Em Connell McCarty

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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 Em Connell McCarty

  • Trees
    Trees By Em Connell McCarty November 4th, 2022

    What Eats Flowers On Magnolia Trees?

    What Eats Flowers on Magnolia Trees?. Magnolia trees are as fascinating as they are beautiful. This popular tree is a primitive flowering plant which somehow survived in America and Asia as Ice Age glaciers wiped out ancient forests in Europe. Of the 80 species of magnolias you can find ones which thrive in the tropics as well as species which can weather the Midwestern United States and Canada, ones which are deciduous or ones which are evergreen, and ones which bloom in white, yellow, green, pink or purple. Magnolias are relatively pest free; however, there are a few different species which enjoy eating the flowers of the magnolia tree.

    By Em Connell McCarty November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • Trees
    Trees By Em Connell McCarty November 4th, 2022

    How To Save A Dying Rosemary Tree

    How to Save a Dying Rosemary Tree. Rosemary is a fragrant evergreen perennial which is often kept in kitchens for its herbal qualities, as well as being grown for decorative holiday trees and bonsai trees. For these purposes, rosemary is most commonly grown in a pot. Native to the Mediterranean area, rosemary does best in warm sunny climates, but since its popularity has taken it all over the world, rosemary can now be found in colder climates. This is another reason rosemary is often kept in a pot--for easy transport outside in the spring and back indoors for the winter. The potted rosemary tree is a more fragrant rosemary but also a more temperamental rosemary tree.

    By Em Connell McCarty November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • Produce
    Produce By Em Connell McCarty November 4th, 2022

    Lighting Requirements For Blueberry Plants

    Lighting Requirements for Blueberry Plants. Blueberries are a favorite fruit for a number of reasons. They are delicious, versatile and full of vitamins and antioxidants. You may have heard they are difficult to grow. This is not necessarily true. To produce the best harvest possible you simply need to meet your blueberry plants' lighting requirements and follow a couple of other blueberry tips.

    By Em Connell McCarty November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • Lawn Care
    Lawn Care By Em Connell McCarty November 4th, 2022

    How To Keep Birds Away From Grass Seed

    How to Keep Birds Away From Grass Seed. Sowing a new lawn or patching an unsightly area with grass seed can be time consuming and frustrating. Especially if you have wild birds eating your grass seed before it has a chance to grow. One approach to these seed poachers is to create a bird sanctuary, giving the birds shelter, food and water in an area of your yard removed from your struggling lawn. Keep your bird feeders filled with wild bird food to deter song birds from picking away your grass seed. Additionally, you can protect your grass seed by making it more difficult for birds to pilfer your lawn.

    By Em Connell McCarty November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • Produce
    Produce By Em Connell McCarty November 4th, 2022

    What Causes A Bamboo Plant To Turn Yellow?

    What Causes a Bamboo Plant to Turn Yellow?. A bamboo plant's leaves will turn yellow and fall off the plant as a normal part of the growth process. This process will happen throughout the year, but it is most noticeable in the spring when new growth is triggered by the warming sun after the dormant winter. As bamboo grows new leaves, the plant recycles its old leaves: They yellow and fall off. Let the fallen leaves work as a natural mulch that supplies the bamboo plant with silica, which helps future growth. A healthy bamboo plant will have a mix of green, yellow and unfurling leaves.

    By Em Connell McCarty November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • Trees
    Trees By Em Connell McCarty November 4th, 2022

    How & When To Prune An Old Lilac Tree

    How & When to Prune an Old Lilac Tree. The lilac grows naturally as a bush but can be trained and shaped to grow like a small tree. Lilacs are popular for their explosion of fragrant blossoms of lavender, white, pink, blue or purple every spring. Lilacs are perennial plants that reproduce and spread by sending up shoots from their root system. While you can keep your lilac strong and shaped with regular removal of these suckers, allow the new shoots from the suckers in order to revive your old lilac tree, gradually replacing old growth with new growth.

    By Em Connell McCarty November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • Flowers
    Flowers By Em Connell McCarty November 3rd, 2022

    How To Keep Squirrels From Eating Plant Bulbs

    How to Keep Squirrels From Eating Plant Bulbs. After you have spent the morning planting tulips and crocuses, the last thing you want is to come back and find that squirrels have dug up and eaten the bulbs. Squirrels always have an eye out for food and sometimes happen across bulbs while trying to bury something else. Learn how to hide bulbs or make them unappealing to squirrels, giving the flowers a chance to grow.

    By Em Connell McCarty November 3rd, 2022 Read More
  • Trees
    Trees By Em Connell McCarty September 6th, 2022

    How To Transplant Walnut Trees

    How to Transplant Walnut Trees. Walnut trees are majestic and popular trees grown for their nutritious and tasty walnuts and for their beautiful timber. While walnut trees are easily grown from seed, they are not easily transplanted. The roots of most trees grow more outward than downward. The walnut tree, however, has a substantial tap root. This root grows straight down and deep into the ground as the walnut tree's trunk grows straight up and into the sky. This trait of the walnut tree makes it very difficult, but not impossible, to transplant.

    By Em Connell McCarty September 6th, 2022 Read More