn four easy ways to hand pollinate tomatoes and you’ll always enjoy an abundant crop. Read more now.
With vivid colorful blooms and a trailing or upright growth habit, lobelia provides outstanding ornamental value to beds, containers, rockeries, and window boxes. And it loves a cool afternoon so it’s perfect for brightening up shady spots in the garden. Learn how to plant and grow lobelia in this guide. Read more now.
The flavor of homegrown tomatoes is an experience no one should miss. Even if you don’t have the real estate for a vegetable patch, you can still enjoy their rich taste with fast growing and prolific container plants on your deck or patio. Learn how to grow tomatoes in containers and pots with this guide. Read more now.
Roma tomatoes are beloved for their thick-walled, meaty flesh and bold taste. They’re the go-to variety for rich tomato sauces, pastes, purees, and make a delicious, dripless bruschetta or salsa. And they’re easy to grow in containers or the garden. Find all our best tips for growing Roma tomatoes right here.
Do you fancy the idea of picking tasty, tangy cherry tomatoes fresh from the vine? Easy to grow and vigorous, they produce an abundance of bite-sized fruit in an array of beautiful colors. Among the earliest to ripen, they deliver a long season as well. Get all the best tips for growing cherry tomatoes right here.
Freshly picked cherry tomatoes are the perfect healthy snack, and they’re great in salads or roasted on the grill. Easily cultivated, the vigorous plants produce abundant clusters of fruit in containers on the patio or out in the garden. Don’t miss our guide to 17 of the best cherry tomatoes to plant in your garden.
If you need a perennial that gives long-lasting, reliable color during the hot months, summer flowering clematis is a great choice. Terrific for vertical interest, as a groundcover, or weaving through trees and shrubs, these hardy vines are easy to care for and maintain. Discover 19 of the best varieties for your garden.
For incomparable fresh flavors, a container herb garden provides a quick, efficient, and affordable way to grow your own, even in the smallest space. They’re attractive with pretty flowers and delightfully fragrant. And once planted, they’re low-maintenance, fast growing, and highly rewarding. Find our easy tips here.
Comfortable and relaxing, porch swings are the perfect option to spend a little down time lounging outdoors. Styles and sizes vary from single-seaters to sumptuous daybeds – and some come with their own stands, so technically, you don’t even need a porch! Check out our review of 11 of the best porch swings now.