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.By Charlie Nardozzi, Mary Williams Engisch

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.By Charlie Nardozzi, Mary Williams Engisch

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.By Charlie Nardozzi, Mary Williams Engisch

Hardy ornamental grasses that grow in Midwestern prairies and meadows can also do well in Vermont.By Charlie Nardozzi, Mary Williams Engisch

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

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.By Charlie Nardozzi, Mary Williams Engisch

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 Charlie Nardozzi, Mary Williams Engisch

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 …

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.By Charlie Nardozzi, Mary Williams Engisch

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.By Charlie Nardozzi, Mary Williams Engisch

"Glads" are tall, showy perennials and are part of the iris family. Their tall stems flower with multiple blooms along the stalk and come in many colors and heights.By Charlie Nardozzi, Mary Williams Engisch

Wetter weather suits some garden critters, like slugs and snails. Slugs, especially, will eat your basil, lettuce, marigolds and more. Certain pesticide-free techniques can save your garden from becoming a slugfest this summer.By Charlie Nardozzi, Mary Williams Engisch

Some garden plants grow quite large and take up lots of space, like cucumbers and pumpkins. But summer squash — like zucchini and yellow crookneck — can be grown vertically if you have limited real estate in your garden.By Charlie Nardozzi, Mary Williams Engisch

Their heady fragrance can transport you; plant tall or smaller flowering shrubs for color and scent all season.By Charlie Nardozzi, Mary Williams Engisch

The trend of "No Mow May" follows the logic that leaving your whole lawn unmowed for the month can help pollinators. The birds, bugs and bees will use the overgrown weeds and flowers as food and shelter. Instead of doing this for a month then mowing it all down, consider dedicating a small portion of your yard to pollinators for the whole season.…

This Earth Day, embrace some more Earth friendly gardening practices, like reusing plastic pots, forgoing pesticides and planting pollinator friendly lawns.By Charlie Nardozzi, Mary Williams Engisch

With bigger and more frequent rain events brought on by human-caused climate change, you can either raise up your garden or try planting things that thrive in wetter conditions.By Charlie Nardozzi, Mary Williams Engisch

Spring greens can add brightness and flavor to your meals. Forage for some wintercress or dandelions or cultivate new types, like rapini and upland cress.By Charlie Nardozzi, Mary Williams Engisch

Instead of traditional tilling, or turning of the soil to prepare it for spring planting, the "no-dig" method is just that. No digging keeps the billions of helpful microbes intact in the soil. It could lead to fewer weeds and healthier soil and plants.By Charlie Nardozzi, Mary Williams Engisch

When and how to prune hydrangeas can really help set up the plant for better blooms.By Charlie Nardozzi, Mary Williams Engisch