My St. Augustine lawn is not as thick as it once was. The trees have grown larger, and it is shadier. What can I do to make the lawn thicker?  If shade is causing the thin lawn, there is not much you can do. Even St. Augustine grass requires 4 to 5 hours of sun …

I can’t believe all the slugs and snails this spring. The baits are effective, but a while back you also offered an idea for beer traps. Tell us again how that works. Slugs, snails and pill bugs are attracted to beer. Sink a plastic cup in the soil in a bed that you are trying to …

May is a good time to plant the heat-tolerant, summer-blooming perennials.  Gold Star esperanza has yellow bell-shaped flowers. They have begun blooming now and will bloom until Thanksgiving. I specify the Gold Star selection because it has superior blooming characteristics compared to the old-fashioned selections. The blooms are large, and they show up on the …

In most gardens, it is time to relegate the spinach, lettuce, cole crops, English peas and other cool-weather vegetables to the compost pile. Your lawn may show some yellowing as the winter weeds decline. The lawn grasses will soon fill the gaps. Fertilize the grass with slow-release lawn fertilizer. Harvest peaches when the background cover …

I have had several readers contact me to say that their lawn has looked great all winter but now it is turning yellow and declining. Some have fertilized, hoping to restore the lushness and green color. The problem is that their lush, green winter lawn was from rescue grass, a winter weed grass. Annual blue …