Smoke from hundreds of wildfires burning in Canada drove down air quality across swaths of the Eastern U.S. this week, a problem all too familiar in many Western states. In the New York City suburbs where I live, the air became smoggy and orange, categorized for a time by monitoring agencies as ...

Years ago, when my now-grown daughter Justine was a toddler, we visited a U-pick farm where she plucked plump, ripe strawberries from a field of sprawling plants. Some made it into the basket on that sunny June day; others went directly into her mouth. That’s when she learned that June is ...

Have you ever gone to the grocery store for, say, milk, and left with a cartful of impulse buys? Well, I visited a couple of nurseries last week in search of one specific plant and left with nearly everything except that plant, which both retailers had sold out. As usual, I was seduced by the ...

Culinary herbs are among the easiest plants you can grow. They only need sunlight, water, and well-draining soil with a neutral pH. You don’t even need a garden. Many herbs, such as rosemary, basil, cilantro, lemon balm, oregano and mint will grow well in containers. In fact, mints should ...

It’s prime planting time in many regions, and gardeners are flocking to garden centers for annuals, and herb and vegetable starter plants. Likewise, those who have grown plants from seeds indoors may be gearing up to transplant them in the garden now. But regardless of their origins, ...

If you’re reading this, chances are you’ve heard about the #NoMowMay movement that’s been gaining steam on social media and in eco-conscious circles these past few years. Started in 2019 by citizen scientists in the United Kingdom, the call for homeowners to abstain from mowing their ...