Cynthia Myers

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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 Cynthia Myers

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    Produce
    Produce By Cynthia Myers November 4th, 2022

    What Vegetables Grow Well In Denver Colorado?

    What Vegetables Grow Well in Denver Colorado?. Denver, Colorado, at an altitude of approximately one mile above sea level, enjoys hot summer days and cool nights. The average growing season is Denver is approximately 115 days, according to the Colorado State University Extension Service, but gardeners must be prepared for unseasonable cool spells. Summers may be dry or wet, and late summer hail storms can reduce crops to shreds. Short season vegetables that prefer cool nights do best in Denver's climate.

    By Cynthia Myers November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • Trees
    Trees By Cynthia Myers November 4th, 2022

    List Of Cross Pollination Trees For Honeycrisp Apple Trees

    List of Cross Pollination Trees for Honeycrisp Apple Trees. In order to produce the most fruit, apple trees need another apple tree, preferably a different variety of apple, with which it can exchange pollen. This process is known as cross-pollination. Both bees and the wind serve to transfer pollen between trees. Trees intended to cross pollinate each other must bloom at about the same time in order for the exchange of pollen to take place. Honeycrisp is one of the first apple varieties to bloom in the spring, so it needs pollinators that also bloom at about the same time.

    By Cynthia Myers November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • Produce
    Produce By Cynthia Myers November 4th, 2022

    How To Use Bath Water To Water Plants

    How to Use Bath Water to Water Plants. Using bath water to water plants is one way to recycle water that would otherwise go down the drain. In times of drought, to conserve water or simply if you're trying to cut your water bill, you can save water left over from baths and use it to water your house plants. Plants won't be harmed by the minimal quantities of soap usually found in bath water. Don't use bath water on any edible plants, though, since bath water may contain harmful bacteria you don't want to ingest.

    By Cynthia Myers November 4th, 2022 Read More
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    Lawn Care
    Lawn Care By Cynthia Myers November 4th, 2022

    How To Sprig St. Augustine Grass

    How to Sprig St. Augustine Grass. Sprigging is one of the fastest ways to expand a St. Augustine lawn. Planting sprigs, also called stolons, is also a cheaper alternative to laying St. Augustine sod. St. Augustine naturally spreads through runners, so you can take advantage of this to plant a new lawn or fill in bare spots in an existing lawn. Though a sprigged lawn takes longer to establish full coverage than a sodded lawn, you'll have a complete lawn much more quickly with sprigging than with planting grass from seed.

    By Cynthia Myers November 4th, 2022 Read More
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    Flowers
    Flowers By Cynthia Myers November 4th, 2022

    How To Plant A Dwarf Burford Holly

    How to Plant a Dwarf Burford Holly. Dwarf Burford holly (Ilex cornuta 'Dwarf Burford') is a smaller cultivar of Burford holly, a popular evergreen shrub which produces fragrant white flowers in the spring and attractive red berries in the winter. While standard Burford holly can grow up to 15 feet tall, dwarf Burford reaches only about 6 feet in height. These holly shrubs thrive in zones 7 to 9. Dwarf Burford holly makes an attractive shrub, foundation or border planting.

    By Cynthia Myers November 4th, 2022 Read More
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    Produce By Cynthia Myers November 4th, 2022

    How To Plant Aquarium Plants In Pots

    How to Plant Aquarium Plants in Pots. While some aquarium plants can be planted in the gravel at the bottom of your aquarium, placing your plants in pots instead has several advantages. You can move potted plants around, making it easy to redecorate or to clean. If your fish decide to eat a plant or it dies for some other reason, it's a simple matter to replace a plant in a pot without disturbing its neighbors.

    By Cynthia Myers November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • Trees
    Trees By Cynthia Myers November 4th, 2022

    How To Prune Tip-Bearing Apple Trees

    How to Prune Tip-Bearing Apple Trees. Pruning keeps fruit trees healthy, encourages stronger limbs and new growth, prevents trees from becoming too tall and eliminates diseased or dying branches. You can prune apple trees at almost any time of year, but Oregon State University recommends you prune trees in late winter, before new growth in the spring. Most modern varieties of apples produce fruit on spurs, or small side branches, and are known as spur-bearing apples. But some older varieties, such as Gravenstein, Winesap, Pippin and Macintosh, produce fruit at the ends of branches; these are known as tip-bearing apples.

    By Cynthia Myers November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • Flowers
    Flowers By Cynthia Myers November 4th, 2022

    Flowers That Bloom In Late Afternoon

    Flowers That Bloom in Late Afternoon. While many flowers open with the dawn and brighten the days, some flowers wait until late afternoon to reveal their blooms. These flowers, often white or shades of blue that look almost fluorescent in evening light, often have rich perfumes. The combination of scent and brightness attract moths, bats and other nighttime pollinators. After a long day at work, a garden of late blooming flowers is the perfect setting for evening relaxation.

    By Cynthia Myers November 4th, 2022 Read More
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    Produce
    Produce By Cynthia Myers November 4th, 2022

    How To Grow Moss On Buttermilk

    How to Grow Moss on Buttermilk. Mosses add color and texture to rock gardens, stone walls and shady areas of the garden. A layer of moss transforms a plain clay pot into an aged relic that looks as much a part of the landscape as the rocks around it. Buttermilk provides both glue and growing medium for moss in the garden, helping the tiny new plants take hold on rocks or clay planters.

    By Cynthia Myers November 4th, 2022 Read More
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    Produce
    Produce By Cynthia Myers November 4th, 2022

    What Minerals Does A Plant Need To Grow?

    What Minerals Does a Plant Need to Grow?. Plants draw nutrients from the soil just as humans metabolize nutrients from food. Lack of the proper nutrients can lead to leaf discoloration, failure to produce flowers and fruits, poor growth and great susceptibility to disease. You can test your soil with a soil test kit to determine the levels of nutrients, and add supplements and compost to increase the minerals in soil.

    By Cynthia Myers November 4th, 2022 Read More
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    Produce
    Produce By Cynthia Myers November 4th, 2022

    Vegetables To Plant In Central Texas In January

    Vegetables to Plant in Central Texas in January. While much of the rest of the country is still buried under a blanket of snow, Central Texas is emerging from the coldest days of winter. This is the ideal time to plant cool season vegetables, before the hot summer sun makes conditions too unpleasant for these tenderer vegetables. Though some areas may still see frost at night in January, gardeners can plant many vegetables to harvest in April and May.

    By Cynthia Myers November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • Produce
    Produce By Cynthia Myers November 4th, 2022

    Growing Hops In Montana

    Growing Hops in Montana. Montana is the number one producer of barley in the United States, so it seems appropriate that Montana would also be a good place to grow that other vital ingredient to making beer, hops. Hops (Humulus lupulus) is a vine that produces flowers and fruit in the form of a cone. These cones are dried and used to flavor and preserve beer. Hops are also sometimes used in herbal remedies. Different hops cultivars impart different flavors to beer. Depending on the climate, hops can be easy to grow at home.

    By Cynthia Myers November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • Lawn Care
    Lawn Care By Cynthia Myers November 4th, 2022

    How To Prune Ornamental Grasses

    How to Prune Ornamental Grasses. Ornamental grasses add texture, color and interest to the garden landscape. The sweeping plumes or arching fronds of ornamental grasses provide year round beauty, with delicate green shoots in spring, mature foliage and flowers or seed heads in summer, muted colors in the fall and frosted spikes in the winter. Many varieties of ornamental grasses are drought resistant. Grasses are easy to care for, requiring little maintenance beyond annual pruning to look their best.

    By Cynthia Myers November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • Produce
    Produce By Cynthia Myers November 4th, 2022

    Organic Fertilizer Risks

    Organic Fertilizer Risks. Organic fertilizers such as manure, bonemeal, bloodmeal and other soil supplements from plants, animals or minerals can add nutrients back into the soil and encourage stronger, healthier plant growth. These fertilizers are used in organic farming and gardening instead of chemical alternatives. Because these substances occur in nature, many people view them as safer than chemical fertilizers. However, risks are involved with the use of any kind of fertilizer--including organic.

    By Cynthia Myers November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • Flowers
    Flowers By Cynthia Myers November 4th, 2022

    Flowers That Represent Friendship

    Flowers That Represent Friendship. In the 1800s the British and French attributed meanings to different flowers. Anyone with the knowledge of this language of flowers could send an encoded message to another in the form of a bouquet. While many of the flowers bespoke of romantic feelings, some blooms were assigned a message of friendship. The first Sunday in August each year is Friendship Day --- the perfect time to present a dear friend with a floral token of the value of their friendship.

    By Cynthia Myers November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • Lawn Care
    Lawn Care By Cynthia Myers November 4th, 2022

    Crabgrass Removal Tools

    Crabgrass Removal Tools. In the battle for a beautiful lawn, crabgrass is a stubborn, prevalent enemy. While chemicals can kill crabgrass, they may also kill everything around the crabgrass. The most effective method for removing crabgrass is to take it out by the roots. You can choose from a number of tools to root out crabgrass, but according Purdue University, it's impossible to completely eliminate crabgrass from your lawn. Your best hope is to keep the infestation small.

    By Cynthia Myers November 4th, 2022 Read More
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    Produce
    Produce By Cynthia Myers November 4th, 2022

    How To Grow Vanilla Bean Orchids

    How to Grow Vanilla Bean Orchids. Vanilla is an essential flavoring for everything from milkshakes to fudge. The freshest tasting vanilla comes from the vanilla bean produced by the vanilla orchid (Vanilla plainifolia). This tropical vining orchid grows high in the trees in the rain forest, producing yellow-green blossoms and long, narrow seed pods which provide the distinctive vanilla flavor. You can steep these pods in vodka to create your own vanilla extract, bury them in sugar to create vanilla sugar or scrape the seeds into puddings, cakes or other recipes for an intense vanilla flavor.

    By Cynthia Myers November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • Flowers
    Flowers By Cynthia Myers November 4th, 2022

    Zone 5 Xeriscape Plants

    Zone 5 Xeriscape Plants. Xeriscaping is a type of landscape design that seeks to conserve water. By planting native and drought resistant species, reducing areas of lawn, and using mulch and drip irrigation, xeriscape designs use less water and require less care than manicured lawns and thirsty flowerbeds. But xeriscape doesn't require you to give up flowers and plant cactus. Many species of plants work in a xeriscape landscape.

    By Cynthia Myers November 4th, 2022 Read More
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    Produce By Cynthia Myers November 3rd, 2022

    How To Transplant Aloe Vera Plants

    How to Transplant Aloe Vera Plants. The dark green, fleshy leaves of aloe vera make an attractive houseplant that requires little care. Many people keep aloe vera in the house to treat burns and abrasions. The cool, slightly sticky sap in the aloe vera leaves has been shown to help heal minor burns and cuts, according to the National Institutes for Health. Mature aloe vera plants produce small offshoots known as pups or suckers. Transplanting these is easy.

    By Cynthia Myers November 3rd, 2022 Read More
  • Produce
    Produce By Cynthia Myers November 3rd, 2022

    How To Plant Fall Broccoli From Seeds

    How to Plant Fall Broccoli From Seeds. Broccoli is a cool-season crop that can be planted in late winter for spring harvest and in late summer for a fall harvest. While frozen ground in winter usually requires you to raise spring broccoli from transplants, fall crops can be grown from seeds sewn directly in your garden. Broccoli contains vitamins A, C, D and beta carotene, according to the University of Illinois, which rates this vegetable as the most popular cruciferous vegetable in the United States.

    By Cynthia Myers November 3rd, 2022 Read More
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    Lawn Care
    Lawn Care By Cynthia Myers September 6th, 2022

    Grass That Will Grow In The Shade In The South

    Grass That Will Grow in the Shade in the South. Shade trees provide a cool spot to relax on a hot day, a place to hang a child's swing, and a home for birds and squirrels. For all the beauty they add to a yard, shade trees can make it difficult to grow a beautiful lawn. Some popular varieties of grass grow poorly in the shade, resulting in bare spots. Choose shade-tolerant grasses to solve this problem.

    By Cynthia Myers September 6th, 2022 Read More
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    Flowers
    Flowers By Cynthia Myers September 6th, 2022

    What Flowers To Plant In Memory Of Someone

    What Flowers to Plant in Memory of Someone. A memorial garden is a lasting way to commemorate the memory of a loved one. The flowers in the garden may be connected in some way to the person being memorialized--for instance, they may be favorites of the deceased, or they may recall the loved one's favorite color or favorite season. If the person you are memorializing did not have a stated favorite flower, you can plant blooms whose symbolism relates to memory and mourning.

    By Cynthia Myers September 6th, 2022 Read More
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    Produce
    Produce By Cynthia Myers September 6th, 2022

    What Are The Causes Of Brown On Tomato Plant Leaves?

    What Are the Causes of Brown on Tomato Plant Leaves?. A glance at the long list of diseases and pests that can attack tomato plants might make one wonder how any plants survive long enough to produce fruit. Disease, insects and parasites seem to prize tomatoes as much as home gardeners. But gardeners win out over pests more often than not and are rewarded for their efforts with juicy, ripe fruit. If you pay attention to the first signs of a problem with your tomato plants, you can head off disaster and enjoy the delicious fruits of your labors.

    By Cynthia Myers September 6th, 2022 Read More
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    Trees
    Trees By Cynthia Myers September 6th, 2022

    The Best Fruit Trees To Grow In Central Texas

    The Best Fruit Trees to Grow in Central Texas. Central Texas enjoys cooler summers and less humidity than the coastal and southern regions of the state, as well as more below-freezing days in winter. This region of Texas has ideal growing conditions for many types of fruit trees. Central Texas is known for its peach and apple orchards. Home gardeners can select from many varieties of fruit trees adapted to growing conditions in Central Texas. Generally, Central Texas gardeners can plant bare rootstock between January 1 and February 15 and container-grown trees between January 1 and March 31

    By Cynthia Myers September 6th, 2022 Read More
  • Lawn Care
    Lawn Care By Cynthia Myers September 6th, 2022

    Ornamental Grasses For Texas

    Ornamental Grasses for Texas. Ornamental grasses are hardy, easy-care plants. The flowing plumes, distinctive seed heads, or attractive colors of grasses add new forms and areas of interest to the landscape. Ornamental grasses range in height from a few inches to over 6 feet. Dried ornamental grasses and seed heads can be used for decoration in the home.

    By Cynthia Myers September 6th, 2022 Read More
  • Flowers
    Flowers By Cynthia Myers September 6th, 2022

    Types Of Thistle

    Types of Thistle. Bright purple thistle blossoms attract butterflies and bumblebees to the garden in spring and summer and provide a favorite food of birds in summer and fall. Thistles thrive in harsh, dry conditions, but not all thistles are considered beneficial. Some thistles are invasive weeds that can crowd out native plants.

    By Cynthia Myers September 6th, 2022 Read More