There are several different kinds of holiday cactuses: There's a Thanksgiving cactus, Christmas cactus and an Easter cactus. Holiday cactuses earn their names because they tend to bloom near Christian holidays.

You can plant crocus, daffodils and tulips outdoors now, as the soil is cool enough for them to overwinter and bloom next spring. And you can also plant bulbs in containers indoors. Use a layering technique and they will blossom for a month.

Love to use garlic in cooking? Consider planting your own. You can choose garlic types based on your taste. Then, as long as you've got composted and well-drained soil, you should get a good garlic harvest next summer.

Sometimes blooming up until — and even after — the first frost, flowers like Montauk daisies and stokesia provide a last gasp of late fall color.

If your daffodils and other flowering bulbs didn't grow well this past spring, try planting flowering onions. They are beautiful and fairly trouble-free. Purchase a few when you're getting other spring flowering bulbs ready to plant later this month.

Paw paw trees grow in our region and produce lots of sweet fruits in late summer and early fall. The fruit's insides are soft and custard-like, and the taste can range from banana to mango to vanilla.

If you love seeing spring flowers popping up under trees, across your lawn or in your meadow, start planning how to get that look now. Soon, you can go purchase your favorite bulbs and get them in the ground.

If your peony plants didn't bloom as much this year, perhaps they're getting too much shade. As you prep your gardens for fall and winter, separating and moving your peonies could help them bloom better next year.

This fall as you clean up your garden and raised beds, remove less leaf litter, stems and other garden debris. Leaving these in place can create places for beneficial pollinators to overwinter.

Helenium and boltonia are perennials that grow well in our region. Both come in a range of colors and boast great attributes: pollinators love them, and deer and woodchucks don't.

Apples, pears and Asian pears are almost ready to pick. Charlie Nardozzi reviews how and when to harvest to ensure the best-tasting fruits.

Related to the hardy hibiscus and known for its large blossoms, the Rose of Sharon grows well in full sun and well-drained soil. Add it to your garden or landscape for a tall shrub that brings great color this time of year.

The larva of the sawfly is a small (and hungry!) caterpillar. They tend to eat in groups and can eat all the needles off a pine. Plus, their voracious appetites can create "window-pane”-like damage to the leaves of many plants and vegetables.

Brown beetles landing in your hair when you try to enjoy an evening on your porch? Crows taking just one bite from your ripe tomatoes on the vine? Charlie Nardozzi offers guidance on these questions and more issues that are bugging local home gardeners this summer.

With blossoms that reach 6 to 8 inches in diameter and come in a rainbow of bright colors, hardy hibiscus are a perennial shrub to add to your landscape.

Many gardens are thriving, despite some fits and starts with lots more rain and humidity. Still, people have gardening questions! Charlie Nardozzi aims to answer quite a few.

Hardy ornamental grasses that grow in Midwestern prairies and meadows can also do well in Vermont.

Home gardeners in our region have plenty of questions when it comes to plants, trees and soil. Charlie Nardozzi answers some of them.

Cucumber beetles love to eat your cuke, squash and melon plants, leaving you with a smaller garden haul! Learn some methods to mitigate them from your home garden.

Japanese maples are beloved for their interesting leaves, beautiful shape and vibrant color. They grow easily further south, but warming temperatures are allowing hardier varieties to thrive in New England.

By now most gardeners have planted their bush and pole snap beans. These beans come in green, yellow or purple colors and are probably some of the easiest veggies to grow. With the hot weather returning, there are other beans that will not only enjoy the heat, but need it. Let's talk about sowing edamame, yard long beans and lima beans now to take advantage of the heat and long days. I'll talk about varieties, planting techniques and where to grow them.

Late spring's warmer temperatures, frequent sun and soaking rains provide the perfect growing conditions for home gardens. Charlie Nardozzi answers lots of gardeners' questions about their plants, trees, weeds and no-dig methods.

Home gardeners have been placing certain flowers and vegetable plants together for decades. (I see you, marigolds near tomatoes!) Now, scientific research shows companion planting can be beneficial.