Alexis Lawrence

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Garden Guides uses a knowledgeable team of editors, writers, and experts to create all our content. We dive deep into the ever-evolving conversations surrounding gardening and landscaping, striving to deliver the most current and helpful tips, strengthened by expert insight and tutorials from our talented team.

As we cover many fields of expertise, we make it a priority to ensure every beat remains fresh and comprehensive. Additional information on our editorial process available here.

Stories By Alexis Lawrence

  • Flowers
    Flowers By Alexis Lawrence November 4th, 2022

    How To Prune A Magnolia Bush

    How to Prune a Magnolia Bush. Magnolias are either trees or bushes and are named for their familiar flowers. They bloom in early to late spring with pink, purple or white flowers from 3 to 12 in. wide. After the initial bloom of flowers, magnolias sprout green leaves, followed by reddish-brown seeds in early fall. Magnolia bushes do not require a lot of pruning to maintain its shape, but there are a few pruning techniques that will keep the plant healthy and properly-sized for your landscape.

    By Alexis Lawrence November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • Flowers
    Flowers By Alexis Lawrence November 4th, 2022

    How To Prune Beardtongue

    How to Prune Beardtongue. Beardtongue is an evergreen penstemon plant that blooms with bell-shaped flowers that attract hummingbirds in early summer. The flowers that grow on beardtongue can be a number of colors, including dark purple, red, blue or white. Once beardtongue has bloomed for the season, flowers thrive throughout the fall. Proper pruning of your beardtongue can keep the plant looking its best all year long.

    By Alexis Lawrence November 4th, 2022 Read More
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    Produce
    Produce By Alexis Lawrence November 4th, 2022

    Vinegar As An Insect Garden Spray

    Vinegar as an Insect Garden Spray. Organic gardening has many benefits. At the top of that list is avoiding the chemicals present in pesticides, which are regularly used in non-organic gardening. Not being able to use pesticides on a garden, however, can present a challenge to organic gardeners when trying to keep away garden-loving insects. A few common household substances can be used for organic pest control, including vinegar.

    By Alexis Lawrence November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • Lawn Care
    Lawn Care By Alexis Lawrence November 4th, 2022

    How To Use Potting Soil To Seed A Lawn

    How to Use Potting Soil to Seed a Lawn. If you want to improve the chances of your grass seed growing into a great lawn, you can begin by seeding the lawn with potting soil. Potting soil is specially formulated to help seed root and grow. It both holds in moisture more effectively than standard yard soil and it also contains fertilizer to help in the seeds germination. Using potting soil in a couple of different ways can help weed your lawn.

    By Alexis Lawrence November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • Produce
    Produce By Alexis Lawrence November 4th, 2022

    How To Anchor A Garden Arch

    How to Anchor a Garden Arch. If you have decided to ornament your garden with a garden arch, it is important to anchor the arch properly in order to keep it upright, especially during times of inclement weather. Anchoring a garden arch is a fairly simple process that can be accomplished with an anchoring set or braces and rebar.

    By Alexis Lawrence November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • Structures
    Structures By Alexis Lawrence November 4th, 2022

    Do They Use Mortar To Fill Gaps Around Windows?

    Do They Use Mortar to Fill Gaps Around Windows?. Mortar has a variety of uses in building design, serving as the adhesive for numerous materials, including brick, concrete blocks and, in some instances, ceramic and porcelain tiles. Mortar also helps fill in the spaces between these building materials and can also be used to fill in gaps around some types of windows.

    By Alexis Lawrence November 4th, 2022 Read More
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    Trees
    Trees By Alexis Lawrence November 4th, 2022

    How To Stake A Weeping Willow

    How to Stake a Weeping Willow. Though, as the name implies, it is the Weeping Willow's nature to bend with its branches touching the ground instead of reaching for the sky, you can help your Weeping Willow add some height by staking the tree at the base while it is still forming. Once staked, the Weeping Willow has a stronger central trunk that can stand upright, but the top of the tree above the stake and the branches still bend naturally.

    By Alexis Lawrence November 4th, 2022 Read More
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    Produce
    Produce By Alexis Lawrence November 4th, 2022

    How To Cover Outdoor Seeds With Burlap

    How to Cover Outdoor Seeds With Burlap. Covering newly planted seeds in a garden can be a rather tricky task. Unlike cold-weather coverings, which are only used for a few hours at a time, to protect seeds from extreme heat and sun, coverings laid over newly planted seeds to aid in germination must offer enough protection from the sun and heat, but also provide enough air and light penetration to keep the seeds growing. Burlap is a fabric that has been found to satisfy all of these conditions.

    By Alexis Lawrence November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • Produce
    Produce By Alexis Lawrence November 4th, 2022

    How To Grow Vegetables In Sawdust

    How to Grow Vegetables in Sawdust. Growing plants in compounds that do not include traditional soil is considered a soilless planting culture, according to the University of Florida's Horticultural Sciences Department. Some organic materials that can be used in place of soil for growing plants include vermiculite, sand and sawdust, a product of wood chipping. If you would like to plant a vegetable garden, and your soil is not rich enough to sustain plants, you can add sawdust to the soil or create a proper growing bed for your vegetables with sawdust in containers.

    By Alexis Lawrence November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • Lawn Care
    Lawn Care By Alexis Lawrence November 4th, 2022

    How To Grow Grass Where Pine Needles Fall

    How to Grow Grass Where Pine Needles Fall. Not only do pine trees create shade, which can prevent some types of grass from growing beneath them, but pine trees come with their own specific set of issues. Since branches and foliage on pine trees are denser than many other types of trees, preventing light from filtering through, grasses that need sunlight typically won't grow beneath pines. The main issue with growing grass beneath pine trees are the trees' needles, which create acidic conditions in the soil and smother newly planted grasses.

    By Alexis Lawrence November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • Structures
    Structures By Alexis Lawrence November 4th, 2022

    How To Waterproof A Basement On A Floating Slab

    How to Waterproof a Basement on a Floating Slab. The use of floating slabs for basement floors is common in modern homes today. The idea of the floating slab, according to Warren Engineering, is to redirect water into pipes laid beneath the basement floor prior to the floor's installation. But just because a floating slab is designed to keep water out doesn't mean that you won't ever have problems with basement moisture. You can help eliminate moisture problems by waterproofing the floating slab along with the subterranean basement walls.

    By Alexis Lawrence November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • Flowers
    Flowers By Alexis Lawrence November 4th, 2022

    How To Prune Fragrant Sumac

    How to Prune Fragrant Sumac. Known for its lemony scent, fragrant sumac is a native Midwestern plant that blooms in early spring with greenish-yellow flowers and bright red and orange fruits in late summer and fall. The sumac has dense branches that reach a height of up to 8 feet and a width of up to 10 feet. Fragrant sumacs grow best in hot, dry climates and are so resilient that they are known to grow even in gravel. Like most maintenance of the fragrant sumac, pruning the plant is easy.

    By Alexis Lawrence November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • Flowers
    Flowers By Alexis Lawrence November 4th, 2022

    How To Winterize Azaleas

    How to Winterize Azaleas. Members of the rhododendron family, azaleas bloom with smaller flowers than rhododendrons. While azaleas do not continue to bloom in the winter, or even have leaves that can survive the winter as do rhododendrons, if properly winterized, azaleas can simply become dormant during the cold winter months and bloom back to life in spring.

    By Alexis Lawrence November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • Trees
    Trees By Alexis Lawrence November 4th, 2022

    How To Fertilize A Magnolia Tree

    How to Fertilize a Magnolia Tree. Magnolia trees are native to both the eastern US and southeast Asia. Fairly easy to grow and not a big attractor of pests, magnolias are ideal plants for landscaping. The trees produce large green leaves and attractive flowers. While fertilization is not absolutely essential to the growth of a magnolia tree, properly fertilizing the plant will help it thrive.

    By Alexis Lawrence November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • Produce
    Produce By Alexis Lawrence November 3rd, 2022

    How To Organically Get Rid Of Bugs In A House Plant's Soil

    How to Organically Get Rid of Bugs in a House Plant's Soil. Just like outdoor plants, indoor plants can attract their share of bugs. Bugs can live in the plant itself or in the plant's soil. Using organic means of getting rid of bugs is especially important indoors. Several natural items can be used to organically get rid of bugs on a house plant and in a house plant's soil.

    By Alexis Lawrence November 3rd, 2022 Read More
  • Produce
    Produce By Alexis Lawrence November 3rd, 2022

    How To Protect Greenhouse Plants From Frost

    How to Protect Greenhouse Plants From Frost. Greenhouses are designed to store solar heat. During the day, the glass or plastic that the greenhouse is made from draws and holds the sun's heat. The heat is slowly released throughout the evening and night, keeping plants warmer than if they were outside. While the greenhouse design automatically protect plants inside from some threat of frost, plants in an outdoor greenhouse can still be susceptible to especially cold temperatures. There are a few ways that greenhouse plants can be protected from frost.

    By Alexis Lawrence November 3rd, 2022 Read More
  • Flowers
    Flowers By Alexis Lawrence November 3rd, 2022

    How To Prune Laurel Bushes

    How to Prune Laurel Bushes. As with other evergreen plants, laurel bushes continue to grow throughout the year, though the flowers on laurel bushes appear only during the spring and summer growing season. Although laurel bushes are sturdy plants that do not generally require much pruning in order to have a healthy growth, if you have laurel bushes in your landscape, you can help maintain their appearance through occasional pruning.

    By Alexis Lawrence November 3rd, 2022 Read More
  • Trees
    Trees By Alexis Lawrence November 3rd, 2022

    Growing Requirements For Pomegranate Trees

    Growing Requirements for Pomegranate Trees. Pomegranate trees are plants that generally grow no more than 10 to 12 feet in height. They bloom with orange-red flowers in the spring and bear red pomegranate fruit in summer or early fall. The trees are somewhat drought-tolerant and grow well in many areas of the United States. There are only a few basics necessary for a pomegranate tree to thrive.

    By Alexis Lawrence November 3rd, 2022 Read More
  • Produce
    Produce By Alexis Lawrence November 3rd, 2022

    How To Build A Compost Pit

    How to Build a Compost Pit. Making your own compost pit takes some prep work and some basic ingredients. While a compost pit works in roughly the same way as an above-ground compost pile, a pit will keep the decaying organic matter out of sight and some of the smell underground.

    By Alexis Lawrence November 3rd, 2022 Read More
  • Produce
    Produce By Alexis Lawrence September 6th, 2022

    How To Seal Your Greenhouse

    How to Seal Your Greenhouse. The proper sealing and insulating of your greenhouse protects the plants inside from a variety of potential hazards. During the winter months, a good seal keeps the cold air from leaking in and causing a possible freeze. Throughout the rest of the year, the seal on your greenhouse can prevent large pests from getting in and prevent the warm air circulating through the greenhouse from escaping.

    By Alexis Lawrence September 6th, 2022 Read More
  • Lawn Care
    Lawn Care By Alexis Lawrence September 6th, 2022

    How To Weed, Feed & Seed A Lawn In Florida

    How to Weed, Feed & Seed a Lawn in Florida. If you want your property to look fully finished and well tended, a well-kept lawn can help complete that image. Sowing a lawn and keeping it thriving in Florida, like most anywhere, can be challenging. By making the right decisions before and during the planting, however, you can eliminate some of the difficulties throughout the rest of the year. After the grass is up, proper care, such as feeding and weeding, keeps your lawn looking at its best.

    By Alexis Lawrence September 6th, 2022 Read More
  • Trees
    Trees By Alexis Lawrence September 6th, 2022

    How To Care For Topiary Trees

    How to Care for Topiary Trees. Topiary trees require just a little bit more work than other trees when it comes to caring for them. While other trees can be left to grow unchecked without severely altering their appearance, to keep topiaries looking their best they must be continuously trimmed back into shape. Some regular pruning on top of standard tree maintenance can help your topiary trees retain their original design and keep them healthy.

    By Alexis Lawrence September 6th, 2022 Read More
  • Produce
    Produce By Alexis Lawrence September 6th, 2022

    How To Care For Jade Plants That Freeze

    How to Care for Jade Plants That Freeze. Jade plants are generally used as indoor plants due to the fact that they have little tolerance for cold. When jade plants freeze, the healthy wood will freeze and die quickly. If you have a jade plant that has been left outside during a frost, it is not necessarily dead though. While a jade plant cannot survive a deep freeze that goes all the way through the main branch or to the roots, they can endure some surface freezing.

    By Alexis Lawrence September 6th, 2022 Read More
  • Produce
    Produce By Alexis Lawrence September 6th, 2022

    The Best Type Of Water To Give Plants

    The Best Type of Water to Give Plants. Like humans, plants are dependent upon water to provide them with the necessary moisture to sustain life and health. Some types of water are more beneficial to plants than others. While plants can survive on tap water, it is not always the best option. Tap water often contains a number of chemicals, such as chlorine, and metals like copper and lead, that can have an adverse effect on plant life. When determining what kind of water to use on your plants, a good general rule is to give them the same water that you drink.

    By Alexis Lawrence September 6th, 2022 Read More