They're back!!! Every year at this time I start searching for the tomato hornworm. It's not hard to see the damage. These caterpillars of the hawk moth start out small on the tops of tomato plants. As they eat, they grow and turn into 4 to 6-inch long monsters! Well, maybe they aren't that scary, but they can cause lots of damage on leaves and fruits.

Our zucchini and summer squash are cranking out fruits everyday now. The winter squash and melons are vining and life is good in the vegetable garden. But, this false sense of security won't last long. Unless you're diligent, squash pests, such as squash borers and bugs, will attack without any advanced notice.

It's poppy season. Poppies are bright, cheery flowers that grace gardens from spring until fall. While there are some early blooming poppies, such as the red Flanders poppy and the Oriental poppy, it's the seed grown, summer poppies that I love best. These include the California poppies and bread seed poppies.

Everyone is interested in growing gardens to support pollinators and butterflies. One of the stars of many pollinator garden is the milkweed. Monarch…

It's been a great strawberry season in our garden, but our June bearing plants are winding down for the season. If you're growing everbearing or day…

This time of year we're still trying to squeeze extra plants into our veggie garden. But instead of just planting more veggies, we like to take this…

Early summer is still rhododendron and azalea time. There are late blooming, evergreen, large leafed varieties and native azalea species still putting on…

Most gardeners have planted their vegetable garden. But while it's tempting to sit back and enjoy your work, the planting shouldn't stop. Interplanting is…

The lilacs have been beautiful this year and the flower show continues with some of the later blooming types such as 'Miss Kim' Korean lilac. Now is the…

As I nurse a sore shoulder, I'm reminder of all the things I should be doing to keep my body in shape for gardening season. It's so easy this time of year…